S-1485.2  _______________________________________________

                    SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5428

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      56th Legislature     1999 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Natural Resources, Parks & Recreation (originally sponsored by Senators T. Sheldon, Swecker, Snyder, McDonald, Oke, Morton, McAuliffe, Stevens, Deccio, Hargrove, McCaslin, B. Sheldon, Zarelli, Bauer, Horn, Shin, Roach, Winsley, West, Hochstatter and Sellar)

Read first time 03/02/1999.

Establishing a program to purchase and plant privately grown trout.

    AN ACT Relating to state purchase of privately grown trout for planting in state waters; adding new sections to Title 77 RCW; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The legislature finds that declining opportunities to catch anadromous salmon and steelhead trout have resulted in a need to improve trout fishing in order to satisfy the public's demand for recreational fishing.  The legislature intends to satisfy this need using as a model the 1998 trout stocking program, in which a private Okanogan county fish farm supplied sixty thousand one to two-pound rainbow trout to the department of fish and wildlife, Colville confederated tribes, and volunteer groups.  These trophy trout provided enhanced recreational fishing opportunities in central Washington lakes.  Farmed rainbow trout have the potential to grow to trophy size because they are sterile, feed aggressively, and continue to grow through their life cycle.  This program will be called the "trophy trout partnership act."

    A relatively small investment by the legislature for purchasing privately grown trophy triploid trout has the potential to be a major program for rural economic development.  Trophy-sized trout, approximately one and one-half pounds each, can be produced by private sector fish farmers for approximately two dollars per fish, delivered to the release site.  Fish farmers can produce these fish in a triploid genetic configuration for the purpose of certifying that the fish are sterile and cannot interbreed with wild trout.  These privately produced trophy trout are ideal for planting into public lakes and ponds, to provide immediate recreational fishing at a reasonable cost.

    The effect of planting trophy trout will be increased fishing license sales, increased angler participation, increased tourism activities, and a boost to local economies.

    The state purchase of privately produced trophy trout is not intended to replace trout produced by hatcheries of the department of fish and wildlife.  Rather, the purchase is intended to supplement existing department trout hatchery programs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  (1) The fish and wildlife commission may institute a program to purchase trophy trout from private fish farmers in order to increase the recreational fishing opportunities within state waters.  For purposes of this section, "trophy trout" means trout weighing approximately one and one-half pounds.

    (2) The fish and wildlife commission may purchase up to one hundred thousand trophy trout during the 1999 calendar year from private fish farmers for the purpose of planting by the contractee into department-identified public freshwater lakes and ponds, to improve recreational fishing.

    (3) The fish and wildlife commission may purchase up to one million trophy trout during the 2000 calendar year from private fish farmers for the purpose of planting by the contractee into department-identified public freshwater lakes and ponds, to improve recreational fishing.

    (4) Insofar as permitted by law, the fish and wildlife commission shall make the purchases authorized under this section from private fish farmers located within Washington state.

    (5) The fish and wildlife commission shall not make purchases of trophy trout under this section unless the department of fish and wildlife hatchery system is funded at the fiscal year 1997 equivalent level.

    (6) The fish and wildlife commission shall not, because of the purchase of trophy trout, reduce the appropriation for hatcheries operated by the department of fish and wildlife or reduce the number of hatchery employees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.  If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 1999, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  Sections 1 and 2 of this act are each added to Title 77 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5.  This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect immediately.

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