HOUSE BILL REPORT

SB 5050

BYSenators Vognild, Metcalf, Owen, Peterson and Rasmussen

Revising provisions relating to commercial salmon fishing.

House Committe on Natural Resources

Majority Report:  Do pass with amendments.  (10)

      Signed by Representatives Sutherland, Chair; K. Wilson, Vice Chair; Amondson, Belcher, Bumgarner, Haugen, Meyers, Sayan, Spanel and S. Wilson.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (7)

      Signed by Representatives Basich, Beck, Cole, Fuhrman, Hargrove, R. King and Schmidt.

House Staff:Bill Koss (786-7129)

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES APRIL 3, 1987

BACKGROUND:

The division of salmon catch in Washington state is mandated by the federal court to be one-half to tribal fishermen and one-half to non-Indian fishermen with the areas delineated by the Boldt and Belloni court cases.

There is concern that there are some tribal fishermen who are licensed to fish as non-Indian fishermen who are catching salmon and the salmon is being reported as a non-Indian catch.  This practice can disrupt the proper sharing of the salmon catch as required by the federal courts.

SUMMARY:

BILL AS AMENDED:  The legislature finds that federal court-ordered numerical allocation of salmon between treaty Indian fishermen and nontreaty fishermen is disrupted by individuals who participate in both treaty Indian fisheries and nontreaty fisheries.

It is unlawful for any person to participate in both a treaty Indian fishery and a nontreaty commercial fishery on the same stock of salmon.

The right of treaty Indians from one tribe to aid treaty Indians from another to exercise their fishing rights is removed.  "Treaty Indian fisherman" is redefined, "nontreaty commercial fishery" is defined, and "stock is defined.

Every commercial salmon fishing license issued by the Department of Fisheries must prohibit the owner or operator from participating in the treaty fishery.  Violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor and the director of the Department of Fisheries may suspend a license for violation.

The Department of Fisheries shall issue commercial salmon fishing licenses or additional operators' licenses only to fishermen who are not authorized to fish by Indian tribal authorities.  Applicants for a Department of Fisheries' commercial salmon fishing license must submit a notarized declaration on whether or not they have been granted the privilege to fish as an Indian tribal salmon fisherman.

Fish buyers, wholesale dealers, and branch plants must report salmon catch attributed to non-Indian and Indian tribal fishermen separately and accurately.  Failure to accurately report the catch from Indian or non-Indian fishermen shall result in a five-year revocation of the license of the buyer, dealer, or branch plant.

AMENDED BILL COMPARED TO ORIGINAL:  References are changed from "Indian" and non-Indian" to "treaty Indian fishermen" and nontreaty fishermen."  It is made unlawful for a person to participate in both a treaty Indian fishery and a nontreaty commercial fishery on the same stock of salmon.  The right of treaty Indians to aid treaty Indians from other tribes in exercising their treaty rights is removed.  "Treaty Indian fisherman," "nontreaty commercial fishery," and "stock" is defined.  The Department of Fisheries must prohibit state licensed owners/operators from participating in treaty fisheries.  Violations of this section are made gross misdemeanors and the director may suspend a license for violation.

Fiscal Note:      Not Requested.

Effective Date:The bill takes effect on January 1, 1988.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Senator Vognild, Prime Sponsor; Senator Metcalf, Secondary Sponsor; George Garland, SPAWN; Steve Arbaugh, Puget Sound Gillnetters Association.

House Committee - Testified Against:      Curt Smitch, Washington Department of Fisheries; Steve Robinson, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission; Joseph Delacruz, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The existing system to account for fish caught by Indians and non-Indians is not accurate.  The Indians have a financial incentive and the opportunity to fish during the "all citizen" fishing season to then have fish counted against the non-Indian rather than the Indian catch.  Fisheries does not enforce the requirements for accurate accounting of the tribal catch.

Up to 500,000 fish may have been improperly allocated.  One-third of the fishing fleet may allocate fish incorrectly.  What is needed is a list of the name of tribal fishermen in order to ensure proper accounting.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      Measures have been taken to help ensure proper accounting of the tribal catch, whether it is during the tribal or "all citizen" season.  These steps include giving different color and shape cards to tribal commercial fishermen to differentiate them from non-tribal fishermen and verifying names of Indian fishermen with "all citizen" licenses.  Any misaccounting is small (less than one-tenth of one percent) and not within the department's management precision.

To establish a dual licensing system would infringe on Indians' civil rights and result in an immediate lawsuit.  Previous lawsuits have cost the state over $3 million.