(1) For the purpose of this section, "registration and limited participation salmon net fishery" refers to any of the following commercial gillnet and purse seine fisheries:
(a) Catch Reporting Area 10 pink (odd-years only).
(b) Catch Reporting Area 7/7A sockeye (every year) and pink (odd-years only).
(c) Catch Reporting Areas 10/11 and 12/12B/12C chum.
(2) Authorization of registration and limited participation fisheries.
(a) The director may authorize a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery when a harvestable number of salmon is determined to be available, but unknown participation or full-fleet participation fishing effort presents risk of:
(i) Exceeding the available harvest; or
(ii) Compromising other specific management objectives.
(b) The director may authorize a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery for purposes including, but not limited to:
(i) Experimental or developmental fisheries;
(ii) Fisheries necessary to refine run size data;
(iii) Fisheries necessary to provide biological information; and
(iv) Other specific management objectives have been identified including, but not limited to, the following:
(A) Reducing levels of incidental catch of wild salmon stocks and reducing incidental catch of nontarget salmon species originating from regions other than the fishing area;
(B) There is a reasonable expectation that foregone opportunity will be claimed, and the harvestable surplus cannot be carried forward to the next year of harvest; and
(C) Full-fleet participation, even with time, space, or gear restrictions, may exceed the harvest bounds and conservation goals.
(c) When setting effort and catch limits for registration and limited participation salmon net fisheries, historic catch sharing ratios between license types will be considered.
(d) Agreement to participate in an authorized registration and limited participation salmon net fishery may require a department observer on board a participating vessel, per RCW 77.12.071.
(3) Definitions:
(a) "License holder(s)" include owners of license types identified in RCW 77.65.160, and the primary and alternate operators associated with that license.
(b) "Active license" means a current Puget Sound commercial salmon license that has been renewed and activated for the current year through the department's commercial licensing program, for which the license holder has received an imprint card with the license number, a designated registered vessel ID or name, and a designated primary operator.
(c) "Limited fishery opening" means a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery opening in which catch or effort limits are authorized by the director.
(d) "Priority registration list" means the department's official list of gillnet and purse seine license holders eligible to participate in and receive in-season commercial salmon applications for each registration and limited participation salmon net fishery.
(e) "On-time application" means a preseason commercial salmon application submitted on or before the applicable fishery deadline.
(f) A "late application" means a preseason commercial salmon application submitted after the applicable fishery deadline.
(g) "Processing period" means the five-business day period that begins on the date and time a late preseason commercial salmon application is received by the department, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and Washington state holidays as established under RCW 1.16.050.
(h) "Response window" means the period of time specified by the department, which a license holder must submit a primary or secondary in-season commercial salmon application. The response window and applicable management week shall be communicated to the license holder at the time the application is issued.
(4) Preseason commercial salmon application process:
(a) A license holder is required to submit a preseason commercial salmon application to be eligible for any registration and limited participation salmon net fishery. A single preseason commercial salmon application covers all fisheries for that gear type and license number.
(b) Preseason commercial salmon application requirements. License holders are required to submit a preseason commercial salmon application that includes the following:
(i) A selection of one gear type: Gillnet or purse seine.
(ii) A valid Puget Sound commercial salmon license number.
(iii) A valid license holder name (first and last).
(iv) A valid mailing address.
(v) At least one valid email address.
(vi) At least one valid phone number that can receive standard text messages.
(c) Preseason commercial salmon application deadlines:
(i) Catch Reporting Area 7/7A sockeye (every year) and pink (odd-years only) - Third Monday of July.
(ii) Catch Reporting Area 10 pink (odd-years only) - Third Monday of July.
(iii) Catch Reporting Areas 10/11 and 12/12B/12C fall chum - Second Monday of September.
(5) Registration lists:
(a) Each year, the department shall generate a randomly ordered priority registration list for each individual gillnet and purse seine registration and limited participation salmon net fishery using all preseason commercial salmon applications that were submitted on-time.
(b) For priority registration lists:
(i) On-time applications are randomly ordered by computer program for each applicable fishery.
(ii) Late applications are subject to a processing period and placed at the bottom of the priority registration list in order of receipt.
(c) Registration lists for each individual registration and limited participation salmon net fishery will be posted publicly on the department web page prior to the fishery seasons.
(6) In-season commercial salmon application process:
(a) Primary in-season commercial salmon application: The department shall issue a primary in-season commercial salmon application to each license holder on the applicable registration lists for every management week in which a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery could potentially be open.
(b) Primary in-season commercial salmon application requirements:
(i) The applicant must have submitted a valid preseason commercial salmon application and be listed on the applicable publicly posted registration list.
