The legislature finds that youth benefit by engaging in outdoor activities, such as fishing and shellfishing. Participating in such activities can boost self-esteem and cultivate an appreciation for nature. The legislature further finds that expensive equipment and license fees can be a barrier to this activity for some youth. Therefore, the legislature intends to reduce financial barriers to fishing and shellfishing by establishing a grant program to enable local organizations to establish equipment rental programs and increase the age at which a fishing license is required.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 77.32. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The fishing and shellfishing opportunity grant program is created. The recreation and conservation office shall establish and implement the program to provide opportunities to increase youth participation in fishing and shellfishing. Grant funds may be distributed to organizations to establish local equipment rental systems. Eligible organizations include:
Local park and recreation districts;
Boys and girls clubs, or other similar youth organizations; and
Regional fisheries enhancement groups established in chapter 77.95 RCW.
The recreation and conservation office must design the fishing and shellfishing opportunity grant program to ensure youth in both urban and rural communities in all geographic areas of the state are served.
This section adds a new section to an existing chapter 77.32. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The youth fishing opportunities account is created in the state treasury. The director may accept gifts, grants, donations, or moneys from any source for deposit in the account. Moneys in the account may be spent only after appropriation. Expenditures from the account may be used for administering the grant program established in section 2 of this act.
This section modifies existing section 77.08.010. Here is the modified chapter for context.
The definitions in this section apply throughout this title or rules adopted under this title unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
"Angling gear" means a line attached to a rod and reel capable of being held in hand while landing the fish or a handheld line operated without rod or reel.
"Bag limit" means the maximum number of game animals, game birds, or game fish which may be taken, caught, killed, or possessed by a person, as specified by rule of the commission for a particular period of time, or as to size, sex, or species.
"Building" means a private domicile, garage, barn, or public or commercial building.
"Closed area" means a place where the hunting of some or all species of wild animals or wild birds is prohibited.
"Closed season" means all times, manners of taking, and places or waters other than those established by rule of the commission as an open season. "Closed season" also means all hunting, fishing, taking, or possession of game animals, game birds, game fish, food fish, or shellfish that do not conform to the special restrictions or physical descriptions established by rule of the commission as an open season or that have not otherwise been deemed legal to hunt, fish, take, harvest, or possess by rule of the commission as an open season.
"Closed waters" means all or part of a lake, river, stream, or other body of water, where fishing or harvesting is prohibited.
"Commercial" means related to or connected with buying, selling, or bartering.
"Commission" means the state fish and wildlife commission.
"Concurrent waters of the Columbia river" means those waters of the Columbia river that coincide with the Washington-Oregon state boundary.
"Contraband" means any property that is unlawful to produce or possess.
"Covered animal species" means any species of elephant, rhinoceros, tiger, lion, leopard, cheetah, pangolin, marine turtle, shark, or ray either: (a) Listed in appendix I or appendix II of the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild flora and fauna; or (b) listed as critically endangered, endangered, or vulnerable on the international union for conservation of nature and natural resources red list of threatened species.
"Covered animal species part or product" means any item that contains, or is wholly or partially made from, any covered animal species.
"Deleterious exotic wildlife" means species of the animal kingdom not native to Washington and designated as dangerous to the environment or wildlife of the state.
"Department" means the department of fish and wildlife.
"Director" means the director of fish and wildlife.
"Distribute" or "distribution" means either a change in possession for consideration or a change in legal ownership.
"Endangered species" means wildlife designated by the commission as seriously threatened with extinction.
"Ex officio fish and wildlife officer" means:
A commissioned officer of a municipal, county, or state agency having as its primary function the enforcement of criminal laws in general, while the officer is acting in the respective jurisdiction of that agency;
An officer or special agent commissioned by one of the following: The national marine fisheries service; the Washington state parks and recreation commission; the United States fish and wildlife service; the Washington state department of natural resources; the United States forest service; or the United States parks service, if the agent or officer is in the respective jurisdiction of the primary commissioning agency and is acting under a mutual law enforcement assistance agreement between the department and the primary commissioning agency;
A commissioned fish and wildlife peace officer from another state who meets the training standards set by the Washington state criminal justice training commission pursuant to RCW 10.93.090, 43.101.080, and 43.101.200, and who is acting under a mutual law enforcement assistance agreement between the department and the primary commissioning agency; or
A Washington state tribal police officer who successfully completes the requirements set forth under RCW 43.101.157, is employed by a tribal nation that has complied with RCW 10.92.020(2) (a) and (b), and is acting under a mutual law enforcement assistance agreement between the department and the tribal government.
