WSR 06-20-016

EMERGENCY RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

FISH AND WILDLIFE

[ Order 06-249 -- Filed September 22, 2006, 2:42 p.m. , effective September 25, 2006, 7:00 a.m. ]


     Effective Date of Rule: September 25, 2006, 7:00 a.m.

     Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-33-01000W; and amending WAC 220-33-010.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047.

     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: Sets one sturgeon target period and one coho target period. Impacts to ESA-listed stocks in these fisheries are covered under the biological opinion for the interim management agreement. Harvestable salmon and sturgeon are available. The season is consistent with the 2005-2007 interim management agreement and the 2006 non-Indian allocation agreement. Regulation is consistent with compact action of September 22, 2006. There is insufficient time to promulgate 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     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: September 22, 2006.

J. P. Koenings

Director

by Larry Peck


NEW SECTION
WAC 220-33-01000X   Columbia River season below Bonneville.   Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-33-010, and 220-33-020, it is unlawful for a person to take or possess salmon or sturgeon taken for commercial purposes from Columbia River Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, and 1E, except as provided in the following subsections.

     1. Mainstem Columbia River

     a. OPEN AREA: SMCRA 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D, 1E

     b. SEASON: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Monday September 25, 2006

     c. GEAR: 9-inch minimum mesh size. Drift gillnets only. Monofilament gear is allowed.

     d. SANCTUARIES: Elokomin-B, Abernathy, Cowlitz, Kalama-B, Lewis-B, Sandy and Washougal.

     2. Mainstem Columbia River

     a. OPEN AREA: SMCRA 1A, 1B, 1C

     b. SEASON: 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. Wednesday September 27, 2006

     c. GEAR: 6-inch maximum mesh size, unslackened floater gillnet. Drift gillnets only. Monofilament gear is allowed.

     d. SANCTUARIES: Elokomin-B, Abernathy, Cowlitz, Kalama-B, Lewis-B.

     3. Mainstem Columbia River

     a. OPEN AREA: SMCRA 1D, 1E

     b. SEASON: 9:00 p.m. Wednesday September 27 to 2:00 a.m. Thursday September 28, 2006

     c. GEAR: 8-inch minimum mesh size. Drift gillnets only. Monofilament gear is allowed.

     d. SANCTUARIES: Lewis-B, Sandy and Washougal.

     4. Blind Slough/Knappa Slough Select Area.

     a. OPEN AREA: Blind Slough fishing area includes all waters from markers at the mouth of Gnat Creek located approximately 0.5 mile upstream of the county road bridge downstream to markers at the mouth of Blind Slough. Concurrent waters extend downstream of the railroad bridge. Knappa Slough fishing area includes all waters bounded by a line from the north marker at the mouth of Blind Slough, westerly to a marker on Karlson Island, downstream to boundary lines defined by markers on the west end of Minaker Island to markers on Karlson Island and the Oregon shore. An area closure of about a 100-foot radius at the mouth of Big Creek defined by markers. All waters in Knappa Slough are under concurrent jurisdiction.

     b. SEASON: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights immediately through October 27, 2006. Open hours are 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

     c. GEAR: Gillnet. Monofilament gear is allowed. 6-inch maximum mesh size. Maximum net length of 100 fathoms. No weight restriction on lead line. Use of additional weights or anchors attached directly to the lead line is allowed.

     5. Tongue Point/South Channel Select Area.

     a. OPEN AREA: Tongue Point fishing area includes all waters bounded by a line from a marker midway between the red USCG navigation light #2 at the tip of Tongue Point and the downstream (northern most) pier (#8) at the Tongue Point Job Corps facility, to the flashing green USCG navigation light #3 on the rock jetty at the west end of Mott Island, a line from a marker at the southeast end of Mott Island northeasterly to a marker on the northwest tip of Lois Island, and a line from a marker on the southwest end of Lois Island westerly to a marker on the Oregon shore. All waters are under concurrent jurisdiction. South Channel area includes all waters bounded by a line from a marker on John Day Point through the green USCG buoy #7 to a marker on the southwest end of Lois Island upstream to an upper boundary line from a marker on Settler Point northwesterly to the flashing red USCG marker #10, northwesterly to a marker on Burnside Island defining the upstream terminus of South Channel. All waters are under concurrent jurisdiction.

     b. SEASON: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights immediately through October 27, 2006. Open hours are 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m.

     c. GEAR: Gillnet. Monofilament gear is allowed. 6-inch maximum mesh. In the Tongue Point area: Net length maximum of 250 fathoms, and weight not to exceed two pounds on any one fathom on the lead line. Participants in the Tongue Point fishery nay have stored onboard their boats gill nets with leadline in excess of two pounds per any one fathom. In the South Channel area: Net length maximum of 100 fathoms, and no weight restriction on lead line. Use of additional weights or anchors attached directly to the lead line is allowed.

     6. Deep River Select Area.

     a. OPEN AREA: Deep River fishing area includes all waters downstream of the town of Deep River to the mouth defined by a line from USCG navigation marker #16 southwest to a marker on the Washington shore. Concurrent waters extend downstream of the Highway 4 bridge

     b. SEASON: Monday Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights immediately through October 27, 2006. Open hours are 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. through September 22 and 4:00 p.m. to 8:00 a.m. thereafter.

     c. GEAR: Monofilament gear is allowed. The mesh size is restricted to 6-inch maximum mesh. Net length maximum of 100 fathoms, and no weight restriction on the lead line. Use of additional weights or anchors attached directly to the lead line is allowed. Nets may not be tied off to stationary structures. Nets may not fully cross the navigation channel.

     7. ALLOWABLE SALES: Applies to all seasons stated in sections 1-6: Salmon and sturgeon. A maximum of eight white sturgeon may be possessed or sold by each vessel participating each calendar week (Sunday through Saturday). The possession and sales limit includes mainstem and Select Area fisheries. Green sturgeon retention is prohibited.

     8. MISCELLANEOUS REGULATIONS: Applies to all seasons stated in sections 1-4: Quick reporting required for Washington wholesale dealers, WAC 220-69-240.

[]

     Reviser's note: The typographical errors in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appear in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040.
REPEALER


     The following section of the Washington Administrative Code is repealed effective 7:00 a.m. September 25, 2006:


WAC 220-33-01000W Columbia River season below Bonneville. (06-243)

© Washington State Code Reviser's Office