WSR 16-19-087
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 16-252—Filed September 20, 2016, 4:04 p.m., effective September 23, 2016, 6:00 p.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: September 23, 2016, 6:00 p.m.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules for Puget Sound shrimp.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-05100Y and 220-52-05100Z; and amending WAC 220-52-051.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, and 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 2016 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 (1) closes the shrimp trawl fishery in Shrimp Management Area 1B/21A-22A, as the quota will be taken; (2) closes the shrimp trawl fishery in Shrimp Management Area 3 the following week; and (3) closes the remaining pot and trawl fisheries in all areas for the 2016 season on October 16. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 2.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: September 20, 2016.
J. W. Unsworth
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-52-05100Z Puget Sound shrimp pot and trawl fisherySeason.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-051, effective immediately, until further notice, it is unlawful to fish for shrimp for commercial purposes in Puget Sound except as provided for in this section:
(1) Shrimp pot gear:
(a) Effective immediately, until further notice, all waters of Shrimp Management Areas 2W and 3 are open to the harvest of all shrimp species, except as provided for in this section:
(i) All waters of the Discovery Bay Shrimp District are closed.
(ii) All waters of Shrimp Management Areas 2W and 3 are closed to the harvest of spot shrimp.
(iii)
(b) It is unlawful to pull shellfish pots in more than one catch area per day.
(2) Shrimp trawl gear:
(a) Effective immediately, until 6:00 p.m. September 30, 2016, Shrimp Management Area (SMA) 3 (outside of the Discovery Bay Shrimp District, Sequim Bay and Catch Area 23D) is open. Sequim Bay includes those waters of Catch Area 25A south of a line projected west from Travis Spit on the Miller Peninsula.
(b) Catch Area 20A is open.
(3) All shrimp taken under this section must be sold to licensed Washington wholesale fish dealers.
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 6:00 p.m. September 23, 2016:
WAC 220-52-05100Y
Puget Sound shrimp pot and beam trawl fisherySeason. (16-236)
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective October 16, 2016:
WAC 220-52-05100Z
Puget Sound shrimp pot and beam trawl fisherySeason.