WSR 18-11-019
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 18-86—Filed May 4, 2018, 11:35 a.m., effective May 10, 2018, 8:00 a.m.]
Effective Date of Rule: May 10, 2018, 8:00 a.m.
Purpose: Amends coastal commercial crab rules.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-340-45000F; and amending WAC 220-340-450.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 77.12.045, 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: This rule opens an additional five miles of the Quinault Special Management Area to state fishers and implements a one hundred pot limit in the newly opened area as [a] result of recent data sharing between state-Quinault fishery managers and policy leaders. This emergency rule also continues the closure of the Quileute Special Secondary Management Area as provided in the state-Quileute Harvest Management Agreement. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: May 3, 2018.
Joe Stohr
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-340-45000G Commercial crab fisherySeasons and areasCoastal.
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-340-450, effective 8:00 a.m. May 10, 2018 until further notice, it is unlawful to fish for Dungeness crab in Washington coastal waters, the Pacific Ocean, Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, or the Columbia River, except as provided for in this section.
(1) The area from the U.S./Canada border to the WA/OR border (46°15.00') and Willapa Bay is open.
(2) For the purposes of this section, the waters of Willapa Bay are defined to include the marine waters east of a line connecting 46°44.76' N, 124°05.76' W and 46°38.93' N, 124°04.33' W.
(3) The Quileute Special Management Area (SMA) is open to fishing for Dungeness crab. The SMA includes the area shoreward of a line approximating the 30-fathom depth curve between Destruction Island and Cape Johnson according to the following points:
Northeast Corner (Cape Johnson):
47°58.00' N. Lat.
124°40.40' W. Lon.
Northwest Corner:
47°58.00' N. Lat.
124°49.00' W. Lon.
Southwest Corner:
47°40.50' N. Lat.
124°40.00' W. Lon.
Southeast Corner (Destruction Island):
47°40.50' N. Lat.
124°24.43' W. Lon.
(4) It is unlawful for a vessel to use more than 100 pots in the Quileute SMA until 8:00 a.m. June 1, 2018. Fishers must pre-register with the Department of Fish and Wildlife 24 hours prior to deploying gear in this area by one of the three following methods:
Fax transmission to Carol Henry at 360-249-1229;
E-mail to Carol Henry at Carol.Henry@dfw.wa.gov; or
Telephone call to Carol Henry at 360-249-1296.
(5) The Quinault Secondary Special Management Area (SSMA) will be closed to fishing for Dungeness crab, from the area shoreward of a line approximating the 27-fathom depth curve between the mouth of the Joe Creek (47º12.25') and Split Rock (47º24.50'). This area will be closed until further notice. This SSMA is described by the following coordinates:
Northeast Corner (Split Rock):
47°24.50' N. Lat.
124°20.00' W. Lon.
Northwest Corner:
47°24.50' N. Lat.
124°32.40' W. Lon.
Southwest Corner:
47°12.25' N. Lat.
124°27.50' W. Lon.
Southeast Corner (Joe Creek):
47°12.25' N. Lat.
124°12.28' W. Lon.
(6) It is unlawful for a vessel to use more than 100 pots in the area between the Copalis River (47°08.00') and Joe Creek (47º12.25') shoreward of a line approximating the 27-fathom depth curve until further notice. Fishers must pre-register with the Department of Fish and Wildlife 24 hours prior to deploying gear in this area by one of the three following methods:
Fax transmission to Carol Henry at 360-249-1229;
E-mail to Carol Henry at Carol.Henry@dfw.wa.gov; or
Telephone call to Carol Henry at 360-249-1296.
(7) All other provisions of the permanent rule remain in effect.
Reviser's note: The unnecessary underscoring 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 8:00 a.m. May 10, 2018:
WAC 220-340-45000F
Commercial crab fisherySeasons and areasCoastal. (18-82)