(ii) The applicant must possess an active license.
(iii) When one or more registration and limited participation salmon net fisheries are planned to open, the primary in-season commercial salmon application shall ask whether the license holder intends to participate in any of the applicable fisheries. The license holder shall indicate their intent to participate, and if more than one fishery is open, shall indicate their ranked fishery preference within the response window.
(iv) If a license holder's application indicates they do not intend to participate or the license holder fails to respond within the response window, the license holder is ineligible for any of the applicable fisheries.
(v) If more than one primary in-season commercial salmon application is received within the response window under the same license number, the department will accept only the most recent application received based on the date and time stamp of receipt.
(c) Determining an in-season participation list from a primary in-season application:
(i) If no fisheries are limited, then all license holders who completed a primary in-season application are eligible to participate in their first ranked fishery preference.
(ii) If one or more fisheries are designated as a limited fishery opening, then all license holders who completed a primary in-season application are eligible to receive a secondary in-season application.
(d) Determining an in-season participation list from a secondary in-season commercial application:
(i) The department will issue a secondary in-season commercial salmon application when a limited fishery opening is established.
(ii) The department will communicate the expected conditions of the limited fishery opening to all license holders that responded to the primary in-season commercial salmon application with the secondary in-season commercial salmon application.
(iii) A license holder must complete the secondary in-season commercial salmon application within the response window, or indicate they do not intend to participate in any fishery;
(iv) If the license holder's application indicates they do not intend to participate or the license holder fails to respond within the response window, the license holder is ineligible for any of the applicable fisheries.
(v) If more than one secondary in-season commercial salmon application is received within the response window under the same license number, the department will accept only the most recent application received based on the date and time stamp of receipt.
(vi) The department shall cross-reference the license holder's response against their primary in-season fishery preference ranking to determine the applicable registration and limited participation salmon net fishery assignment.
(vii) Selection for a limited fishery opening shall be determined using a two-tier system applied separately for each registration and limited participation salmon net fishery open within the same management week:
(A) Tier 1 consists of all license holders who designated the applicable fishery as their first-ranked preference in the primary in-season commercial salmon application and indicated intent to participate in that fishery in the secondary in-season commercial salmon application. The department shall select license holders from tier 1 in the priority registration list order until the effort limit is reached;
(B) Tier 2 consists of all license holders who designated the applicable fishery as a second-ranked or lower preference in the primary in-season commercial salmon application, indicated intent to participate in that area in the secondary in-season commercial salmon application, and were not selected in tier 1 for any other open fishery in the same management week. If a license holder's first-preference fishery is at capacity and they are not selected in tier 1, the department shall move that license holder to their second preferred fishery for tier 2 consideration.
(C) The department shall select license holders from tier 2 in priority registration list order to fill any remaining capacity after tier 1 selection is complete. A license holder selected in tier 1 for any fishery shall be excluded from tier 2 consideration for all other open fisheries within the same management week.
(e) Priority registration list consequences following the secondary in-season commercial salmon application:
(i) A license holder who submitted an in-season commercial salmon application and was not selected for any limited fishery opening or who indicated no intent to participate in any fishery retains their position on all applicable priority registration lists.
(ii) A license holder selected to participate in a limited fishery opening shall be moved to the bottom of the priority registration list for the fishery for which they were selected only. Their position on priority registration lists for all other fisheries is unaffected.
(iii) License holders who were selected to participate in a limited fishery opening or who fail to respond to an in-season commercial salmon application within the response window shall be moved to the bottom of the priority registration list in the same order they appeared on the prior version of the list for all the applicable fisheries.
(7) Following completion of the in-season application process for each management week, the department shall publish a final in-season participation list of vessel names and associated license numbers that have been selected from the primary or secondary in-season commercial salmon application lists.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 26-13-053 (Order 26-02), s 220-354-050, filed 6/11/26, effective 7/12/26. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 77.04.045 [ 77.04.055], and 77.12.047. WSR 25-13-088 (Order 25-02), s 220-354-050, filed 6/16/25, effective 7/17/25. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-05-112 (Order 17-04), recodified as § 220-354-050, filed 2/15/17, effective 3/18/17. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047 and 77.04.020. WSR 09-15-054 (Order 09-108), § 220-47-500, filed 7/9/09, effective 8/9/09. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. WSR 92-15-105 (Order 92-47), § 220-47-500, filed 7/20/92, effective 8/20/92; WSR 90-13-025 (Order 90-49), § 220-47-500, filed 6/11/90, effective 7/12/90.]