FINAL BILL REPORT

HB 2291

                                   C 61 L 90

BYRepresentatives Spanel, Bowman, R. King, Haugen, Brumsickle, Sayan, Basich, Brooks, Morris, S. Wilson and Vekich; by request of Department of Fisheries

Regarding sea cucumber commercial fishing.

House Committe on Fisheries & Wildlife

Senate Committee on Environment & Natural Resources

SYNOPSIS AS ENACTED

BACKGROUND:

Sea cucumbers are being harvested in record numbers in Washington state waters.  Though this shellfish product has been in demand since ancient times in China, an increasing domestic market has developed for sea cucumbers in the United States and Canada.  The dried body wall and muscle of the spiny cucumber are used primarily by cooks in Asian restaurants.

Washington has seen a dramatic increase the last two years in the harvest of sea cucumbers and the number of boats that participate in the fishery.  Twenty-five boats participated in 1987, and 125 boats participated in 1989.  For most of the 1980s, the average harvest was around 275,000 pounds.  In 1988, the harvest was 1.9 million pounds. The price per bucket to the fisher has increased from $13 in 1987 to $30 in 1989.

The Department of Fisheries began limiting harvest in 1987 by establishing a rotation harvest by area, and limiting each area to harvest once every four years.  The harvest season was limited to six months, beginning May 1 and ending October 31.

As harvest pressure builds on a particular fishery, a management tool used by the Department of Fisheries to reduce this pressure is the license limitation program.  A license limitation program attempts to fix the number of available licenses in order to reduce and ultimately maintain a manageably sized harvest fleet.  The state has established license limitation programs for salmon, herring, Puget Sound whiting, sea urchins, and Puget Sound crab.

Commercial fishing licenses are transferable from owner to owner unless they are designated non-transferable by statute.  Of the current license limitation programs, only the sea urchin program and the Puget Sound whiting program issue a non-transferable endorsement or license.

A fisher participating in the sea cucumber fishery must have a shellfish diver license ($50 annually) and a special sea cucumber permit (free) issued by the department.  The shellfish diver license allows a vessel to use divers as the method of harvesting sea cucumbers.  Fishers must also keep harvest logs that identify the area of harvest.

As part of the license limitation programs, advisory review boards may be established to review the department's decisions.  Membership on the boards comes from the fishery affected by the decision.

SUMMARY:

A new limited entry fishery is established for sea cucumbers.  The goal for maximum participation in the fishery is 50 vessels.

After April 30, 1990, only those fishers who have met the following criteria may commercially harvest sea cucumbers:  1) owned a vessel holding a shellfish diver license and a sea cucumber harvest permit during the calendar year 1989, 2) did not transfer the license to another vessel, 3) made at least 30 landings between January 1, 1988 and December 31, 1989, and 4) obtains a sea cucumber endorsement from the Department of Fisheries.

Vessel owners who renew their sea cucumber endorsements after December 31, 1991, must have met the initial criteria for the endorsement and must have made 30 landings totalling a minimum of 10,000 pounds during the previous two calendar years.

Some flexibility for the strict adherence to the eligibility criteria is allowed through the director's ability to reduce or waive landing or poundage requirements upon recommendation of a fishery advisory review board.  The board may review individual cases for extenuating circumstances.  The director is required to define "extenuating circumstances" by rule.

Endorsements are not transferable from one owner to another except from parent to child and spouse to spouse, or upon the death of the owner.

If the fleet falls below 50 vessels, the director of the Department of Fisheries may issue endorsements by random selection to applicants who can demonstrate that they have two years' experience in the Washington sea cucumber diver fishery.

VOTES ON FINAL PASSAGE:

      House 91   1

      Senate    40     4

EFFECTIVE:March 15, 1990