Washington Administrative Code

"Hardshell clam" means all clams classified as shellfish under WAC 220-320-010 except geoduck clams, horse clams, and mud or softshell clams.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-05-112 (Order 17-04), amended and recodified as…

"Razor clam beds" are defined as that portion of Pacific Ocean beaches westerly of a line 150 feet waterward of the extreme upper limit of the hard sand area. The detached Willapa Bay Spits that are north of Leadbetter Channel, west of Ellen Sands and south of the Willapa Ship Ch…

"Shellfish pot" shall be defined as a movable trap with one or more entrance tunnels used to entrap shellfish in a live condition.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-05-112 (Order 17-04), recodified as § 220-320-040, filed 2…

A soft-shelled crab is defined as a crab whose shell, including shell covering of the legs, is not fully hardened and said shell is flexible and depresses to digital pressure.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-05-112 (Order…

(1) It is unlawful to drive or operate any motor-propelled vehicle, land any airplane or ride or lead any horse on the razor clam beds of the state of Washington, as defined in WAC 220-320-030. A violation of this subsection shall be punished as an infraction.(2) It is unlawful t…

(1) Marine Area 7 South: The portion of Marine Area 7 south of a line from Biz Point on Fidalgo Island to Cape Saint Mary on Lopez Island, then south of a line from Davis Point on Lopez Island to Cattle Point on San Juan Island, then south of a line projected due west from Lime K…

(1) It is unlawful to take or possess soft-shelled crab for any purpose. Violation of this subsection is punishable under RCW 77.15.160 or 77.15.550, depending on whether the crab was taken for personal use or commercial purposes.(2) It is unlawful for any person to take or posse…

For purposes of crab harvest management, Puget Sound commercial crab uses a hierarchy of geographical management units consisting of region, subregion, Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area (catch area), and subarea. This section defines these units.(1) The fo…

The following areas shall be defined as Puget Sound Crustacean (crab and shrimp) Special Management Areas (CSMA):(1) Discovery Bay:(a) Crustacean Special Management Area: All waters of Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area 25E - Discovery Bay south of a line f…

The areas described below are set aside for experimental purposes for the department's razor clam research project. As need arises, the department will close specific sections of these areas to public use for project or experimental purposes.(1) Long Beach: From a point beginning…

Puget Sound commercial shrimp harvest management utilizes a hierarchy of geographical management units consisting of region, subregion, Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Area (catch area), and subarea. This section defines these units.(1) The following areas ar…

It is unlawful for any one person to possess more than one daily limit of fresh shellfish while in the field or in transit. Additional shellfish may be possessed in a frozen or processed form. It is unlawful for any one person to take more than the following quantities of shellfi…

General gear requirements:(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess crab, shrimp, and crawfish except by hand or with hand dip nets, ring nets, shellfish pots, or any hand-operated, nonmechanized instrument. It is unlawful to harvest shellfish in any manner that penetrates…

(1) It is unlawful to fish for or possess crab taken for personal use from Puget Sound except during the following seasons:(a) Marine Area 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, and Marine Areas 5, 6, 8-1, 8-2, 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13: Open 7:00 a.m., July 1 through Labor Day, Thursda…

It is unlawful to fish for or possess shrimp taken for personal use from the following areas, except as otherwise provided in this section:(1) It is unlawful to fish for or possess shrimp taken for personal use in Marine Area 4 east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line and Marine Areas 5,…

It is unlawful to fish for personal use for crawfish, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, goose barnacles, and scallops except in the following areas and seasons:(1) Crawfish: Open in all waters from the first Monday in May through October 31.(2) Sea cucumbers: Open July 1 through the la…

It is lawful to take, dig for, and possess clams and mussels for personal use from public tidelands year-round, except the following restrictions apply to the public tidelands at the beaches listed below:(1) Ala Spit: All public tidelands of Ala Spit are open May 1 through May 31…

It is unlawful to take, dig for, fish for, or possess clams, oysters, mussels, scallops, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, squid, or octopus for personal use, except using gear outlined in the following subsections:(1) Clams (excluding razor clams and geoducks): By hand or with hand-op…

It is lawful to take and possess oysters for personal use from public tidelands year-round except the following restrictions apply to the public tidelands at the beaches listed below:(1) Ala Spit: All public tidelands of Ala Spit open May 1 through May 31 only.(2) Alki Park: Clos…

Provisions of this chapter do not apply where oysters, clams (excluding razor clams), or mussels, are taken or possessed for personal use only, by private tideland owners and lessees and immediate family members of the owners or lessees of state tidelands, from their own private …

(1) The following areas are defined as razor clam areas:(a) "Razor Clam Area 1" includes the tidelands and waters of the Pacific Ocean and Willapa Bay between Cape Disappointment and Toke Point, not including the beaches within the Shoalwater Bay Indian Reservation or those tidel…

(1) It is unlawful to return any razor clams to the beach or water regardless of size or condition, and all razor clams taken for personal use must be retained by the digger as a part of his or her daily limit.(2) It is unlawful to drive or operate any motor-propelled vehicle, la…

(1) "Puget Sound" means Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas 20A, 20B, 21A, 21B, 22A, 22B, 23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 24A, 24B, 24C, 25A, 25B, 25C, 25D, 25E, 26A, 26B, 26C, 26D, 27A, 27B, 27C, 28A, 28B, 28C, 28D, and 29.(2) "Grays Harbor" means Marine Fish-Shellfis…

(1) It is unlawful to take oysters or clams for commercial purposes from tidelands reserved for public use unless authorized by a permit issued by the director.(2) It is unlawful to take shellfish for commercial purposes from state oyster reserves without permission of the direct…

