Washington Administrative Code

(1) It is unlawful to test commercial fishing gear, except as follows:(a) Bellingham Bay - East and northerly of a line from Governor's Point to the south tip of Eliza Island to Point Frances, in waters 10 fathoms and deeper.(b) Boundary Bay - North of a line from Birch Point to …

In order to prevent the sale of food fish or shellfish taken under personal-use fishing regulations, it shall be unlawful to sell, or offer for sale or purchase, or offer to purchase, any food fish or shellfish unless taken with lawful commercial gear, in an area open to commerci…

(1) It is unlawful to deliver krill taken for commercial purposes from state or offshore waters into Washington state, and it is unlawful to possess krill taken for commercial purposes. Violation of this subsection is punishable under RCW 77.15.240.(2) It is unlawful to traffic i…

(1) It is unlawful for any person while engaged in commercial fishing for sturgeon, bottomfish or halibut to:(a) Keep sturgeon smaller or greater than the size limits provided for in WAC 220-353-030, keep more than one sturgeon for personal use, or keep more than the equivalent o…

It is unlawful for anyone acting in the capacity of a wholesale fish buyer or limited fish seller to fail to submit for inspection any state of Washington fish receiving tickets or sales documents upon demand of a fish and wildlife officer. Violation of this section is a gross mi…

(1) It is unlawful for any person, group, corporation, association, or government entity to import into, transport, transfer, sell, or possess within the state of Washington live fish and/or the viable sexual products of fish without first obtaining a permit to do so from the dir…

It shall be unlawful to take, fish for or possess salmon for personal use by angling from any vessel engaged in any type of commercial fishing or having commercially caught food fish aboard.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 1…

(1) It is unlawful to operate in any river, stream or channel any gillnet gear longer than three-fourths the width of the stream; this provision shall supersede all other regulations in conflict with it.(2) It is unlawful to operate any net for removing snags from state waters wi…

(1) It shall be unlawful for any person to possess in or transport through the waters of District No. 1 for commercial purposes any chinook salmon taken from said waters, or from the waters of the Pacific Ocean and District No. 2 during the period November 1 through April 30 of t…

(1) It is unlawful for any person licensed to take salmon for commercial purposes as required under chapter 77.65 RCW to:(a) Possess for personal use more than three salmon per landing and delivery, regardless of species, provided that:(i) The commercial season is open for the sp…

It shall be lawful for a common or contract carrier to transport during seasons in which the taking, catching, or possession of chinook or silver salmon is unlawful in the state of Washington or in waters over which the state of Washington has jurisdiction, an original package or…

(1) Registration and limited participation salmon net fishery definition: For the purpose of this section, "registration and limited participation salmon net fishery" refers to any of the following commercial gillnet and purse seine fisheries:(a) Catch Reporting Area 10 pink (odd…

(1) It shall be unlawful to take fish for or possess salmon, for commercial purposes, with troll line gear within a 3 nautical mile radius of the following river mouths during the times specified(a) Quillayute River - May 1 to June 15(b) Hoh River - May 1 to September 15(c) Queet…

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken for commercial purposes from those waters at the mouth of Grays Harbor lying westerly of a line projected from the Point Chehalis Light at Westport through the Coast Guard tower to the shore at Point Brown, and easterl…

It is unlawful at any time, unless otherwise provided, to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken for commercial purposes with any type of gear from the following portions of Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas, except that closures listed in this section do n…

All Puget Sound salmon fisheries are designated as "quick reporting required" fisheries, and commercial purchasers and receivers must comply with the provisions of WAC 220-352-325.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.090 and 77.04.130. WSR 18-11-052 (Order 18-92), § 220-354-090, filed…

(1) Lawful purse seine salmon nets in Puget Sound must not exceed 1,800 feet in length along the cork line while wet, and purse seine and lead combined must not exceed 2,200 feet. Neither type can contain meshes of a size less than 3-1/2 inches. Meshes of the seine and lead canno…

It shall be unlawful to take, fish for or possess salmon taken with purse seine gear in any Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Area exclusive of sockeye and pink salmon management unless said purse seine gear is constructed so that the first 100 meshes below the co…

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken with purse seine gear for commercial purposes from Puget Sound, except in the following designated Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas and during the periods provided for in each respective Manageme…

(1) It is unlawful for any purse seine vessel operator landing salmon to do so directly into the hold. All salmon must be landed onto the deck or sorting tray or table of the harvesting vessel with the hold hatch cover(s) closed until all salmon that cannot be retained are releas…

(1) It is unlawful to use drift gillnet salmon gear in Puget Sound that exceeds 1,800 feet in length or contains meshes of a size less than 5 inches. It is unlawful to fail to attend to drift gillnets at all times.(2) It is unlawful to use skiff gillnet salmon nets in Puget Sound…

It is unlawful to take or fish during the Fraser sockeye and pink salmon species seasons in Areas 7 or 7A with gillnet gear from 12:00 midnight to 1.5 hours after sunrise.[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-…

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken with gillnet gear for commercial purposes from Puget Sound, except in the following designated Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas during the periods provided for in each respective fishing area:ARE…

(1) Lawful reef net salmon nets in Puget Sound must not exceed 300 meshes on any side nor contain meshes of a size less than 3-1/2 inches nor utilize more than two leads. Each of the leads must not exceed 200 feet in length, measured from the bows of the reef net boats to the nea…

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken with reef net gear for commercial purposes in Puget Sound, except in the following designated Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas, during the periods provided for in each respective area:AREATIMEDAT…

