Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 98-06-065.

Title of Rule: Beam trawl and otter trawl logbooks.

Purpose: To require the keeping of trawl logbooks in Marine Fish and Shellfish Catch and Management Reporting Area 29.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 75.08.080.

Statute Being Implemented: RCW 75.08.080.

Summary: Logbooks will be required for beam and otter trawler operators fishing in Area 29.

Reasons Supporting Proposal: Housekeeping proposal will mirror logbook requirements for all other Puget Sound catch areas where these fisheries operate so that specific area data can be captured to help meet conservation and management objectives.

Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting: Morris Barker, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA, (360) 902-2826; Implementation: Bruce Crawford, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA, (360) 902-2325; and Enforcement: Ron Swatfigure, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA, (360) 902-2927.

Name of Proponent: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, governmental.

Rule is not necessitated by federal law, federal or state court decision.

Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: Rule proposal (WAC 220-48-013) will require the keeping and maintenance of logbooks for all beam trawl and otter trawl operators in Area 29. Logbooks provide discrete data that cannot be captured on fish landing tickets. The data gathered is used to fine tune fishery planning objectives to meet conservation and management goals. Anticipated effects to the fishers will be negligible as this was already a requirement until recently when regulatory oversight dropped the requirement from the current regulations.

Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: See small business economic impact statement below.

A small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW.

Small Business Economic Impact Statement

Commercial Rules re: Beam Trawl and Otter Trawl Logbooks: WAC 220-48-013.

1. Description of Reporting, Recordkeeping and Other Compliance Requirements by the Proposed Rule: Fishers using beam or otter trawl in Marine Fish and Shellfish Catch and Management Reporting Area 29 will be required to keep and maintain a logbook and submit such logbooks upon request to authorized Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife personnel. Monthly reports of the completed logbook information are required to be submitted to the department by the fisher in any calendar month fished within ten days of the end of that calendar month. Fishing operators are required to fill in pertinent identifying information for each fishing trip and for each tow specific information on date, location, duration, depth, net type, target species and estimated weight of each species type retained.

2. Kinds of Professional Services that a Small Business is Likely to Need in Order to Comply with Such Requirements: None, blank logbook forms are provided to the operator by the department.

3. Costs of Compliance for Businesses, Including Cost of Equipment, Supplies, Labor, and Increased Administrative Costs: None, logbooks are already required of these gears in all other operating areas of Puget Sound and no fisher operates exclusively in this area. Until recently all operators were already required to keep and maintain logbooks in this area.

4. Will Compliance with the Rule Cost [Cause] Businesses to Lose Sales or Revenue? No, this rule does not affect any sales or revenue.

5. Cost of Compliance for the Ten Percent of Businesses that are the Largest Businesses Required to Comply with the Proposed Rules Using One or More of the Following as a Basis for Comparing Costs: a. Cost per employee; b. Cost per hour of labor; or c. Cost per one hundred dollars of sales. As there are no costs there are no comparisons.

6. Steps Taken by Agency to Reduce the Costs of the Rule on Small Businesses or Reasonable Justification for Not Doing so: None, there are no costs to small businesses.

7. A Description of How the Agency will Involve Small Businesses in the Development of the Rule: The department held a public workshop with target user groups on Saturday, March 21, 1998.

8. A List of Industries that will be Required to Comply with the Rule: Puget Sound shrimp beam trawlers and groundfish otter trawlers.

A copy of the statement may be obtained by writing to Evan Jacoby, 1111 Washington Street, Olympia, WA, phone (360) 902-2930, or FAX (360) 902-2940.

Section 201, chapter 403, Laws of 1995, does not apply to this rule adoption. Not hydraulic rules.

Hearing Location: Doubletree Hotel, Port Angeles, Washington, on June 13, 1998, at 8:00 a.m.

Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Robin Ayres by May 26, 1998, TDD (360) 902-2295, or (360) 902-2933.

Submit Written Comments to: Evan Jacoby, Rules Coordinator, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, WA, FAX (360) 902-2940, by June 11, 1998.

Date of Intended Adoption: June 13, 1998.

April 21, 1998

Evan Jacoby

Rules Coordinator

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 98-05-043, filed 2/11/98, effective 3/14/98)

WAC 220-48-013  Beam trawl and otter trawl logbooks. It shall be unlawful for any operator of beam trawl or otter trawl gears to fail to obtain and accurately maintain a "Washington Inside Waters Trawl Logbook" while fishing for, or while in possession of, bottomfish taken from east of the ((mouth of the Sekiu River)) Bonilla-Tatoosh line. A logbook must be obtained from the Washington department of fisheries and must be kept aboard the vessel while fishing, or in possession of bottomfish taken east of the mouth of the Sekiu River. The vessel operator must submit the completed logbook for inspection immediately upon request by authorized department of fisheries representatives. For each fishing trip, and prior to landing, vessel operators shall record the vessel name and state registration number, the dates and times of departure from and return to port, and the buyer(s) of the fish landed. In addition, for each trawl tow conducted during the trip, the vessel operator shall record the month and day, duration of the tow, specific area fished, latitude and longitude to the nearest tenth minute of the gear set and haul back position, depth fished, net type, target species and estimated weight of each species of fish retained. The department copies of the completed logbook sheet(s) must be submitted to the department for each calendar month in which fishing activity occurs. Department copies must be received within ten days following any calendar month in which fishing activity occurred and by the tenth day following the termination of commercial fishing activity, whichever occurs first.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 98-05-043, § 220-48-013, filed 2/11/98, effective 3/14/98; 85-08-023 (Order 85-24), § 220-48-013, filed 4/1/85.]