Section 220-16-015. General definitions—Trawl gear.

(1) "Otter trawl" shall be defined as a cone or funnel-shaped net which is towed or drawn through the water by one or two vessels. Otter trawl nets may be used both on and off the seabed. Otter trawl nets may be fished with or without trawl doors, and may employ warps or cables to direct fish. Otter trawl nets are restricted to the following three categories:

(a) "Bottom trawl" means an otter trawl in which the otter boards or the footrope of the net contact the seabed, and includes Danish and Scottish seine gear.

(b) "Roller trawl" or "bobbin trawl" are identical, and mean an otter trawl with footropes equipped with rollers or bobbins made of wood, steel, rubber, plastic, or other hard material which protects the net during fishing on the seabed.

(c) "Pelagic trawl" means an otter trawl in which the otter boards may be in contact with the seabed but the footrope of the net remains above the seabed. Pelagic trawl nets may not have footropes protected at the trawl mouth with rollers, bobbins, or discs.

(2) "Beam trawl" shall be defined as a type of bottom trawl, consisting of a bag-shaped trawl net utilizing a beam to spread the mouth of the net horizontally as it is towed and not having weighted otter frames or otter doors. The minimum mesh size for beam trawl nets is four and one-half inches in a food fish fishery and one and one-half inches in a shrimp fishery, unless otherwise provided.

(3) "Shrimp trawl" shall be defined as a tapered, funnel-shaped trawl net in which the mesh size is two inches or less in the intermediate and codend sections of the trawl. Otter doors, otter boards, or a beam may be used to spread the mouth of the net horizontally as it is towed. The mouth of the net is formed on the upper edge by a line to which floats are attached (headrope) and on the lower edge by a line which is usually weighted (footrope). Additional webbing is frequently attached to the codend section to prevent the net from chafing.

(4) "Scallop dredge" shall be defined as trawl gear with a leading rigid frame opening with a trailing bag of metal rings or net mesh, which is legal gear for harvest of scallops.

(5) "Codend" shall be defined as the terminal, closed end of a trawl net.

(a) Single-walled codend is a codend constructed of a single wall of webbing knitted with single-ply mesh, or with double-ply mesh (double twine tied into a single knot).

(b) Double-walled codend is a codend constructed of two walls of webbing. The double-walled portion of the codend must be tied knot-to-knot to the trawl net, and may not be longer than twenty-five trawl meshes or twelve feet, whichever is greater. The use of double-walled codends is unlawful in pelagic trawls, roller trawls, and bobbin trawls.

(6) "Chafing gear" shall be defined as webbing or other material attached to the bottom (underside) or around the codend of a trawl net to protect the codend from wear. Chafing gear must not be connected to the terminal (closed) end of the codend.

(7) "Trawl riblines" shall be defined as heavy ropes or lines that run down the sides, top or underside of a trawl net from the mouth of the net to the terminal end of the codend to strengthen the net during fishing.

(8) "Trawl mesh size" shall be defined as the distance between the inside of one knot and the inside of the opposite vertical knot in trawl mesh. Minimum trawl mesh size requirements are met if a wedge of legal size can be passed without undue force through sixteen of twenty sets of two meshes each of wet mesh in the codend.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. WSR 94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-16-015, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; WSR 93-15-051, § 220-16-015, filed 7/14/93, effective 8/14/93; WSR 82-14-056 (Order 82-72), § 220-16-015, filed 7/1/82; Order 810, § 220-16-015, filed 4/17/69. Formerly WAC 220-16-010 (part).]

RCW 75.08.080. WSR 94-12-009 (Order 94-23), § 220-16-015, filed 5/19/94, effective 6/19/94; WSR 93-15-051, § 220-16-015, filed 7/14/93, effective 8/14/93; WSR 82-14-056 (Order 82-72), § 220-16-015, filed 7/1/82; Order 810, § 220-16-015, filed 4/17/69. Formerly WAC 220-16-010 (part).