EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: November 10, 2011, 12:01 p.m.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-40-02700P; and amending WAC 220-40-027.
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: Based on catch information to date, harvest guidelines will be exceeded if retention of white sturgeon in the Willapa Bay commercial gillnet fishery is allowed beyond 12:01 p.m. on Thursday, November 10, 2011. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: November 9, 2011.
Philip Anderson
Director
Fishing Periods:
1. Gillnet gear may be used to fish for salmon only as shown below:
| 6:00 p.m. November 11 through 6:00 p.m. November 19, 2011 | Areas 2M, 2N, 2R, 2T, and 2U |
2. Gillnet gear restrictions - All Areas:
a. Drift gill net gear only. It is unlawful to use set net gear. It is permissible to have on board a commercial vessel more than one net, provided the nets are of a mesh size that is legal for the fishery, and the length of any one net does not exceed one thousand five hundred feet in length.
b. Nets with a mesh size different from that being actively fished must be properly stored. A properly stored net is defined as a net on a drum that is fully covered by a tarp (canvas or plastic) and bound with a minimum of ten revolutions of rope that is 3/8 (0.375) inches or greater.
c. It is unlawful to use a gill net to fish for salmon if the lead line weighs more than two pounds per fathom of net as measured on the cork line, provided that it is lawful to have a gill net with a lead line weighing more than two pounds per fathom aboard a vessel when the vessel is fishing in or transiting through Willapa Bay.
3. From November 11 through November 19, 2011: Mesh size must not exceed six and one-half inch maximum mesh.
a. Only one net of six and one-half inch configuration, not exceeding fifteen hundred feet, may be used when in the act of fishing.
b. Only one net may be fishing at a time; other nets must be properly stored.
c. From November 11 through November 19, 2011, all white sturgeon, all steelhead, and all green sturgeon must be handled with care to minimize injury to the fish and must be released immediately to the river/bay when fishing in Willapa Bay Areas 2K, 2M, 2N, 2R, 2T, and 2U.
Other:
4. Quick reporting is required for wholesale dealers and fishers retailing their catch under a "direct retail endorsement." According to WAC 220-69-240(12), reports must be made by 10:00 a.m. the day following landing.
5. Effective 12:01 p.m. November 10 through December 31, 2011, it is unlawful to retain white sturgeon.
6. The retention of green sturgeon and steelhead is prohibited.
7. It is unlawful to fish with gillnet gear in Areas 2K, 2M, 2N, 2R, 2T, and 2U unless the vessel operator has attended a "Fish Friendly" best fishing practices workshop and has in their possession a department-issued certification card.
[]
The following section of the Washington Administrative
Code is repealed effective January 1, 2012:
| WAC 220-40-02700P | Salmon Willapa Bay fall fishery. |