WSR 20-18-009
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 20-162—Filed August 21, 2020, 10:39 a.m., effective August 27, 2020]
Effective Date of Rule: August 27, 2020.
Purpose: The purpose of this rule is to open a retention season for hatchery Chinook in Whatcom Creek.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-312-04000R; and amending WAC 220-312-040.
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: This emergency rule is needed to open seasons for hatchery Chinook salmon in Whatcom Creek. In 2017 comanagers released summer Chinook fry spawned at Skookum Creek that came from parents that were not genetically suitable for the Skookum program into Whatcom Creek. More fish survived than forecast. The release was intended to result in additional Chinook returning for southern resident killer whales and marine harvest programs. Because these fish have passed through from both southern resident killer whale foraging areas and marine fisheries and returned to the terminal area, they are available for harvest.
Immediate adoption of this rule is necessary for the preservation of public health, safety, or general welfare. Observing the time requirements of notice and opportunity to comment upon adoption of a permanent rule would be contrary to the public interest. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: August 21, 2020.
Kelly Susewind
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-312-04000RFreshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Puget Sound.
Effective August 27, 2020 through September 12, 2020, the following provisions of WAC 220-312-040 regarding recreational salmon seasons for Whatcom Creek (Whatcom County), shall be as described below. All other provisions of WAC 220-312-040 not addressed herein, or unless otherwise amended by emergency rule, remain in effect:
Whatcom Creek (Whatcom Co.); from the mouth (a line from the flashing light at the southwest end of the Port of Bellingham North Terminal to the southernmost point of the dike surrounding the Georgia Pacific treatment pond) to the markers downstream of the footbridge that is downstream of Dupont Street: Salmon:
(a) Daily limit 1 hatchery Chinook only; release all other salmon.
(b) Night Closure in effect.
REPEALER
The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective September 13, 2020:
WAC 220-312-04000R | Freshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Puget Sound. |