EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Date of Adoption: September 1, 2000.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-47-701.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047.
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: The above Puget Sound purse seine, gill net, and reef net openings are part of the final agreements reached at the April 7, 2000, meeting of the Pacific Fishery Management Council in Portland, Oregon. Those agreements were drafted into regulatory format and filed with the Code Reviser's Office under the expedited rule-making process. Rules in that filing do not become effective until September 22, 2000, but several fisheries are scheduled to begin prior to that date. Gill net openings in Areas 7B and 7C are based on an in-season update of the chinook run size returning to Bellingham and Samish bays that is higher than the preseason forecast, and an additional day of fishing, over what was scheduled preseason, is needed to catch the nontreaty share of the harvestable fish. These emergency rules are necessary at this time to harvest surplus salmon, or else the salmon will migrate into their streams, and commercial fishing opportunity will be lost.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: September 1, 2000, 7:01 p.m.
September 1, 2000
J. P. Koenings
Director
Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter 220-47 WAC, effective 7:01 p.m. Friday, September 1, 2000 until further notice, it is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon for commercial purposes taken from the following Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas except in accordance with the following open periods, gears, mesh sizes, area, and species restrictions:
Area 6D: Open to skiff gill nets only using 5 inch minimum and 5 1/2 inch maximum mesh from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. on the following dates: 9/21, 9/22, 9/25, 9/26, 9/27, 9/28, 9/29, 10/2, 10/3, 10/4, 10/5, 10/6, 10/9, 10/10, 10/11, 10/12, 10/13, 10/16, 10/17, 10/18, 10/19, 10/20, 10/23, 10/24, 10/25, 10/26, 10/27.
In Area 6D, it is unlawful to retain chinook salmon at any time, or any chum salmon taken prior to October 16. Salmon that are unlawful to retain must be removed from the net by cutting the meshes ensnaring the fish. Area 6D is closed to commercial salmon fishing within 1/4 mile of each mouth of the Dungeness River.
Area 7: Open for reef nets from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily beginning Sunday, September 10 through Saturday, November 11. It is unlawful to retain chinook salmon at any time. Chum salmon caught prior to October 1 must be released immediately.
Area 7A: Open for reef nets from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily beginning Sunday, September 10 through Saturday, November 11. It is unlawful to retain chinook salmon at any time. Chum salmon caught prior to October 1 must be released immediately.
Area 7B: Open as follows:
gill nets - open to gill nets using 7 inch minimum mesh during these times:
7:00 p.m. Monday, September 4 to 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 5
7:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 5 to 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 6
and open to gill nets using 5 inch minimum mesh during these times:
6:00 a.m. Monday, September 11 through 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 13
6:00 a.m. Monday, September 18 through 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 20
purse seines - open to purse seines using the 5-inch strip during these times:
6:00 a.m. Monday, September 11 through 8:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 13
6:00 a.m. September 18 through 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, September 20
Area 7C: Open to gill nets using 7 inch minimum mesh during these times:
7:00 p.m. Monday, September 4 to 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, September 5
7:00 p.m. Tuesday, September 5 to 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, September 6
Area 9A: Open to gill nets using 5 inch minimum mesh from 7:00 a.m. Sunday, September 17 to 4:00 p.m. Saturday, October 28. Chum salmon caught prior to October 1 must be released immediately. Chum salmon that are unlawful to be retained must be removed from the net by cutting the meshes ensnaring the fish.
Area 12A: Open to beach seines only 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily beginning Monday, September 4 to Friday, September 8; Monday, September 11 to Friday, September 15; Monday, September 18 to Friday, September 22; Monday, September 25 to Friday, September 29; Monday, October 2 to Friday, October 6; Monday, October 9 to Friday, October 13.
In Area 12A, it is unlawful to retain chinook or chum salmon at any time.
Areas 4B, 5, 6, 6A, 6B, 6C, 7D, 7E, 8, 8A, 9, 10, 10A, 10C, 10D, 10E, 10F, 10G, 11, 11A, 12, 12B, 12C, 12D, 13, 13A, 13C, 13D, 13E, 13F, 13G, 13H, 13I, 13J, and 13K, all freshwater areas and exclusion zones provided for in WAC 220-47-307 - Closed.
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The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 7:01 p.m. Friday, September 1, 2000:
| WAC 220-47-701 | Puget Sound all-citizen commercial salmon fishery. (00-147) |