Section 220-47-301. Puget Sound—Lawful gear—Purse seine.

(1) Lawful purse seine salmon nets in Puget Sound must not exceed 1,800 feet in length along the cork line while wet, and purse seine and lead combined must not exceed 2,200 feet. Neither type can contain meshes of a size less than 3-1/2 inches. Meshes of the seine and lead cannot be lashed together to form one continuous piece of webbed gear. A person may have, as part of the purse seine, a bunt not more than 10 fathoms long. However, the mesh size must not be less than 3-1/2 inches.

(2) It is unlawful to take or fish for salmon in Puget Sound with purse seine gear that contains mesh webbing constructed of a twine-size smaller than 210/30d nylon, 12-thread cotton, or the equivalent diameter in any other material.

(3) It is unlawful for any purse seine vessel to carry an extra lead or portion thereof unless stowed below decks during the fishing operation. It is also unlawful to carry an extra lead or portion thereof aboard the skiff of the purse seine vessel.

(4) Purse seine mesh size is defined as the distance between the inside of one knot to the outside of the opposite vertical knot of one mesh. Minimum mesh size is met if a wedge of legal size can be passed without undue force through the mesh while the mesh is wet.

(5) A purse seine is not considered to be fishing once both ends of the seine are attached to the primary vessel.

(6) It is unlawful to take or fish for salmon with purse seine gear in Puget Sound unless at least four sections, each measuring no less than 12 inches in length along the cork line in the bunt, and within 75 fathoms of the bunt, have no corks or floats attached. These four sections must be spaced such that one section is along the cork line in the bunt, within 5 fathoms of the seine net, and the other three sections are spaced at least 20 fathoms apart along the cork line within 75 fathoms of the bunt.

(7) When brailing is required, it is unlawful to take or fish for salmon with purse seine gear unless the purse seine vessel has aboard and uses operable recovery boxes as described in this subsection.

(a) Dimensions and capacities of required recovery boxes:

(i) Recovery boxes must have two chambers per box if one box is used, or one chamber per box if two boxes are used.

(ii) Each recovery box chamber must have an inside length measurement of 48 inches, an inside width measurement of 10 inches, and an inside height measurement of 16 inches.

(iii) Each chamber of the recovery box must have an inlet hole measuring between 3/4 inch and 1 inch in diameter. The inlet hole must be centered horizontally across the door or wall of the chamber, and the bottom of the hole must be located 1-3/4 inches above the floor of the chamber.

(iv) Each chamber of the recovery box must include a water outlet hole on the opposite wall from the inlet hole, and the outlet hole must be at least 1-1/2 inches in diameter, with the bottom of the outlet hole located 12 inches above the floor of the chamber.

(v) Flow of water through each chamber of the recovery boxes must be not less than 16 gallons per minute, nor more than 20 gallons per minute.

(b) Each box and chamber must be operating during any time that the net is in the water.

(c) The vessel operator must demonstrate to department employees, upon request, that the pumping system is delivering the proper volume of fresh seawater into each chamber.

(d) All salmon that will not be retained must be released immediately with care and with the least possible injury to the fish, or placed into the operating recovery box.

(e) Any fish that is bleeding or lethargic must be placed in the recovery box prior to being released.

(f) All fish placed in the recovery boxes must be released within the same catch area as the area of capture, and the release must occur prior to landing or docking.

(8) It is unlawful to fish for salmon with purse seine gear in Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas 7 and 7A unless the vessel operator has attended a "Fish Friendly" best fishing practices workshop and is in immediate possession of a department-issued certification card.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047 and 77.04.020. WSR 08-15-031 (Order 08-167), § 220-47-301, filed 7/8/08, effective 8/8/08. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. WSR 04-16-125 (Order 04-202), § 220-47-301, filed 8/4/04, effective 9/4/04; WSR 03-05-076 (Order 03-34), § 220-47-301, filed 2/18/03, effective 3/21/03; WSR 01-07-015 (Order 01-32), § 220-47-301, filed 3/13/01, effective 4/13/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. WSR 97-16-030 (Order 97-124), § 220-47-301, filed 7/29/97, effective 8/29/97; WSR 87-15-059 (Order 87-72), § 220-47-301, filed 7/14/87; WSR 86-13-038 (Order 86-46), § 220-47-301, filed 6/12/86; Order 988, § 220-47-301, filed 4/28/72.]

RCW 77.12.047 and 77.04.020. WSR 08-15-031 (Order 08-167), § 220-47-301, filed 7/8/08, effective 8/8/08. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. WSR 04-16-125 (Order 04-202), § 220-47-301, filed 8/4/04, effective 9/4/04; WSR 03-05-076 (Order 03-34), § 220-47-301, filed 2/18/03, effective 3/21/03; WSR 01-07-015 (Order 01-32), § 220-47-301, filed 3/13/01, effective 4/13/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. WSR 97-16-030 (Order 97-124), § 220-47-301, filed 7/29/97, effective 8/29/97; WSR 87-15-059 (Order 87-72), § 220-47-301, filed 7/14/87; WSR 86-13-038 (Order 86-46), § 220-47-301, filed 6/12/86; Order 988, § 220-47-301, filed 4/28/72.