For the purposes of this chapter, the following definitions apply:

(1) Commercial whale watching.

"Commercial whale watching" shall be defined as the act of taking, or offering to take, passengers aboard a vessel or guided kayak tour in order to view marine mammals in their natural habitat for a fee.

(2) Commercial whale watching business.

"Commercial whale watching business" means a business that engages in the activity of commercial whale watching.

(3) Commercial whale watching operator.

"Commercial whale watching operator" means a person who operates a motorized or sailing vessel engaged in the business of whale watching.

(4) Kayak guide.

"Kayak guide" means a person who conducts guided kayak tours on behalf of a commercial whale watching business. The term kayak guide includes anyone who directs the movement or positioning of any nonmotorized commercial whale watching vessel(s) involved in a tour.

(5) Commercial whale watching license.

"Commercial whale watching license" means a commercial whale watching business license, a commercial whale watching operator license, or a kayak guide license as defined in this section.

(a) "Commercial whale watching business license" means a department-issued license to operate a commercial whale watching business.

(b) "Commercial whale watching operator license" means a department-issued license to operate a commercial motorized or sailing vessel on behalf of a commercial whale watching business.

(c) "Kayak guide license" means a department-issued license to conduct commercial guided kayak tours on behalf of a commercial whale watching business.

(6) Commercial whale watching vessel.

"Commercial whale watching vessel" means any vessel that is being used as a means of transportation for individuals to engage in commercial whale watching.

"Vessel" includes aircraft while on the surface of the water, and every description of watercraft on the water that is used or capable of being used as a means of transportation on the water.

(a) "Motorized commercial whale watching vessel" shall be defined as any vessel with an engine being used as a means of transportation for individuals to engage in commercial whale watching, regardless of whether the engine is in use. This definition includes sailboats with inboard or outboard motors.

(b) "Nonmotorized commercial whale watching vessel" shall be defined as any vessel without an engine being used as a means of transportation for individuals to engage in commercial whale watching. This definition includes human-powered watercraft such as kayaks and paddleboards. In this chapter, the terms "kayak," "kayak guide," and "kayak tour" encompass any nonmotorized vessels used for whale watching.

(7) Group of southern resident killer whales.

"Group of southern resident killer whales" is defined as a single southern resident killer whale or an assemblage of southern resident killer whales wherein each member is within one nautical mile of at least one other southern resident killer whale. Any individual(s) farther than one nautical mile constitutes a separate group.

(8) Vicinity.

"Vicinity" is defined as one-half nautical mile from all southern resident killer whales in the group. References to "vicinity" in this chapter do not permit operators to approach a southern resident killer whale closer than the statutorily defined distances in RCW 77.15.740.

(9) Vicinity instance. Each time any commercial whale watching vessel operating under a license enters within one-half nautical mile of a southern resident killer whale will count as one vicinity instance associated with that license.

(10) Automatic identification system (AIS). AIS refers to a maritime navigation safety communications system standardized by the International Telecommunication Union, adopted by the International Maritime Organization, that:

(a) Provides vessel information, including the vessel's identity, type, position, course, speed, navigational status and other safety-related information automatically to appropriately equipped shore stations, other ships, and aircraft;

(b) Receives automatically such information from similarly fitted ships, monitors and tracks ships; and

(c) Exchanges data with shore-based facilities.

(11) Inland waters of Washington.

"Inland waters of Washington" means Puget Sound and related inland marine waters, including all salt waters of the state of Washington inside the international boundary line between Washington and British Columbia, and lying east of the junction of the Pacific Ocean and the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the rivers and streams draining to Puget Sound as mapped by water resource inventory areas 1 through 19 in WAC 173-500-040 as it exists on July 1, 2007.