"Fish" includes all species classified as game fish or food fish by statute or rule, as well as all finfish not currently classified as food fish or game fish if such species exist in state waters. The term "fish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of fish species.
"To fish" and its derivatives means an effort to kill, injure, harass, harvest, or capture a fish or shellfish.
"Fish and wildlife officer" means a person appointed and commissioned by the director, with authority to enforce this title and rules adopted pursuant to this title, and other statutes as prescribed by the legislature. Fish and wildlife officer includes a person commissioned before June 11, 1998, as a wildlife agent or a fisheries patrol officer.
"Fish broker" means a person who facilitates the sale or purchase of raw or frozen fish or shellfish on a fee or commission basis, without assuming title to the fish or shellfish.
"Fish dealer" means a person who engages in any activity that triggers the need to obtain a fish dealer license under RCW 77.65.280.
"Fishery" means the taking of one or more particular species of fish or shellfish with particular gear in a particular geographical area.
"Food, food waste, or other substance" includes human and pet food or other waste or garbage that could attract large wild carnivores.
"Fresh water" means all waters not defined as salt water including, but not limited to, rivers upstream of the river mouth, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs.
"Fur-bearing animals" means game animals that shall not be trapped except as authorized by the commission.
"Fur dealer" means a person who purchases, receives, or resells raw furs for commercial purposes.
"Game animals" means wild animals that shall not be hunted except as authorized by the commission.
"Game birds" means wild birds that shall not be hunted except as authorized by the commission.
"Game farm" means property on which wildlife is held, confined, propagated, hatched, fed, or otherwise raised for commercial purposes, trade, or gift. The term "game farm" does not include publicly owned facilities.
"Game reserve" means a closed area where hunting for all wild animals and wild birds is prohibited.
"To hunt" and its derivatives means an effort to kill, injure, harass, harvest, or capture a wild animal or wild bird.
"Illegal items" means those items unlawful to be possessed.
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"Intentionally feed, attempt to feed, or attract" means to purposefully or knowingly provide, leave, or place in, on, or about any land or building any food, food waste, or other substance that attracts or could attract large wild carnivores to that land or building.
"Intentionally feed, attempt to feed, or attract" does not include keeping food, food waste, or other substance in an enclosed garbage receptacle or other enclosed container unless specifically directed by a fish and wildlife officer or animal control authority to secure the receptacle or container in another manner.
"Large wild carnivore" includes wild bear, cougar, and wolf.
"License year" means the period of time for which a recreational license is valid. The license year begins April 1st, and ends March 31st.
"Limited-entry license" means a license subject to a license limitation program established in chapter 77.70 RCW.
"Limited fish seller" means a licensed commercial fisher who sells his or her fish or shellfish to anyone other than a wholesale fish buyer thereby triggering the need to obtain a limited fish seller endorsement under RCW 77.65.510.
"Money" means all currency, script, personal checks, money orders, or other negotiable instruments.
"Natural person" means a human being.
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"Negligently feed, attempt to feed, or attract" means to provide, leave, or place in, on, or about any land or building any food, food waste, or other substance that attracts or could attract large wild carnivores to that land or building, without the awareness that a reasonable person in the same situation would have with regard to the likelihood that the food, food waste, or other substance could attract large wild carnivores to the land or building.
"Negligently feed, attempt to feed, or attract" does not include keeping food, food waste, or other substance in an enclosed garbage receptacle or other enclosed container unless specifically directed by a fish and wildlife officer or animal control authority to secure the receptacle or container in another manner.
"Nonresident" means a person who has not fulfilled the qualifications of a resident.
"Offshore waters" means marine waters of the Pacific Ocean outside the territorial boundaries of the state, including the marine waters of other states and countries.
"Open season" means those times, manners of taking, and places or waters established by rule of the commission for the lawful hunting, fishing, taking, or possession of game animals, game birds, game fish, food fish, or shellfish that conform to the special restrictions or physical descriptions established by rule of the commission or that have otherwise been deemed legal to hunt, fish, take, or possess by rule of the commission. "Open season" includes the first and last days of the established time.
