PERMANENT RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: This rule amendment creates a permit to be issued in conjunction with Washington pink shrimp trawl licenses. The permit, to be issued annually and at no cost to fishers, would describe conditions to be met to participate in the Washington ocean shrimp trawl fishery, including the condition that vessels participate in federal and/or state groundfish observer programs. Without observer coverage, information about bycatch cannot be collected. In data-poor situations, management must be more conservative to address the uncertainty than might otherwise be necessary had adequate information been available.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-52-050 Ocean pink shrimp trawl fishery -- Coastal waters.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 09-23-117 on November 18, 2009.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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 5, 2010.
Miranda Wecker, Chair
Fish and Wildlife Commission
OTS-2842.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 03-30, filed 2/18/03,
effective 3/21/03)
WAC 220-52-050
Ocean pink shrimp trawl fishery -- Coastal
waters.
It is unlawful to fish for, possess or deliver ocean
pink shrimp taken for commercial purposes from the waters of
the Exclusive Economic Zone, except as provided for in this
section:
Area
(1) ((Ocean pink shrimp fishery:
(a))) It is unlawful to fish for ocean pink shrimp within the territorial boundaries of the state. A violation of this subsection is punishable under RCW 77.15.550, Violation of commercial fishing area or time -- Penalty.
Season
(2) It is unlawful to fish for, take, or possess on board
a fishing vessel, pink shrimp, except during the following
time: The open season for trawl gear is April 1 through
October 31 of each year. A violation of this subsection is
punishable under RCW 77.15.550, Violation of commercial
fishing area or time -- Penalty.
(((b) The following gear is prohibited:))
Gear
(3) It is unlawful to fish with or possess pink shrimp
taken with shrimp trawl gear having a net mesh size greater
than two inches in the intermediate or codend, except for net
mesh used in ((fish excluder devices.)) by-catch reduction
devices defined under subsection (4) of this section.
However, it is lawful to have net mesh larger than two inches
in the wings or body of the trawl.
(((c))) (4) It is unlawful to fish with trawl gear for
pink shrimp for commercial purposes unless an approved
by-catch reduction device is used in each net. Approved
by-catch reduction((s)) devices ((are)) include:
(((i))) (a) A Soft Panel By-catch Reduction Device, which
uses a mesh panel to guide fish out of an escape hole. An
approved soft-panel must meet the following criteria:
(((A))) (i) The panel must completely cover some portion
of the net in cross-section, meaning it must extend completely
across the full opening of the net in one continuous piece. The panel must be securely fastened to the net around the
entire perimeter, such that a 110 mm diameter sphere cannot
pass beyond the panel into the terminal end of the codend;
(((B))) (ii) The panel meshes must be constructed of
netting material with individual meshes no larger than 5.5
inches, measured between opposing knots, and must be
constructed of a single panel of continuous netting, without
zippers or other devices designed to allow disabling of the
panel such that large fish can pass back into the codend;
(((C))) (iii) The escape hole must, when spread open,
expose a hole of at least 100 square inches; and
(((D))) (iv) The escape hole must be forward of the mesh
panel and must begin within four meshes of the furthest aft
point of attachment of the mesh panel to the net((;)).
(((ii))) (b) A Nordmore Grate By-catch Reduction Device,
which uses a rigid panel of narrowly spaced vertical bars to
guide fish out of an escape hole in front of the panel,
generally in the top of the net. An approved Nordmore grate
must meet the following criteria:
(((A))) (i) The exterior circumference of the rigid panel
must fit completely within the interior circumference of the
trawl net, such that there is no space between the panel and
the net that will allow a 110 mm sphere to pass beyond the
panel, into the terminal area of the codend;
(((B))) (ii) None of the openings between the vertical
bars in the rigid panel may exceed two inches in width;
(((C))) (iii) The escape hole must, when spread open,
expose a hole of at least 100 square inches; and
(((D))) (iv) The escape hole must be forward of the rigid
panel and must begin within four meshes of the furthest aft
point of attachment of the rigid panel to the net.
(((d) All by-catch reduction devices and codends used for
trawl fishing for pink shrimp must be readily accessible and
made available for inspection at the request of an authorized
agent of the state. No trawl gear may be removed)) (5) It is
unlawful to remove trawl gear from the vessel prior to
offloading of shrimp.
(((e))) (6) It is unlawful to modify by-catch reduction
devices in any way that interferes with their ability to allow
fish to escape from the trawl, except for the purpose of
testing the by-catch reduction device to measure shrimp loss. Authorized testing of by-catch reduction devices must meet the
following criteria:
(((i))) (a) Testing is allowed by special permit only,
consistent with the terms and conditions of the permit; and
(((ii))) (b) For vessels fishing two nets simultaneously
(double-rigged boats), only one net may contain a disabled
by-catch reduction device, and the other net must be fishing a
fully functional by-catch reduction device as described in
(((c) of this)) subsection (4) of this section.