(1) Logbook requirement: It is unlawful for any vessel operator engaged in the commercial harvest of crawfish, sea cucumber, sea urchin, scallop, shrimp, or squid to fail to obtain and accurately and completely maintain the appropriate harvest log available from the Washington de…

It shall be unlawful for any person commercially fishing for shellfish in Washington state waters or delivering shellfish into a Washington state port that were taken in offshore waters to retain for personal use more than the equivalent of one daily sport bag limit for the area …

It shall be unlawful to import, ship or otherwise cause live shellfish of any kind or form or associated pest, predators or disease organisms, to be introduced into the waters of the state of Washington without first obtaining written permission from the director or the director'…

It is unlawful to fish for or possess crab, shrimp, or crawfish taken for commercial purposes with shellfish pot gear unless the gear allows for escapement using at least one of the following methods:(1) Attachment of pot lid hooks or tiedown straps with a single strand or loop o…

(1) The following information is required to apply for or renew a geoduck diver license:(a) A complete, legible, and signed application form;(b) The application and license fees as provided in RCW 77.65.440;(i) Applicants renewing a geoduck diver license must submit the completed…

It is unlawful to take, dig for, or possess clams, geoducks, or mussels taken for commercial purposes from any of the tidelands in the state of Washington except with a pick, mattock, fork or shovel operated by hand, except:(1) Permits for the use of mechanical clam digging devic…

It shall be unlawful to take, dig for or possess clams except razor clams, cockles, borers or mussels taken for commercial purposes from the tidelands of the state of Washington except from registered aquaculture farms or from nonstate tidelands under a nonstate lands commercial …

(1)(a) It shall be lawful to take, dig for or possess clams, cockles, borers and mussels taken for commercial purposes, not including razor clams, from the tidelands of registered aquaculture farms in Grays Harbor and Willapa Harbor the entire year.(b) Licensing: No fishery licen…

All waters, tidelands, shellfish handling facilities and equipment (including aquaculture vehicles and vessels) operated in conjunction with said waters and tidelands of Puget Sound within the following areas are designated as Oyster Drill Restricted Shellfish Areas:North Puget S…

All waters, tidelands, shellfish handling facilities and equipment (including aquaculture vehicles and vessels) operated in conjunction with said waters and tidelands of Willapa Bay inside and easterly of a line projected from the most northern tip of Leadbetter Point true north …

(1) It shall be unlawful to transfer shellfish, shellfish aquaculture products (including oyster seed, cultch and shell), aquaculture equipment (including aquaculture vehicles and vessels) or any marine organisms adversely affecting shellfish without first obtaining written permi…

An area where Mikrocytos mackini, the causative agent of Denman Island Disease, has been confirmed with department approved histological methods by a department approved shellfish pathologist or reported in peer-reviewed scientific journal and accepted by the department. All wate…

All waters, embayments, sloughs, tidelands, shellfish handling facilities and equipment within the following are designated as European Green Crab Restricted Shellfish Areas:(1) Coastal waters: From west of a line projected true north-south through Buoy 10 located between the nor…

(1) Sales of oysters or clams from state oyster reserves in excess of 50 bushels must occur by bid at public auction.(2) The department must publish notice of a sale of over 50 bushels of oysters or clams from state oyster reserves in one newspaper of general circulation in the a…

All harvesting of oysters shall take place under the supervision of the director or his authorized agent, and such harvesting shall be accomplished only at such times and in such areas as may be specified in writing by such authorized agent of the director, or by the director.[St…

(1) Oyster harvest from state reserves must occur under the supervision of authorized department personnel. Harvest from state reserves may only occur as specified in writing in the department contract with the harvester.(2) Purchasers must contact department personnel to measure…

(1) The department issues invoices for loads of oysters or clams leaving state reserves in triplicate. Invoices must show the number of bushels or pounds in each load of oysters or clams. The department agent must retain a copy of the invoice, give one copy to the buyer, and forw…

An organized oyster growers' association may, at the association's expense, appoint a representative to be present during purchases of oysters or clams from state oyster reserves. The representative will have access to the department's boat and all records pertaining to those sta…

(1) It is unlawful for purchasers of oysters or clams from state oyster reserves to remove any oysters or clams from any state oyster reserve without first obtaining an oyster reserve license from the department as required by RCW 77.65.260.(2) A violation of this section is a gr…

The department may limit the number of bushels of oysters or pounds of clams sold to an oyster reserve licensee. The department may also limit the number of dredges operated by a licensee.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-…

(1) Sale of oysters from the state oyster reserves to registered oyster farmers for broodstock purposes in amounts of 50 bushels or less may occur at a price established by the director that accounts for costs associated with the sale. However, the director's established price ca…

It is unlawful to violate any of the provisions of this chapter.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-05-112 (Order 17-04), recodified as § 220-340-280, filed 2/15/17, effective 3/18/17. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. WSR…

(1) It is unlawful to use any gear other than a manually operated water jet with a nozzle 5/8 of an inch or less inside diameter to commercially harvest geoducks, unless a permit to use other gear is first obtained from the director.(2) It is unlawful for through-hull fittings fo…

(1) It is unlawful to commercially harvest geoducks unless the harvester possesses a valid, director-issued geoduck fishery license or geoduck diver license. A geoduck fishery license card is a "license card" under WAC 220-352-210.(2) Only persons holding current geoduck harvest …

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess geoduck clams taken for commercial purposes from the substrate of any Washington state waters except as provided by RCW 77.60.070 and department rule.(2) It is unlawful to engage in geoduck harvesting operations unless the followin…

(1) It is unlawful to harvest geoducks for commercial purposes during the following time and day restrictions:(a) Between one-half hour before official sunset or 7:00 p.m., whichever is earlier, and 7:00 a.m.(b) It is unlawful for a geoduck harvest vessel to be on a geoduck tract…