"Owner" means the person in whom is vested the ownership dominion, or title of the property.
"Person" means and includes an individual; a corporation; a public or private entity or organization; a local, state, or federal agency; all business organizations, including corporations and partnerships; or a group of two or more individuals acting with a common purpose whether acting in an individual, representative, or official capacity.
"Personal property" or "property" includes both corporeal and incorporeal personal property and includes, among other property, contraband and money.
"Personal use" means for the private use of the individual taking the fish or shellfish and not for sale or barter.
"Predatory birds" means wild birds that may be hunted throughout the year as authorized by the commission.
"To process" and its derivatives mean preparing or preserving fish, wildlife, or shellfish.
"Protected wildlife" means wildlife designated by the commission that shall not be hunted or fished.
"Raffle" means an activity in which tickets bearing an individual number are sold for not more than twenty-five dollars each and in which a permit or permits are awarded to hunt or for access to hunt big game animals or wild turkeys on the basis of a drawing from the tickets by the person or persons conducting the raffle.
"Resident" has the same meaning as defined in RCW 77.08.075.
"Salt water" means those marine waters seaward of river mouths.
"Seaweed" means marine aquatic plant species that are dependent upon the marine aquatic or tidal environment, and exist in either an attached or free floating form, and includes but is not limited to marine aquatic plants in the classes Chlorophyta, Phaeophyta, and Rhodophyta.
"Senior" means a person seventy years old or older.
"Shark fin" means a raw, dried, or otherwise processed detached fin or tail of a shark.
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"Shark fin derivative product" means any product intended for use by humans or animals that is derived in whole or in part from shark fins or shark fin cartilage.
"Shark fin derivative product" does not include a drug approved by the United States food and drug administration and available by prescription only or medical device or vaccine approved by the United States food and drug administration.
"Shellfish" means those species of marine and freshwater invertebrates that have been classified and that shall not be taken or possessed except as authorized by rule of the commission. The term "shellfish" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of shellfish species.
"State waters" means all marine waters and fresh waters within ordinary high water lines and within the territorial boundaries of the state.
"To take" and its derivatives means to kill, injure, harvest, or capture a fish, shellfish, wild animal, bird, or seaweed.
"Taxidermist" means a person who, for commercial purposes, creates lifelike representations of fish and wildlife using fish and wildlife parts and various supporting structures.
"Trafficking" means offering, attempting to engage, or engaging in sale, barter, or purchase of fish, shellfish, wildlife, or deleterious exotic wildlife.
"To trap" and its derivatives means a method of hunting using devices to capture wild animals or wild birds.
"Unclaimed" means that no owner of the property has been identified or has requested, in writing, the release of the property to themselves nor has the owner of the property designated an individual to receive the property or paid the required postage to effect delivery of the property.
"Unclassified wildlife" means wildlife existing in Washington in a wild state that have not been classified as big game, game animals, game birds, predatory birds, protected wildlife, endangered wildlife, or deleterious exotic wildlife.
"To waste" or "to be wasted" means to allow any edible portion of any game bird, food fish, game fish, shellfish, or big game animal other than cougar to be rendered unfit for human consumption, or to fail to retrieve edible portions of such a game bird, food fish, game fish, shellfish, or big game animal other than cougar from the field. For purposes of this chapter, edible portions of game birds must include, at a minimum, the breast meat of those birds. Entrails, including the heart and liver, of any wildlife species are not considered edible.
"Wholesale fish buyer" means a person who engages in any fish buying or selling activity that triggers the need to obtain a wholesale fish buyer endorsement under RCW 77.65.340.
"Wild animals" means those species of the class Mammalia whose members exist in Washington in a wild state. The term "wild animal" does not include feral domestic mammals or old world rats and mice of the family Muridae of the order Rodentia.
"Wild birds" means those species of the class Aves whose members exist in Washington in a wild state.
"Wildlife" means all species of the animal kingdom whose members exist in Washington in a wild state. This includes but is not limited to mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates. The term "wildlife" does not include feral domestic mammals, old world rats and mice of the family Muridae of the order Rodentia, or those fish, shellfish, and marine invertebrates classified as food fish or shellfish by the director. The term "wildlife" includes all stages of development and the bodily parts of wildlife members.
"Wildlife meat cutter" means a person who packs, cuts, processes, or stores wildlife for consumption for another for commercial purposes.