(((f) Minimum number of shrimp per pound:)) (7) A
violation of subsections (4) through (6) of this section is
punishable under RCW 77.15.520, Commercial fishing -- Unlawful
gear or methods -- Penalty.
(8) It is unlawful to land or deliver pink shrimp to an
original receiver that exceeds the following count per pound
restriction: The count per pound must average no more than
160 shrimp per pound for a minimum of two samples, increasing
at a rate of one sample per one thousand pounds landed or in
possession, up to a maximum requirement of twenty samples. Such samples shall consist((s)) of at least one pound ((of))
each of whole, unbroken shrimp taken at random from throughout
the individual load landed or in possession. This landing
restriction shall apply only to loads of 3,000 pounds of
shrimp or more. A violation of this subsection is punishable
under RCW 77.15.550, Violation of commercial fishing area or
time -- Penalty.
Incidental catch
(((g) Incidental catch-finfish:)) (9) It is unlawful to
take salmon incidental to any shrimp trawl fishery.
(10) It is unlawful to retain any bottomfish species taken incidental to any shrimp trawl fishery, except as provided for in WAC 220-44-050.
(((h) Incidental catch-shellfish:
(i) It is unlawful to retain any species of shellfish except that it is lawful to retain up to 50 pounds round weight of other shrimp species taken incidentally in the ocean pink shrimp fishery, or octopus or squid.
(ii) It is unlawful to fish for ocean pink shrimp within the territorial boundaries of the state.
(i))) (11) It is unlawful to retain any species of shellfish, except that it is permissible to:
(a) Retain up to 50 pounds round weight of other shrimp species taken incidentally in the ocean pink shrimp fishery; and
(b) Retain octopus or squid.
(12) A violation of subsections (9) through (11) of this section is punishable under RCW 77.15.550, Violation of commercial fishing area or time -- Penalty.
License
(13) An ocean pink shrimp delivery license is ((the
license)) required to operate the gear provided for in this
section, and it allows the operator to retain shrimp taken in
the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone.
(((2) Fisheries for shrimp species other than ocean pink
shrimp or ocean spot shrimp: Species other than ocean pink
shrimp and ocean spot shrimp may only be taken incidentally to
the ocean pink shrimp and ocean spot shrimp fisheries.)) A
violation of this subsection is punishable under RCW 77.15.500, Commercial fishing without a license -- Penalty.
Permit
(14) It is unlawful to fish for, retain, land, or deliver
shrimp taken with trawl gear without a valid shrimp trawl
fishery permit.
(15) It is unlawful to take, retain, land, or deliver any shrimp or groundfish taken with trawl gear without complying with all provisions of a shrimp trawl fishery permit.
(16) A violation of subsection (14) or (15) of this section is punishable under RCW 77.15.750.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. 03-05-060 (Order 03-30), § 220-52-050, filed 2/18/03, effective 3/21/03; 00-17-145 (Order 00-165), § 220-52-050, filed 8/22/00, effective 9/22/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 99-01-154 (Order 98-257), § 220-52-050, filed 12/22/98, effective 1/22/99; 94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-52-050, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; 93-15-051, § 220-52-050, filed 7/14/93, effective 8/14/93; 87-23-006 (Order 87-187), § 220-52-050, filed 11/6/87; 84-08-014 (Order 84-24), § 220-52-050, filed 3/27/84; 83-04-025 (Order 83-04), § 220-52-050, filed 1/27/83; 82-03-045 (Order 82-6), § 220-52-050, filed 1/19/82; 80-13-064 (Order 80-123), § 220-52-050, filed 9/17/80; 79-02-053 (Order 79-6), § 220-52-050, filed 1/30/79; Order 76-152, § 220-52-050, filed 12/17/76; Order 76-26, § 220-52-050, filed 1:45 p.m., 4/20/76; Order 1242, § 220-52-050, filed 8/7/75, effective 9/16/75; Order 1179, § 220-52-050, filed 11/19/74; Order 1112, § 220-52-050, filed 4/15/74; Order 945, § 220-52-050, filed 8/16/71; Order 807, § 220-52-050, filed 1/2/69, effective 2/1/69; subsections 1, 5, 6 from Orders 414 and 256, filed 3/1/60; subsection 2 from Orders 420 and 256, filed 3/1/60; subsection 3 from Order 525, filed 5/3/61; Orders 414 and 256, filed 3/1/60; subsection 7 from Order 525, filed 5/3/61.]