WAC 220-44-050
Coastal bottomfish catch limits. (1)(a)
It is unlawful to possess, transport through the waters of the
state, or land in any Washington state port, bottomfish taken
in excess of the amounts or less than the minimum or maximum
sizes, or in violation of any of the possession, landing, or
sorting requirements published in the Code of Federal
Regulations (CFR), Title 50, Part 660, Subpart G. These
federal regulations provide the requirements for commercial
groundfish fishing in the Pacific Ocean. Additional
regulations may be enacted and listed in the Federal Register,
and these regulations override those in the CFR if there are
any inconsistencies between the two. Therefore, persons must
consult these federal regulations, which chapter 220-44 WAC
incorporates by reference and is based on, in part. Where
rules refer to the fishery management area, that area is
extended to include Washington state waters coterminous with
the Exclusive Economic Zone. A copy of the federal rules may
be obtained by contacting Lori Preuss at 360-902-2930, or the
internet at www.pcouncil.org. State regulations may apply
that are more restrictive than federal regulations.
(b) Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
(2)(a) It is unlawful to possess, transport through the
waters of the state, or land into any Washington port, walleye
pollock taken with trawl gear from Marine Fish-Shellfish
Management and Catch Reporting Areas 58B, 59A-1, 59A-2, 59B,
60A-1, 60A-2, 61, 62, or 63, except by trawl vessels
participating in the directed Pacific whiting fishery and the
directed coastal groundfish fishery.
(b) Violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
(3)(a) It is unlawful for trawl vessels participating in
the directed Pacific whiting and/or the directed coastal
groundfish fishery to land incidental catches of walleye
pollock greater than forty percent of their total landing by
weight, not to exceed ten thousand pounds.
(b) Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
(4)(a) It is unlawful for an original receiver to receive
whiting and whiting by-catch under the authority of an
exempted fishing permit (EFP) issued by NMFS through the
department, unless the original receiver has entered into a
signed agreement with the department specifying the
responsibilities of the original receiver in conjunction with
the whiting EFP fishery. Failure to comply with the terms of
the agreement shall be cause to remove the original receiver
from the list of original receivers allowed to receive
unsorted whiting catches from EFP vessels.
(b) Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
(5)(a) It is unlawful to land thresher shark taken by any
means from state and offshore waters of the Pacific Ocean
north of the Washington-Oregon boundary and south of the
United States-Canada boundary. It is unlawful to land
thresher shark taken south of the Washington-Oregon boundary
unless each thresher shark landed is accompanied by a minimum
of two swordfish.
(b) Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
(6)(a) It is unlawful to take salmon incidental to any
lawful bottomfish fishery.
(b) Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
(7)(a) It is unlawful to retain sturgeon species, other
than white sturgeon, taken incidental to any lawful bottomfish
fishery. White sturgeon may be taken as long as the fisher
complies with minimum and maximum size restrictions for
commercial fisheries.
(b) Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
(8)(a) It is unlawful to retain any species of shellfish
taken incidental to any lawful bottomfish fishery, except that
it is lawful to retain octopus and squid.
(b) Violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor,
punishable under RCW 77.15.550.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. 07-23-002 (Order
07-279), § 220-44-050, filed 11/7/07, effective 12/8/07;
03-05-078 (Order 03-31), § 220-44-050, filed 2/18/03,
effective 3/21/03; 02-02-051 (Order 01-288), § 220-44-050,
filed 12/27/01, effective 1/27/02; 01-13-002 (Order 01-103), §
220-44-050, filed 6/6/01, effective 7/7/01. Statutory
Authority: 2000 c 107 § 7. 00-16-033 (Order 00-124), §
220-44-050, filed 7/24/00, effective 8/24/00. Statutory
Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 98-15-033 (Order 98-121), §
220-44-050, filed 7/7/98, effective 8/7/98; 98-05-043, §
220-44-050, filed 2/11/98, effective 3/14/98; 96-11-055 (Order
96-43), § 220-44-050, filed 5/9/96, effective 6/9/96;
95-08-069 (Order 95-29), § 220-44-050, filed 4/4/95, effective
5/5/95; 94-13-077 (Order 94-51), § 220-44-050, filed 6/10/94,
effective 7/11/94; 93-07-093 (Order 93-16), § 220-44-050,
filed 3/22/93, effective 4/22/93; 92-07-008 (Order 97-07), §
220-44-050, filed 3/6/92, effective 4/16/92; 91-07-050 (Order
91-12), § 220-44-050, filed 3/18/91, effective 4/18/91;
90-13-108 (Order 90-26), § 220-44-050, filed 6/21/90,
effective 7/22/90. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.070 and 75.08.080. 89-14-069 (Order 89-54), § 220-44-050, filed
6/30/89; 89-06-030 (Order 89-07), § 220-44-050, filed 2/24/89;
88-14-020 (Order 88-42), § 220-44-050, filed 6/28/88. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 87-07-042 (Order 87-17),
§ 220-44-050, filed 3/16/87; 86-12-027 (Order 86-39), §
220-44-050, filed 5/28/86. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.070 and 75.08.080. 85-07-022 (Order 85-17), §
220-44-050, filed 3/13/85. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 84-08-014 (Order 84-24), § 220-44-050, filed
3/27/84; 83-17-030 (Order 83-88), § 220-44-050, filed 8/10/83;
83-10-016 (Order 83-31), § 220-44-050, filed 4/26/83.]