EMERGENCY RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: February 9, 2012, 8:00 a.m.
Purpose: Commercial crab regulations.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-52-04000J and 220-52-04600R; and amending WAC 220-52-040 and 220-52-046.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047 and 77.04.020.
Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that immediate adoption, amendment, or repeal of a rule is necessary for the preservation of the public health, safety, or general welfare, and that observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest.
Reasons for this Finding: The provisions of this rule are in conformity with agreed plans with applicable tribes, which plans have been entered as required by court order. The Puget Sound commercial crab season is structured to meet harvest allocation objectives. In order to meet harvest allocation goals, it is necessary to increase crab-pot limits in Regions 3-2 and 3-1 from fifty pots per license to seventy-five and one hundred pots per license, respectively. There is insufficient time to adopt permanent rules.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 2, Amended 0, Repealed 2.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: February 8, 2012.
Joe Stohr
for Philip Anderson
Director
(1) Additional area gear limits. The following Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas are restricted in the number of pots fished, operated, or used by a person or vessel, and it is unlawful for any person to use, maintain, operate, or control pots in excess of the following limits:
(a) No commercial gear is allowed in that portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 25A west of the 123° 7.0' longitude line projected from the new Dungeness light due south to the shore of Dungeness Bay.
(2) Effective 8:00 AM, February 9, 2012, until further notice, it is unlawful for any person to fish for crab for commercial purposes with more than 50 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management Regions 1 (Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 20A, 20B, 21A, 21B, 22A, 22B).
(3) Effective 8:00 AM, February 9, 2012, until further notice, it is unlawful for any person to fish for crab for commercial purposes with more than 75 pots per license per buoy tag number in Crab Management sub-area 3-2 (Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 23D, 25A, 25E).
(4) The remaining buoy tags per license per region must be onboard the designated vessel and available for inspection.
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(1) Effective immediately until further notice, it is permissible to fish for Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in the following areas:
(a) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 20A between a line from the boat ramp at the western boundary of Birch Bay State Park to the western point of the entrance of the Birch Bay Marina, and a line from the same boat ramp to Birch Point.
(b) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 22B in Fidalgo Bay south of a line projected from the red number 4 entrance buoy at Cape Sante Marina to the northern end of the eastern-most oil dock.
(c) Those waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 22A in Deer Harbor north of a line projected from Steep Point to Pole Pass.
(2) Effective immediately until further notice, the following areas are closed to commercial crab fishing:
(a) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 25A west of the 123º 7.0' longitude line projected from the new Dungeness light due south to the shore of Dungeness Bay.
(b) That portion of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 23D west of a line from the eastern tip of Ediz Hook to the ITT Rayonier Dock.
(3) Effective immediately until further notice, the following areas are closed to commercial crab fishing:
(a) Crab Management Region 2 East (Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, 26A-East) and Crab Management Region 2 West (Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 25B, 25D and 26A West).
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The following sections of the Washington Administrative
Code are repealed effective 8:00 AM, February 9, 2012:
| WAC 220-52-04000J | Commercial crab fishery -- Lawful and unlawful gear, methods, and other unlawful acts. (11-312) |
| WAC 220-52-04600R | Puget Sound crab fishery--Seasons and areas. (11-312) |