PERMANENT RULES
FISH AND WILDLIFE
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: Amend commercial fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-52-020 and 220-52-043.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 77.12.047.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 06-12-068 on June 5, 2006.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: August 9, 2006.
J. P. Koenings
Director
by Larry Peck
OTS-8932.1
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending Order 06-08, filed 1/22/06,
effective 2/22/06)
WAC 220-52-020
Clams -- Commercial harvest.
It shall be
unlawful to take, dig for or possess clams except razor clams,
cockles, borers or mussels taken for commercial purposes from
the tidelands of the state of Washington except from
registered aquaculture farms or from (([state-owned]))
nonstate tidelands under (([contract with or permit from the
department])) a nonstate lands commercial wild clam, mussel
and oyster trial fishery permit.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. 06-04-015 (Order 06-08), § 220-52-020, filed 1/22/06, effective 2/22/06; 03-16-099 (Order 03-176), § 220-52-020, filed 8/6/03, effective 9/6/03; 01-02-059 (Order 00-264), § 220-52-020, filed 12/29/00, effective 1/29/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-52-020, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; 91-10-024 (Order 91-22), § 220-52-020, filed 4/23/91, effective 5/24/91; 84-08-014 (Order 84-24), § 220-52-020, filed 3/27/84; Order 807, § 220-52-020, filed 1/2/69, effective 2/1/69; subsections 1 and 2 from Order 679, filed 4/20/66; subsections 1, 1a, 2 from Orders 351 and 256, filed 3/1/60; subsection 1b from Order 605, filed 4/21/64; Orders 443 and 256, filed 3/1/60.]
(2) Commercial gear escape rings and ports defined. It shall be unlawful to use or operate any shellfish pot gear in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery unless such gear meets the following requirements:
(a) Pot gear must have not less than two escape rings or ports not less than 4-1/4 inches inside diameter.
(b) Escape rings or ports described above must be located in the upper half of the trap.
(3) (([Puget Sound])) Commercial (([crab])) crab gear
(([buoy] tag[ging])) buoy tag requirements.
(a) In (([coastal waters, each] [Puget Sound, all]))
coastal waters each crab ((pot[s])) pot must have (([the
department-issued buoy tag] [a durable, nonbiodegradable tag
permanently and legibly marked with the license owner's name
or license number, and telephone number])) the
department-issued buoy tag securely attached to the (([first
buoy on the crab pot buoy line (the buoy closest to the crab
pot), and the buoy tag must be attached to the end of that
buoy, at the end away from the crab pot buoy line.] [pot. If
the tag information is illegible, or if the tag is lost for
any reason, the pot is not in compliance with law.])) first
buoy on the crab pot buoy line (the buoy closest to the crab
pot), and the buoy tag must be attached to the end of that
buoy, at the end away from the crab pot buoy line.
(b) In Puget Sound(([,])) all crab buoys must have
(([the] [a])) the buoy tag issued to the license owner by the
department attached to the outermost end of the buoy line.
(([(c)])) (c) If more than one buoy is attached to a pot,
only one buoy tag is required.
(4) Puget Sound - Description of lawful buoys. All buoys attached to commercial crab gear in Puget Sound waters must consist of a durable material and remain floating on the water's surface when five pounds of weight is attached. It is unlawful to use bleach or antifreeze bottles or any other container as a float. All buoys fished under a single license must be marked in a uniform manner using one buoy brand number registered by the license holder with the department and be of identical color or color combinations. No buoys attached to commercial crab gear in Puget Sound may be both red and white in color unless a minimum of thirty percent of the surface of each buoy is also prominently marked with an additional color or colors other than red or white, as the red and white colors are reserved for personal use crab gear as described in WAC 220-56-320 (1)(c).
(5) Commercial crab license requirements. In addition to, and separate from, all requirements in this chapter that govern the time, area, gear, and method for crab fishing, landing, possession, or delivery of crabs, no commercial crab fishing is allowed except when properly licensed. A person may take, fish for, land, or deliver crabs for commercial purposes in Washington or coastal waters only when the person has the license required by statute, or when the person is a properly designated alternative operator to a valid license. For Puget Sound, a person must have a "Dungeness crab - Puget Sound" fishery license provided by RCW 77.65.130. For coastal waters, such person must have a "Dungeness crab - Coastal" fishery license provided by RCW 77.65.130. To use ring nets instead of or in addition to pots, then the licensee must also have the "Crab ring net - Puget Sound" or "Crab ring net - non-Puget Sound" license in RCW 77.65.130. Qualifications for the limited entry licenses, requirements for designating vessels, and use of alternate operators is provided by and controlled by chapters 77.65 and 77.70 RCW.
(6) Maximum size for commercial crab pots. It is unlawful to commercially fish a crab pot greater than thirteen cubic feet in volume used to fish for or take Dungeness crab from state or offshore waters.
(7) Incidental catch may not be retained. It is unlawful to retain salmon, food fish, or any shellfish other than octopus that is taken incidental to any crab fishing.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. 06-01-013 (Order 05-275), § 220-52-043, filed 12/9/05, effective 1/9/06; 05-21-068 (Order 05-246), § 220-52-043, filed 10/14/05, effective 11/14/05; 01-18-005 (Order 01-180), § 220-52-043, filed 8/22/01, effective 9/22/01; 00-18-005 (Order 00-164), § 220-52-043, filed 8/23/00, effective 9/23/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 98-19-012 (Order 98-185), § 220-52-043, filed 9/4/98, effective 10/5/98; 94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-52-043, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; 93-15-051, § 220-52-043, filed 7/14/93, effective 8/14/93; 84-08-014 (Order 84-24), § 220-52-043, filed 3/27/84; 79-02-053 (Order 79-6), § 220-52-043, filed 1/30/79; Order 77-145, § 220-52-043, filed 12/13/77; Order 1179, § 220-52-043, filed 11/19/74; Order 807, § 220-52-043, filed 1/2/69, effective 2/1/69. Formerly WAC 220-52-040(1).]