WSR 16-21-014
EMERGENCY RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
FISH AND WILDLIFE
[Order 16-275-Filed October 7, 2016, 12:06 p.m., effective October 10, 2016]
Effective Date of Rule: October 10, 2016.
Purpose: Amend commercial sea cucumber fishing rules.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 220-52-071.
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: This emergency rule is needed to reopen Sea Cucumber District 1 because harvestable surpluses of sea cucumbers exist to allow for commercial harvest. 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Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 1, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.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: October 7, 2016.
J. W. Unsworth
Director
NEW SECTION
WAC 220-52-07100V Sea cucumbers
Notwithstanding the provisions of WAC 220-52-071, effective October 10, 2016, it is unlawful to take or possess sea cucumbers taken for commercial purposes except in the marine fish-shellfish catch reporting areas provided for in this section:
(1) Sea cucumber harvest using shellfish diver gear is allowed in the following areas of Sea Cucumber District 1 Monday through Friday of each week: 20A and B, 21A and B, and 22A and B.
(2) Sea cucumber harvest using shellfish diver gear is allowed in the following areas of Sea Cucumber District 3 Monday through Friday of each week: 26A and 24A, B, C, and D, provided that a designated representative of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is on board the vessel during harvest.
(3) The maximum cumulative landing of sea cucumbers for each weekly fishery opening period is 1,200 pounds per valid designated sea cucumber harvest license. It is permissible for all or any fraction of the maximum 1,200 pound total to be harvested during any legal harvest date within any legal harvest area so long as the cumulative total for the fishery week does not exceed the maximum.
