WAC 220-47-302   Puget Sound -- Lawful gear -- Gill net.  (1) It is unlawful to use drift gill net salmon gear in Puget Sound that exceeds 1,800 feet in length or contains meshes of a size less than 5 inches, except in Area 9A, where gill nets may not exceed 600 feet in length, or be more than 60 mesh deep, or contain mesh size less than 5 inches.

     (2) It is unlawful to use skiff gill net salmon nets in Puget Sound that exceed 300 feet in length or 90 meshes in depth, or that contain meshes of a size less than 5 inches, except in Area 9A, where gill nets may not exceed 600 feet in length, or be more than 60 meshes deep, or contain mesh size less than 5 inches. It is unlawful to retrieve skiff gill nets by any means except by hand (no hydraulics may be used). It is unlawful to fail to attend to skiff gill nets at all times.

     (3) Drift gill nets and skiff gill nets shall be operated substantially in a straight line. It is unlawful to set such nets in a circle or to set them in other than a substantially straight line.

     (4) It is unlawful to take or fish for salmon with gill net gear in Areas 7 or 7A sockeye or pink salmon fisheries unless said gill net gear is constructed so that the first 20 meshes below the cork line are composed of five-inch mesh, white opaque, minimum 210/30d (#12) diameter, nylon twine.

     (5) It is unlawful to take or fish for salmon with gill net gear in Areas 7 or 7A between the dates of September 30 and October 20 unless the gill net 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, if one box, or one chamber in each box, if two boxes.

     (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 being retrieved or picked.

     (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 not to 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.

     (6) It is unlawful to fish for salmon with gill net gear in Areas 7 and 7A unless the vessel operator has attended a "Fish Friendly" best fishing practices workshop and is in possession of a department-issued certification card.



[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047 and 77.04.020. 07-20-006, § 220-47-302, filed 9/20/07, effective 10/21/07. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. 06-16-045 (Order 06-173), § 220-47-302, filed 7/26/06, effective 8/26/06; 05-17-002 (Order 05-166), § 220-47-302, filed 8/3/05, effective 9/3/05; 04-16-125 (Order 04-202), § 220-47-302, filed 8/4/04, effective 9/4/04; 03-18-005 (Order 03-210), § 220-47-302, filed 8/20/03, effective 9/20/03. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. 99-24-011 (99-202), § 220-47-302, filed 11/19/99, effective 12/20/99; 97-16-030 (Order 97-124), § 220-47-302, filed 7/29/97, effective 8/29/97; 93-14-041 (Order 93-55), § 220-47-302, filed 6/29/93, effective 7/30/93; 92-15-105 (Order 92-47), § 220-47-302, filed 7/20/92, effective 8/20/92; Order 988, § 220-47-302, filed 4/28/72.]