"Youth" means a person under 16 years old.
This section modifies existing section 77.32.470. Here is the modified chapter for context.
A personal use saltwater, freshwater, combination, temporary, or family fishing weekend license is required for all persons 16 years of age or older to fish for or possess fish taken for personal use from state waters or offshore waters.
The fees for annual personal use saltwater, freshwater, or combination licenses are as follows:
A combination license allows the holder to fish for or possess fish, shellfish, and seaweed from state waters or offshore waters. The fee for this license is forty-five dollars for residents, one hundred eight dollars for nonresidents, and five dollars for youth. There is an additional fifty-cent surcharge for this license, to be deposited in the rockfish research account created in RCW 77.12.702.
A saltwater license allows the holder to fish for or possess fish taken from saltwater areas. The fee for this license is twenty-five dollars for residents, fifty-two dollars for nonresidents, and five dollars for resident seniors. There is an additional fifty-cent surcharge for this license, to be deposited in the rockfish research account created in RCW 77.12.702.
A freshwater license allows the holder to fish for, take, or possess food fish or game fish species in all freshwater areas. The fee for this license is twenty-five dollars for residents, seventy-five dollars for nonresidents, and five dollars for resident seniors.
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A temporary combination fishing license is valid for one to three consecutive days and allows the holder to fish for or possess fish, shellfish, and seaweed taken from state waters or offshore waters. The fee for this temporary fishing license is:
One day - Eight dollars for residents and sixteen dollars for nonresidents;
Two days - Twelve dollars for residents and twenty-four dollars for nonresidents; and
Three days - Fifteen dollars for residents and thirty dollars for nonresidents.
The fee for a charter stamp is eight dollars for a one-day temporary combination fishing license for residents and nonresidents for use on a charter boat as defined in RCW 77.65.150.
Except for active duty military personnel serving in any branch of the United States armed forces, the temporary combination fishing license is not valid on game fish species for an eight-consecutive-day period beginning on the opening day of the lowland lake fishing season as defined by rule of the commission.
The temporary combination fishing license fee for active duty military personnel serving in any branch of the United States armed forces is the resident rate as set forth in (a) of this subsection. Active duty military personnel must provide a valid military identification card at the time of purchase of the temporary license to qualify for the resident rate.
There is an additional fifty-cent surcharge on the temporary combination fishing license and the associated charter stamp, to be deposited in the rockfish research account created in RCW 77.12.702.
A family fishing weekend license allows for a maximum of six anglers: One resident and five youth; two residents and four youth; or one resident, one nonresident, and four youth. This license allows the holders to fish for or possess fish taken from state waters or offshore waters. The fee for this license is twenty dollars. This license is only valid during periods as specified by rule of the department.
The commission may adopt rules to create and sell combination licenses for all hunting and fishing activities at or below a fee equal to the total cost of the individual license contained within any combination.
The commission may adopt rules to allow the use of two fishing poles per fishing license holder for use on selected state waters. If authorized by the commission, license holders must purchase a two-pole stamp to use a second pole. The proceeds from the sale of the two-pole stamp must be deposited into the limited fish and wildlife account created in RCW 77.12.170(1) and used for the operation and maintenance of state-owned fish hatcheries. The fee for a two-pole stamp is thirteen dollars for residents and nonresidents, and five dollars for seniors.
This section modifies existing section 77.32.520. Here is the modified chapter for context.
A personal use shellfish and seaweed license is required for all persons other than residents or nonresidents under 16 years of age to fish for, take, dig for, or possess seaweed or shellfish, including razor clams, for personal use from state waters or offshore waters including national park beaches.
A razor clam license allows a person to harvest only razor clams for personal use from state waters, including national park beaches.
The fees for annual personal use shellfish and seaweed licenses are:
For a resident 16 years of age or older, ten dollars;
For a nonresident 16 years of age or older, twenty-seven dollars; and
For a senior, five dollars.
The fee for an annual razor clam license is eight dollars for residents, fifteen dollars for nonresidents, and eight dollars for seniors.
The fee for a three-day razor clam license is five dollars for both residents and nonresidents.
A personal use shellfish and seaweed license or razor clam license must be in immediate possession of the licensee and available for inspection while a licensee is harvesting shellfish or seaweed. However, the license does not need to be visible at all times.