EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-05100K; and amending WAC 220-52-051.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047 and 77.04.020.
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 2010 state/tribal shrimp harvest management plans for the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Puget Sound require adoption of harvest seasons contained in this emergency rule. This emergency rule closes the spot shrimp season in Catch Areas 23A-C and 26B-1, as the quotas will be reached, and lowers the spot shrimp weekly limits in some areas to prevent overharvest of the area quotas. There is insufficient time to adopt 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: August 17, 2010
Philip Anderson
Director
(1) Shrimp pot gear:
(a) Effective immediately, all waters of Shrimp Management Areas 1A, 1B, 1C, 2W, 3, 4, and 6 are open to the harvest of all shrimp species until further notice, except as provided for in this section:
(i) All waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area (Catch Area) 23A-C, 23A-E, 23A-W and the Discovery Bay Shrimp District are closed.
(ii) All waters of Shrimp Management Area (SMA) 1B, 1C, 2W, Catch Areas 23B and 25A are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp.
(iii) Effective 6:00 p.m. August 19, 2010, all waters of Catch Area 26B-1 are closed.
(iv) All waters of SMA 1A are closed to the harvest of all shrimp species, except that those waters of SMA 1A south of line projected at 48º.31.5' N latitude are open to the harvest of all species except spot shrimp.
(b) Effective immediately until further notice, only pots with a minimum mesh size of 1 inch may be pulled on calendar days when fishing for or retaining spot shrimp. Mesh size of 1 inch is defined as a mesh opening that a 7/8-inch square peg will pass through, excluding the entrance tunnels, except for flexible (web) mesh pots, where the mesh must be a minimum of 1-3/4 inch stretch measure. Stretch measure is defined as the distance between the inside of one knot to the outside of the opposite knot of one mesh, when the mesh is stretched vertically.
(c) The shrimp accounting week is Tuesday through Monday.
(d) Effective immediately, until further notice, it is unlawful for the combined total harvest of spot shrimp by a fisher and/or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 600 pounds per week, except in the following areas:
i) Effective 11:59 p.m. August 23, 2010, until further notice, it is unlawful for the total harvest of spot shrimp by a fisher and/or the fisher's alternate operator to exceed 300 lbs per week in Catch Areas 26B-2 and 26D.
(e) It is unlawful to pull shellfish pots for commercial purposes in more than one Catch Area per day. Fishers may move all of their shellfish pot gear from one Catch Area to another Catch Area if a harvest report is made before the shellfish pot gear is moved. The harvest activity report must be made consistent with the provisions of WAC 220-52-075 and must also include the following additional information:
(i) The number of pots being moved to a new area; and
(ii) The Catch Area the pots are being moved to.
(f) It is unlawful to set or pull shellfish pots in one Catch Area while in possession of shrimp harvested from another Catch Area, except that shellfish pots may be set in a new fishing area subsequent to making a report as indicated in Section (1)(e) above.
(2) Shrimp beam trawl gear:
(a) SMA 3 (outside of the Discovery Bay Shrimp District, Sequim Bay and Catch Area 23D) is open immediately until further notice. Sequim Bay includes those waters of Catch Area 25A south of a line projected west from Travis Spit on the Miller Peninsula.
(b) All waters of Catch Area 20A are open.
(3) All shrimp taken under this section must be sold to licensed Washington wholesale fish dealers.
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The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed:
| WAC 220-52-05100K | Puget Sound shrimp pot and beam trawl fishery -- Season. (10-205) |