BILL REQ. #:  S-2300.1 



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SENATE BILL 6139
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State of Washington60th Legislature2007 Regular Session

By Senators Benton and Stevens

Read first time 02/28/2007.   Referred to Committee on Natural Resources, Ocean & Recreation.



     AN ACT Relating to salmon guides; amending RCW 77.65.010, 77.65.150, and 77.65.370; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 77.65.010 and 2005 c 20 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as otherwise provided by this title, a person may not engage in any of the following activities without a license or permit issued by the director:
     (a) Commercially fish for or take food fish or shellfish;
     (b) Deliver from a commercial fishing vessel food fish or shellfish taken for commercial purposes in offshore waters. As used in this subsection, "deliver" means arrival at a place or port, and includes arrivals from offshore waters to waters within the state and arrivals from state or offshore waters;
     (c) Operate a charter boat or commercial fishing vessel engaged in a fishery;
     (d) Engage in processing or wholesaling food fish or shellfish; or
     (e) Act as a guide for salmon for personal use in freshwater rivers and streams, other than that part of the Columbia river below the bridge at ((Longview)) Astoria.
     (2) No person may engage in the activities described in subsection (1) of this section unless the licenses or permits required by this title are in the person's possession, and the person is the named license holder or an alternate operator designated on the license and the person's license is not suspended.
     (3) A valid Oregon license that is equivalent to a license under this title is valid in the concurrent waters of the Columbia river if the state of Oregon recognizes as valid the equivalent Washington license. The director may identify by rule what Oregon licenses are equivalent.
     (4) No license or permit is required for the production or harvesting of private sector cultured aquatic products as defined in RCW 15.85.020 or for the delivery, processing, or wholesaling of such aquatic products. However, if a means of identifying such products is required by rules adopted under RCW 15.85.060, the exemption from licensing or permit requirements established by this subsection applies only if the aquatic products are identified in conformance with those rules.

Sec. 2   RCW 77.65.150 and 2006 c 186 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The director shall issue the charter licenses and angler permits listed in this section according to the requirements of this title. The licenses and permits and their annual fees and surcharges are:

 License or PermitAnnual FeeGoverning
(RCW 77.95.090 Surcharge) Section
 ResidentNonresident
(a)Nonsalmon charter$225$375
(b)Salmon charter$380$685RCW 77.70.050
(plus $100)(plus $100)
(c)Salmon angler$ 0$ 0RCW 77.70.060
(d)Salmon roe$ 95$ 95RCW 77.65.350

     (2) A salmon charter license designating a vessel is required to operate a charter boat from which persons may, for a fee, fish for salmon, other food fish, and shellfish. The director may issue a salmon charter license only to a person who meets the qualifications of RCW 77.70.050.
     (3) A nonsalmon charter license designating a vessel is required to operate a charter boat from which persons may, for a fee, fish for food fish other than salmon and shellfish.
     (4)(a) "Charter boat" means a vessel from which persons may, for a fee, fish for food fish or shellfish for personal use in those state waters set forth in (b) of this subsection. "Charter boat" also means a vessel from which persons may, for a fee, fish for food fish or shellfish for personal use in offshore waters or in the waters of other states. The director may specify by rule when a vessel is a "charter boat" within this definition.
     (b) A person may not operate a vessel from which persons may, for a fee, fish for food fish or shellfish in Puget Sound, Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, Pacific Ocean waters, Lake Washington, or the Columbia river below the bridge at ((Longview)) Astoria unless the vessel is designated on a charter boat license.
     (5) A charter boat licensed in Oregon may fish without a Washington charter license under the same rules as Washington charter boat operators in ocean waters within the jurisdiction of Washington state from the southern border of the state of Washington to Leadbetter Point, as long as the Oregon vessel does not take on or discharge passengers for any purpose from any Washington port, the Washington shore, or a dock, landing, or other point in Washington. The provisions of this subsection shall be in effect as long as the state of Oregon has reciprocal laws and regulations.
     (6) A salmon charter license under subsection (1)(b) of this section may be renewed if the license holder notifies the department by May 1st of that year that he or she will not participate in the fishery during that calendar year. The license holder must pay the one hundred-dollar enhancement surcharge, plus a fifteen-dollar handling charge, in order to be considered a valid renewal and eligible to renew the license the following year.

Sec. 3   RCW 77.65.370 and 1998 c 190 s 98 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) A person shall not offer or perform the services of a professional salmon guide in the taking of salmon for personal use in freshwater rivers and streams, other than in that part of the Columbia river below the bridge at ((Longview)) Astoria, without a professional salmon guide license.
     (2) Only an individual at least sixteen years of age may hold a professional salmon guide license. No individual may hold more than one professional salmon guide license.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   The department of fish and wildlife shall direct all necessary resources to negotiating a reciprocity agreement with the state of Oregon regarding the license requirements for salmon fishing guides downstream of the Longview bridge. The department must report back to the legislature on the progress of the negotiations by November 1, 2007.

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