Washington Administrative Code

"Commercial crab fishing" means any taking, fishing, use, or operation of gear to fish for crab for commercial purposes, and includes the possession of crab on the water for commercial purposes, and the landing or initial delivery of crab for commercial purposes.[Statutory Author…

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, land, or deliver crab for commercial purposes in Washington or coastal waters unless the person has the license required by statute or department rule, or if the person is a properly designated alternative operator to a valid license.(a) For …

(1) Crab size and sex restrictions. It is unlawful for any person acting for commercial purposes to take, possess, deliver, or otherwise control:(a) Any female Dungeness crab; or(b) Any male Dungeness crab measuring less than 6-1/4 inches, caliper measurement, at the widest part …

(1) Buoy tag and pot tag required.(a) It is unlawful to place in the water, pull from the water, possess on the water, or transport on the water any crab buoy or crab pot without an attached buoy tag and pot tag that meet the requirements of this section, except as provided by (b…

(1) Commercial gear limited to pots. It is unlawful to take or fish for crab for commercial purposes except with shellfish pots.(2) Commercial gear escape rings and ports defined. It is unlawful to use or operate any shellfish pot gear in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery unl…

(1) Possession of gear bearing another's crab pot tag or crab buoy tag. It is unlawful for any person to possess, use, control, or operate any crab pot bearing a tag identifying the pot as belonging to another person, or any buoy not bearing tags issued by the department to the p…

The open times and areas for coastal commercial crab fishing are as follows:(1) Coastal, Pacific Ocean, Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay and Columbia River waters are closed to commercial crab fishing except as provided by emergency rule. The target date for the commercial season openin…

The open times and areas for commercial crab fishing in Puget Sound are as follows:(1) It is unlawful to fish for, take, or possess crab for commercial purposes except during open commercial crab harvest seasons and from open commercial crab management units as set by emergency r…

(1) It is unlawful for any vessel operator engaged in fishing for Dungeness crab in the coastal commercial fishery without a fully operational electronic monitoring system to fail to have in possession, and to complete a department-issued paper or a department-approved electronic…

(1) Puget Sound licensing district commercial shellfish gear limit. It is unlawful for any person to take or fish for crab for commercial purposes in the Puget Sound licensing district if he or she is using, operating, or controlling any more than an aggregate total of 100 shellf…

(1) Coastal crab pot limit.(a) It is unlawful for a person to take or fish for Dungeness crab for commercial purposes in Grays Harbor, Willapa Bay, the Columbia River, or waters of the Pacific Ocean adjacent to the state of Washington unless the person's Dungeness crab coastal fi…

(1) Emergency coastal crab gear recovery permit. Emergency permits are granted on a case-by-case basis to allow crab fishers to recover shellfish pots that were irretrievable at the end of the lawful season opening due to extreme weather conditions. The director or director's des…

It is unlawful to fish for, possess or deliver ocean pink shrimp taken for commercial purposes from the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone, except as provided for in this section:Area(1) It is unlawful to fish for ocean pink shrimp within the territorial boundaries of the stat…

It is unlawful to fish for, possess, or deliver ocean spot shrimp (Pandalus platyceros) taken for commercial purposes from state waters west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line, or from offshore waters, except as provided for in this section:License and area(1) It is unlawful to fish for…

License(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, land, or deliver shrimp taken for commercial purposes with pot gear from Puget Sound waters without a valid Puget Sound shrimp pot license.A Puget Sound shrimp pot license will only be issued to an individual who is a natural person, a…

License(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, land, or deliver shrimp taken for commercial purposes with trawl gear from Puget Sound waters without a valid Puget Sound shrimp trawl license and a shrimp trawl permit, issued annually by the director, and without complying with all p…

(1) It is unlawful to fish for or possess scallops taken for commercial purposes from the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone.(2) It is unlawful to trawl for scallops in Washington territorial waters west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line or in Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Ca…

(1) Licensing and permits:(a) It is unlawful to fish for, take, or possess scallops with shellfish dive gear without a valid commercial scallop dive fishery license in possession of the license holder or designated alternate operator, and on board the designated harvest vessel. A…

(1) Licensing: A shellfish pot fishery license is required to operate the gear provided for in this section. An application for a shellfish pot fishery license is available at the offices of the department, by calling the WDFW license division at 360-902-2500, or on the departmen…

(1) It is unlawful to take or possess Pacific goose barnacles taken for commercial purposes without having first obtained a permit to do so issued by the director.(2) Licensing: An emerging commercial fishery license is the license required for a permittee to retain goose barnacl…

(1) It is unlawful to possess octopus for commercial purposes except octopus taken incidentally to any lawful bottom fish or shellfish fishery.(2) It is unlawful to take or possess octopus for display or scientific purposes, except as authorized by permit issued by the director.[…

(1) Licensing: It is unlawful to fish for, take, or possess sea cucumbers without a valid commercial sea cucumber dive fishery license and license holder or designated alternate operator on board the designated harvest vessel. A violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor…

(1) Licensing: It is unlawful to fish for, take, or possess sea urchins for commercial purposes without a valid commercial sea urchin dive fishery license and license holder or designated alternate operator on board the designated harvest vessel. A violation of this subsection is…

(1) It is lawful at any time to take or fish for squid for commercial purposes with dip bag net, brail, and squid jigging gear. Dip bag net and brail may not exceed 10 feet in diameter nor have a mesh less than one inch stretch measure. Stretch measure is defined as the distance …

