BILL REQ. #:  S-2237.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/28/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to ensuring a sustainable coastal Dungeness crab fishery; adding a new section to chapter 77.12 RCW; creating a new section; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds that the coastal Dungeness crab fishery is one of the most valuable commercial fisheries in Washington state. For example, the 2004-05 season resulted in landings of twenty-one million pounds with an estimated ex-vessel value of over thirty million dollars. The fishery represents a vital economic foundation for many coastal communities.
     Since 1994, the coastal Dungeness crab fishery has faced significant pressure and has undergone many regulatory changes stemming from issues relating to the sustainability of the resource, the safety and sustainability of the fleet, interstate and federal jurisdiction questions, as well as allocation issues.
     In order to further promote the sustainability of the coastal Dungeness crab resource, the coastal crab fleet, and coastal communities, the legislature intends to institute a coastal Dungeness buyback program in cooperation with the federal government.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 77.12 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall develop a Dungeness crab-coastal fishery buyback program. The program must provide for the purchase and permanent retirement of Dungeness crab-coastal fishery licenses. The department shall design this element of the program with the goal of purchasing between eighty and one hundred Dungeness crab-coastal fishery licenses.
     (2) In addition to license purchase and retirement, the program may provide for the purchase or retirement of vessels designated on Dungeness crab-coastal fishery licenses.
     (3) The program must explore funding alternatives that involve federal funding, state funding, funding provided by Dungeness crab-coastal license holders, and combinations thereof.
     (4)(a) The department must include in the program those elements necessary for the administration of the buyback, including the mechanisms by which Dungeness crab-coastal license holders may apply to participate in the program and by which the department will select licenses or vessels for purchase from among the applicants.
     (b) The program must include and clearly set forth any conditions that will be placed on Dungeness crab-coastal license holders participating in the program.
     (5) The program must be designed to have a neutral impact on Dungeness crab harvests in the state and federal waters off the coasts of Oregon and California.
     (6) Participation by Dungeness crab-coastal license holders in the program is entirely voluntary.
     (7) The department shall consult with Dungeness crab-coastal license holders when designing the program.
     (8) To assist the department in the development of the program, the department may contract with persons not employed by the state.
     (9) By December 1, 2007, the department shall provide a report detailing the program to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the senate and house of representatives.
     (10) The program may not be implemented, and state funds may not be expended, without specific legislative authorization.
     (11) This section expires June 30, 2010.