WSR 06-16-065

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

FISH AND WILDLIFE

[ Order 06-182 -- Filed July 28, 2006, 2:02 p.m. , effective July 31, 2006, 6:00 a.m. ]


     Effective Date of Rule: July 31, 2006, 6:00 a.m.

     Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-32-05700Y; and amending WAC 220-32-057.

     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: Reopens Bonneville and The Dalles pool for a sturgeon set line season. There is room on both guidelines to allow for a season, and harvestable numbers of sturgeon are available. Conforms state rules to tribal rules. Consistent with compact action of July 27, 2006. There is insufficient time to promulgate permanent regulations.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Date Adopted: July 28, 2006.

J. P. Koenings

Director

by Larry Peck


NEW SECTION
WAC 220-32-05700Y   Columbia River sturgeon seasons above Bonneville Dam   Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-32-057, effective immediately, it is unlawful to take, fish for or possess sturgeon taken for commercial purposes in Columbia River Salmon Management Catch Reporting Areas 1F, 1G, and 1H, except those individuals possessing treaty fishing rights under the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla, and Nez Perce treaties may fish for sturgeon with set line gear under the following provisions:

     1) Open period: 6:00 a.m. July 31, 2006 through 6:00 p.m. August 15. 2006.

     2) Open area:     1F, 1G.

     3) Gear: Setlines. Fishers are encouraged to use circle hooks and avoid J-hooks. It is unlawful to use setline gear: with more than 100 hooks per set line, with hooks less than the minimum size of 9/0, with treble hooks, without visible buoys attached and with buoys that do not specify operator and tribal identification.

     4) Allowable Sales: Sturgeon between 45 and 60-inches in length from Bonneville Pool (1F) and between 48 and 60-inches in length from The Dalles pool (1G). Sturgeon within the size limits stated above and caught in the platform hook and line fishery in the Bonneville and The Dalles Pool (1F, 1G) during the open periods of the setline fishery may be sold. Sturgeon between 45 inches and 60 inches in length may be retained in the Bonneville Pool (1F) for subsistence purposes. Sturgeon between 4 feet and 5 feet in length may be retained in The Dalles and John Day pools (1G, 1H) for subsistence purposes.

     5) Sanctuaries: Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-22-010, during the open periods described above:

     6) Area 1F (Bonneville Pool) shall include those waters of the Columbia River upstream from the Bridge of the Gods, located approximately 2.3 miles above Bonneville Dam, and downstream of a line projected from the west end of the Port of The Dalles Dock across the Columbia River to a Washington department of fisheries' boundary marker on the Washington shore.

     7) Area 1G (The Dalles Pool) shall include those waters of the Columbia River upstream from a line projected from an Oregon department of fish and wildlife deadline marker on the Oregon shore to the 5-mile-lock light (6 seconds red) on an island near the Oregon shore, to an island near the Washington shore to a Washington department of fisheries' fishing boundary marker on the Washington shore at the southwest corner of Horsethief Lake, SP&S Railroad fill and downstream of a line projected across the thread of the Columbia River at the grain elevator at Rufus, Oregon, to a deadline marker on the Washington shore.

     8) Area 1H (John Day Pool) shall include those waters of the Columbia River upstream from a line projected across the thread of the Columbia River from a fishing boundary marker approximately 1/2-mile above the John Day River, Oregon, to a fishing boundary marker on the Washington shore and downstream of a line projected across the thread of the Columbia River from the upstream bank of the Umatilla River.

     9) Miscellaneous: it is unlawful to sell, barter, or attempt to sell or barter sturgeon eggs that have been removed from the body cavity of a sturgeon prior to sale of the sturgeon to a wholesale dealer licensed under chapter RCW 75.28, or to sell or barter sturgeon eggs at retail. It is unlawful to deliver to a wholesale dealer licensed under chapter RCW 75.28 any sturgeon that are not in the round with the head and tail intact.

[]

     Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
REPEALER


     The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 6:01 p.m. August 15, 2006:


WAC 220-32-05700Y Columbia River sturgeon seasons above Bonneville Dam.

© Washington State Code Reviser's Office