"Brush weir" shall be defined as a stationary impounding net constructed on piling, with one lead and not to exceed two hearts, and constructed according to specifications of the director.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-…

Commercial jig gear shall be defined as a line or lines hand held or attached to poles or machines, and to which may be attached any number of hooks or lures. The gear shall be fished from a single vessel that is not under power.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.…

"Dip bag net" shall be defined as a section of netting distended by a rigid frame and attached directly to a rigid handle.[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 § 220-350-030, filed 2/15/17, …

"Drag seine" shall be defined as fishing gear consisting of a lead line, cork line, auxiliary lines and a mesh net webbing fashioned in such a manner that it can be used to encircle fish in waters adjacent to any beach, with the catch landed directly on the beach. It shall includ…

(1) A dressed fish is defined as one from which the viscera or the viscera and head have been removed, unless otherwise defined by department rule.(2) The length of any dressed fish is defined as the shortest distance between the posterior end of the gill opening and the fork of …

"Drift gillnet" or "drift net" gear shall be defined as a gillnet of single web construction, not anchored, tied, staked, placed, or weighted in such a manner that it cannot drift.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-05-112 (…

"Herring rake" shall be defined as a long-handled, streamlined board, oar-like in shape, with a lower portion of the leading edge studded with sharp-pointed nails upon which the fish are impaled when the rake is forced through the water edgewise.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.01…

Lampara gear shall be defined as fishing gear having no purse line or rings, but employing a lead line, cork line, special tag or auxiliary lines attached to the lead line and webbing in such a manner that the fish are encircled in open water. This gear is not lawful for the taki…

The length of any net is defined as its measurement along the cork line.[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 § 220-350-090, filed 2/15/17, effective 3/18/17; Order 817, § 220-16…

The size of a mesh of any net except purse seine net, trawl net, and Hood Canal shrimp pot net shall be defined as the distance between the inside of one knot to the outside of the opposite vertical knot of one mesh when the mesh is stretched vertically, while wet, by using a ten…

(1) "Purse seine" is defined as including all types of fishing gear consisting of a lead line, cork line, auxiliary lines, purse line and purse rings and mesh net webbing fashioned in such a manner that it is used to encircle fish, and in addition prevents their escape under the …

"Reef net" shall be defined as a non self-fishing open bunt square or rectangular section of mesh netting suspended between two anchored boats fashioned in such a manner that to impound salmon passing over the net, the net be raised to the surface. The lead or leads of any "reef …

"Ring net" shall be defined to include all fishing gear having a rigid frame measuring no more than ten feet in diameter that is used to take shellfish in a live condition. The sides and all other parts of the gear must lie flat on the bottom in such a manner that the gear does n…

Taking or possessing herring for sac-roe purposes is defined as capturing herring which will have the roe (eggs) removed for separate processing or resale. Sac-roe is not equivalent to human consumption even though the carcasses may subsequently be used for food.[Statutory Author…

"Set line" shall be defined as a stationary, buoyed, and anchored ground line with hooks attached.[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 § 220-350-150, filed 2/15/17, effective 3/18/17. Statu…

"Set net" shall be defined as a gillnet which is anchored, tied, staked, laid in part on shore or whose lead line is so heavily weighted that it cannot drift; except that set net does not mean a nondrifting gillnet operated in the Deep River, Blind Slough/Knappa Slough or South C…

"Skiff gillnet" or "skiff net" is defined as a gillnet of single web construction with floats along the corkline sufficient to float the net. A skiff gillnet may be laid in part on shore, but may not be anchored, tied, or staked, nor have a lead line so heavily weighted that the …

"Snag line" shall be defined as a line with one or more unbaited hooks attached thereto used to the purpose of snagging any species of food fish.[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 § 220-3…

"Snag net" shall be defined as a single web gillnet, constructed of webbing having mesh of not less than fourteen inches stretch measure and used for the purpose of clearing snags or similar obstructions from gillnet drifts and operated in an area where a gillnet fishery is from …

"Trammel net" shall be defined as a gillnet that is hung with two or more mesh webs substantially parallel to each other, suspended from a single common cork line and having either one or several lead lines.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and…

(1) "Otter trawl" shall be defined as a cone or funnel-shaped net which is towed or drawn through the water by one or two vessels. Otter trawl nets may be used both on and off the seabed. Otter trawl nets may be fished with or without trawl doors, and may employ warps or cables t…

"Troll line" when relating to its use for commercial purposes shall be defined as a line used to drag a hook or hooks behind a moving fishing vessel that is making way by means of a source of power, other than drifting by means of the prevailing water current or weather condition…

"Troll spread" shall be defined as a single detachable leader connected to the troll line and to an individual lure and/or bait.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, 77.12.045, and 77.12.047. WSR 20-22-101 (Order 20-242), § 220-350-230, filed 11/3/20, effecti…

For commercial fisheries, the mouth of the Deep River is defined as the Highway 4 Bridge.[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 § 220-350-240, filed 2/15/17, effective 3/18/17. Statutory Auth…

Any person that holds a commercial fishing license or delivery license and is a business organization may designate one natural person to act on behalf of the license holder to operate a designated vessel as provided for in this section:(1) If the business is a sole proprietorshi…

(1) At the time a vessel is first designated on any license pursuant to WAC 220-351-030, the department will issue a permanent vessel registration number and a set of two vessel registration decals. The vessel registration decals must be affixed to the registered vessel in a perm…