WSR 21-08-066
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 21-46—Filed April 5, 2021, 4:30 p.m., effective April 7, 2021]
Effective Date of Rule: April 7, 2021.
Purpose: The purpose of this emergency rule is to open a recreational steelhead fishery at the Ringold Springs Hatchery access area.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 220-312-06000E; and amending WAC 220-312-060.
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 steelhead fishery in the Hanford Reach was closed for the 2020/2021 fishery as a result of low expected returns. Ringold Springs Hatchery has completed broodstock collection for 2021. Sufficient broodstock has been collected through a combination of volunteer trap operations and surplus adults supplied by Wells Hatchery. A total of three hundred thousand fertilized eggs were needed at Ringold Springs Hatchery this spring to meet the production of one hundred eighty thousand juvenile steelhead scheduled for release in 2022. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 1.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: April 5, 2021.
Kelly Susewind
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-312-06000KFreshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Columbia River.
Effective April 7 through April 15, 2021, the provisions of WAC 220-312-060 regarding recreational steelhead seasons at the Ringold Springs Hatchery access area, shall be as described below. All other provisions of WAC 220-312-060 not addressed herein remain in effect unless otherwise amended by emergency rule:
From WDFW markers 1/4 mile downstream of the Ringold Wasteway outlet to 1/2 mile upstream of Ringold Springs Hatchery Creek: Steelhead:
(a) Daily limit 2. Steelhead must be both adipose fin clipped and ventral fin clipped to be retained, release all other steelhead.
(b) Bank angling only from the hatchery side of the river only. (Ringold Springs Hatchery access area). Angling from a vessel is prohibited.
Reviser's note: The typographical error in the above section occurred in the copy filed by the agency and appears in the Register pursuant to the requirements of RCW 34.08.040. REPEALER
The following section of Washington Administrative Code is repealed, effective April 7, 2021:
WAC 220-312-06000E | Freshwater exceptions to statewide rules—Columbia River. (20-261) |