During the openings provided for in this chapter, all times stated are Pacific Standard Time from January 1 through the second Saturday in March and from the first Sunday in November through December 31; and all times stated are Pacific Daylight Time from the second Sunday in Mar…

(1) The Puget Sound beach seine salmon fishery is designated as an emerging commercial fishery for which a vessel is required. An emerging commercial fishery license and an experimental fishery permit are required to participate in this fishery.(2) The department will issue six s…

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken with beach seine gear for commercial purposes from Puget Sound except in the following designated Puget Sound Salmon Management and Catch Reporting Areas during the periods provided hereinafter in each respective Manag…

It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken for commercial purposes in Willapa Bay fishing areas, with the exception of salmon taken with gillnet gear as provided for in this chapter.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047…

It is unlawful to fish for food fish in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes with gillnet gear or to possess food fish taken from those waters with gillnet gear unless:(1) The gillnet does not exceed 1,500 feet in length along the cork line; and(2) Except as otherwise provided in …

From July 5 through August 15, it is unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes or to possess salmon taken from those waters for commercial purposes.[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…

From August 16 through December 31 of each year, it is unlawful to fish for salmon in Willapa Bay for commercial purposes or to possess salmon taken from those waters for commercial purposes, except that:Fishing periods:(1) Gillnet gear may be used to fish for coho salmon, chum s…

It shall be unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken for commercial purposes in Grays Harbor fishing areas, with the exception of salmon taken with gillnet gear as provided for in this chapter.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77…

It is unlawful to fish for food fish in Grays Harbor for commercial purposes with gillnet gear, or to possess food fish taken from those waters with gillnet gear, unless:(1) The gillnet does not exceed 1,500 feet in length along the cork line; and(2) Except as otherwise provided …

From July 5 through August 15, it is unlawful to fish for salmon in Grays Harbor for commercial purposes or to possess salmon taken from those waters for commercial purposes.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, and 77.12.047. WSR 17-05-112 (Order …

From August 16 through December 31 of each year, it is unlawful to fish for salmon in Grays Harbor for commercial purposes or to possess salmon taken from those waters for commercial purposes, except that:Fishing periods:(1) Gillnet gear may be used to fish for Chinook, coho, and…

It is unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon taken with troll gear in Pacific Ocean waters or to land salmon taken with troll gear from Pacific Ocean waters into a Washington port except as provided by emergency rule. When troll gear is authorized under emergency regulatio…

"Drayton Harbor Salmon Preserve" shall include all the waters of Drayton Harbor and tributaries thereto lying inside and easterly of a line projected 66 degrees true from Semiahmoo Spit (48°59'25.8"N, 122°46'16.5"W) to the northern breakwater of the Port of Bellingham's Blaine Ha…

"San Juan Island Salmon Preserve" shall include those waters of Puget Sound lying inside the following lines: A line projected 199 degrees true from Lopez Pass Light 2 (Light List No. 19375 FlR4s21ft4M"2," 48°28'52"N, 122°49'5"W) across Lopez Pass to Lopez Island (48°28'42.1"N, 1…

"The Strait of Juan de Fuca Salmon Preserve" shall include those waters and tributaries thereto lying within three miles off shore between a line projected 30 degrees true from a point three miles west of the Sekiu River mouth (48°19'06.9"N, 124°27'19.4"W) to a line projected 45 …

(1) The "East Point Line" shall be defined as a line projected 184 degrees true from Boundary Bay Light D (Light List No. 19972 FlY4s36ft4M"D," 49°0'7.6"N, 123°1'13"W) on the Canada/United States border, through the eastern portion of Point Roberts to the Saturna Island Sector Li…

It is unlawful to take and preserve bottomfish alive for any commercial purpose, except as otherwise provided by state law or department rule. Violation of this section is a gross misdemeanor punishable under RCW 77.15.550 Violation of commercial fishing area or time—Penalty.[Sta…

(1) It is unlawful to possess English sole less than 12 inches in length taken with commercial bottomfish gear in all Puget Sound Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas.(2) It is unlawful to possess any starry flounder less than 14 inches in length taken with …

(1) It is unlawful to fish for or possess bottomfish taken with the following gear in all Puget Sound Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas:(a) Otter trawl;(b) Beam trawl;(c) Dogfish set net gear;(d) Pacific cod set net gear;(e) Set line gear;(f) Commercial j…

It is permissible to retain bottomfish for commercial purposes taken with commercial salmon gear incidental to a lawful salmon fishery in any waters of Puget Sound, except lingcod during closures provided in WAC 220-355-020.[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.02…

(1) It is unlawful to operate drag seine or beach seine gear without possessing a valid food fish drag seine fishery license. A violation of this subsection is a gross misdemeanor or class C felony, depending on the circumstances of the violation, punishable under RCW 77.15.500 C…

(1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, and possess bottomfish for commercial purposes with bottomfish pot gear as described in WAC 220-300-050, except in the following Puget Sound Marine Fish-Shellfish Management and Catch Reporting Areas during the seasons designated below:Areas …

(1)(a) It is unlawful to take, fish for, possess, transport through the waters of the state, or land in any Washington state ports, bottomfish taken for commercial purposes in violation of gear requirements published in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Title 50, Part 660…

(1) It is unlawful to possess, transport through the waters of the state, or land into any Washington port, highly migratory species taken in violation of any permit or data collection requirements as published in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Title 50, Part 660, Subp…

(1)(a) It is unlawful to possess, transport through the waters of the state, or land in any Washington state port bottomfish in violation of any area or time closure or requirement as published in the Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.), Title 50, Part 660, Subparts D through F.…