EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Date of Adoption: March 29, 2000.
Purpose: Amend commercial and personal use rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-04600X, 220-52-04600Y, 220-56-33000V, and 220-56-33000W; and amending WAC 220-48-015, 220-52-046, and 220-56-330.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 75.08.080.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: Testfishing results from Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 21A, 21B, 22B, and portions of Marine Area 7 do not meet hardshell criteria established to prevent unacceptable handling mortality and resource loss when hardshell criteria are not met. Trawl closure to prevent crab handling mortality. State/tribal allocation imbalance requires closure in Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2, Marine Fish Shellfish Catch Reporting Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, and part of 26A. There is insufficient time to promulgate permanent rules.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 3, Amended 0, Repealed 4.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0. Effective Date of Rule: March 31, 2000, 6:00 p.m.
March 29, 2000
J. P. Koenings
Director
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-48-015, effective 6:00 p.m. March 31, 2000 until further notice, it is unlawful to fish for and possess bottomfish taken for commercial purposes with bottom trawl and beam trawl gear in all waters of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 21A and 22B.
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Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-046, effective 6:00 p.m. March 31, 2000 through April 15, 2000, it is unlawful to fish for Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in Puget Sound in the following areas:
(1) All waters of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 21A, 21B, 22B, and that portion of Marine Fish/Shellfish Catch Area 22A that includes Lopez Sound and Blakely Sound, south of a line extending from Upright Head to the green flashing marker on the southwest tip of Obstruction Island; west of a line extending due south from the green flashing marker on the southwest tip of Obstruction Island to Blakely Island; west of a line drawn from the red flashing buoy at the southern tip of Blakely Island across Thatcher Pass to the white flashing marker at Fauntleroy Point on the northwest corner of Decatur Island and west of a line drawn due south through Lopez Pass from the red flashing marker on the southern tip of Decatur Island to the point of land across Lopez Pass on Lopez Island including Mud Bay and Hunter Bay.
(2) All waters of Marine Fish/Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D and those contiguous waters of Area 26A northerly of a line from the southern tip of Whidby Island to the shipwreck north of Picnic Point.
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The following section of the Washington Administrative Code
is repealed effective 6:00 p.m. March 31, 2000:
| WAC 220-52-04600X | Commercial crab fishery -- Softshell and allocation closures. (00-20) |
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 11:59 p.m. April 15, 2000:
| WAC 220-52-04600Y | Commercial crab fishery -- Softshell and allocation closures. |
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-56-330:
(1) Effective 6:00 p.m. March 31 through April 15, 2000, it is unlawful to fish for Dungeness crab using shellfish pot gear for personal use in that portion of Marine Area 7 south of a line extending from Point Francis to the north end of Inati Bay on Lummi Island, east of a line drawn through Lummi Rocks to the west side of Lummi Island to the northern point of Sinclair Island, and east of a line drawn from the southeast point of Sinclair Island to the Shannon Point state ferry dock near west of Anacortes (includes Bellingham, Chuckanut, Samish, Padilla, and Fidalgo Bays); and that portion of Marine Area 7 that includes Lopez Sound and Blakely Sound, south of a line extending from Upright Head to the green flashing marker on the southwest tip of Obstruction Island; west of a line extending due south from the green flashing marker on the southwest tip of Obstruction Island to Blakely Island; west of a line drawn from the red flashing buoy at the southern tip of Blakely Island across Thatcher Pass to the white flashing marker at Fauntleroy Point on the northwest corner of Decatur Island and west of a line drawn due south through Lopez Pass from the red flashing marker on the southern tip of Decatur Island to the point of land across Lopez Pass on Lopez Island including Mud Bay and Hunter Bay.
(2) Effective 6:00 p.m. March 31, until further notice, it is unlawful to fish for and possess Dungeness crab for personal use in Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2.
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The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code
are repealed effective 6:00 p.m. March 31, 2000:
| WAC 220-56-33000V | Personal use crab fishery--Allocation/softshell closures. (99-220) |
| WAC 220-56-33000W | Personal use crab fishery--Softshell closures. (00-20) |