READ FIRST TIME 02/28/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to ensuring a sustainable coastal Dungeness crab fishery; creating new sections; 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. 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 for the department of fish and wildlife to develop a proposed coastal Dungeness buyback program that would be implemented in cooperation with the federal government upon future legislative direction.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   (1) The department shall develop a detailed proposed Dungeness crab-coastal fishery buyback program. The proposed program must provide for the purchase and permanent retirement of Dungeness crab-coastal fishery licenses. The department shall design this element of the proposed 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 proposed program may provide for the purchase or retirement of vessels designated on Dungeness crab-coastal fishery licenses.
     (3) The proposed program must explore funding alternatives that involve federal funding, state funding, funding provided by Dungeness crab-coastal license holders, low-interest loans to license holders, and combinations thereof.
     (4)(a) The department must include in the proposed 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 if it is authorized and by which the department will select licenses or vessels for purchase from among the applicants.
     (b) The proposed 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 proposed 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) The proposed program must assume that participation by Dungeness crab-coastal license holders in the program would be entirely voluntary.
     (7) The department shall consult with Dungeness crab-coastal license holders when designing the proposal.
     (8) To assist the department in the development of the proposal, 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 proposal to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the senate and house of representatives.
     (10) The proposed program developed under this section is not authorized to be implemented, and state funds are not authorized to be expended, without further specific legislative authorization.
     (11) This section expires December 31, 2007.