FINAL BILL REPORT

                  2SSB 6264

                          C 250 L 98

                      Synopsis as Enacted

Brief Description:  Providing for the mass marking of chinook salmon.

Sponsors:  Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Oke, Rasmussen, Morton, Swecker and Anderson).

Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Parks

Senate Committee on Ways & Means

House Committee on Natural Resources

House Committee on Appropriations

Background:  The Department of Fish and Wildlife currently operates salmon hatcheries that provide fishery benefits in mixed stock fisheries.  In order to continue to provide hatchery origin coho salmon for the fishery, all coho salmon are externally marked to enable fishers to determine which salmon are hatchery origin, while releasing nonmarked wild salmon.  This program is known as mass marking.

The same approach can be utilized with chinook salmon to allow fisheries to continue on hatchery chinook while protecting wild chinook salmon.

Summary:  The Department of Fish and Wildlife is instructed to mass mark all appropriate hatchery origin chinook salmon by June 30, 1999.

The department must work with the treaty Indian tribes in order to reach mutual agreement on the implementation of the mass marking program and report to the Legislature by January 1, 1999.

Votes on Final Passage:

Senate 44 4

House     62 35 (House amended)

Senate    42 5 (Senate concurred)

Effective:  June 11, 1998