License

1. (1) It is unlawful to take, fish for, land, or deliver spot 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, and this person shall be the primary operator. Holders of Puget Sound shrimp pot licenses may designate a single alternate operator per license. Puget Sound shrimp pot license holders may not designate a Puget Sound nonspot shrimp pot license on the same vessel.

   Pot Gear and area

2. (2) It is unlawful to fish for spot shrimp for commercial purposes in Puget Sound using shellfish pot gear except during seasons opened by emergency rule.
3. (3) In all areas fishers are limited to a maximum of 100 spot shrimp pots, as defined in subsection (5) of this section, except for dual licensees as provided for in RCW 77.70.410.

4. (4) Buoy requirements, in all areas:

   1. (a) Buoys must be solid orange in color and consist of durable material that will remain floating on the surface with five pounds attached; bleach or antifreeze bottles or other containers may not be used as floats.
   2. (b) All buoys fished on a single vessel must be marked with the unique numeric buoy brand issued to them by the department and prefaced by fishery specific designation described in subsection (c) of this section.
   3. (c) Buoy brands for buoys designating gear used in the spot shrimp fishery must be prefaced with an "S" (i.e., "S-0000").
   4. (d) When two or more shrimp pots are attached to a common ground line, the number must be clearly labeled on at least one buoy, trailer buoy, or buoy tag.
   5. (e) It is unlawful to use a buoy tag that is consistent with requirements for any other state or federally managed commercial fishery operating in the U.S. West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone, or in the state waters of Washington, Oregon, or California, or used by any of the Puget Sound treaty tribes.
   6. (f) Fishers shall use only the amount of line reasonably necessary to compensate for tides, currents, and weather. The line attaching the pot to the buoy must be weighted sufficiently to prevent the line from floating on the surface.
   7. (g) It is unlawful to use gear that has one or more line marks or to use multicolor line consistent with requirements for any other state or federally managed commercial fishery operating in the U.S. West Coast Exclusive Economic Zone, or in the state waters of Washington, Oregon, or California.

5. (5) Spot shrimp may only be harvested using gear with the following specifications, in all areas:

   1. (a) The dimensions of shellfish pots must meet either of the following specifications:

      1. (i) The perimeter of the top or bottom of the pot shall not exceed a maximum of 153-inches and the height shall not exceed a maximum of 24-inches.
      2. (ii) The volume of a pot shall not exceed 44,708 cubic inches (25.87 cubic feet) when measured from the outside of the pot.
   2. (b) The entire top, bottom, and sides must be constructed of mesh material.
   3. (c) Use of liners is prohibited as defined in WAC 220-340-015.
   4. (d) Entrance tunnels may be constructed of any size mesh material.
   5. (e) All entrance tunnels directly into a pot from the outside must open into the pot from the side when the pot is in its intended operating position.

   6. (f) Use of multi-chamber pots are permitted under the following conditions:

      1. (i) The escape mechanism must be in the terminal chamber of the pot as defined in WAC 220-340-015.
      2. (ii) The diameter of internal entry tunnels must be equal to or greater than the diameter of the initial entry tunnel.

   7. (g) The mesh size must be greater than or equal to one inch. Mesh size of one inch is defined as a mesh opening that a 7/8-inch square peg will pass through, excluding the entrance tunnels, except for flexible, knotted (web) mesh or knotless stretch mesh pots, where the mesh must be a minimum of 1 3/4 inch stretch measure.

      1. (i) For knotted mesh pots, "stretch measure" is defined as the linear measurement between the inside of one knot to the inside of the opposite vertical knot of the same cell of mesh, when the mesh is stretched vertically.
      2. (ii) For knotless stretch mesh pots, "stretch measure" is defined as the linear measurement between the inside of the bottom node to the inside of the opposing top node of the same cell of mesh, when the mesh is stretched vertically.
   8. (h) Pot gear is required to have an escape mechanism as provided for in WAC 220-340-060.

6. (6) Harvest restrictions, all areas:

   1. (a) It is unlawful to set or pull shellfish pot gear to commercially harvest spot shrimp from one hour after official sunset to one hour before official sunrise.
   2. (b) Each fisher or alternate operator is required to report their intended catch area of harvest and an estimate of total pounds that are being targeted by 7:00 p.m. the evening prior to harvest by email or text message to shrimp.report@dfw.wa.gov, or by using the Puget Sound commercial shrimp reporting website.
   3. (c) Same-day harvest of spot shrimp and nonspot shrimp is permitted only under the following condition: All spot shrimp must be harvested, recorded, and submitted on a fish ticket prior to the commencement of any nonspot shrimp harvest.

[Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.020, 77.04.055, 77.12.020, 77.12.047, 77.12.320, 77.32.050, 77.32.070, 77.32.090, and 77.65.220. WSR 26-11-003 (Order 26-68), s 220-340-520, filed 5/7/26, effective 6/7/26. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.013, 77.04.055, 77.12.045, and 77.12.047. WSR 23-22-110 (Order 2023-10), § 220-340-520, filed 10/31/23, effective 12/1/23. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.012, 77.04.020, 77.04-055 [ 77.04.055], 77.12.045, and 77.12.047. WSR 22-08-048, § 220-340-520, filed 3/31/22, effective 5/1/22. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.090, 77.04.130, 77.15.568, 77.08.010, 77.65.510, 77.65.515, and 77.65.520. WSR 17-22-100, § 220-340-520, filed 10/30/17, effective 1/1/18. 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 § 220-340-520, filed 2/15/17, effective 3/18/17. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.04.020, 77.12.045, 77.12.047 and 50 C.F.R., Parts 223 and 224. WSR 11-07-106 (Order 11-43), § 220-52-051, filed 3/23/11, effective 4/23/11. Statutory Authority: RCW 77.12.047. WSR 06-01-013 (Order 05-275), § 220-52-051, filed 12/9/05, effective 1/9/06; WSR 03-05-064 (Order 03-28), § 220-52-051, filed 2/18/03, effective 3/21/03; WSR 02-01-068, § 220-52-051, filed 12/14/01, effective 1/14/02; WSR 01-03-016 (Order 00-271), § 220-52-051, filed 1/5/01, effective 2/5/01. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.080 and 1999 c 239. WSR 00-01-124 (Order 99-217), § 220-52-051, filed 12/17/99, effective 1/17/00. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.28.740 and 75.30.220. WSR 94-07-092 (Order 94-14), § 220-52-051, filed 3/17/94, effective 4/17/94. Statutory Authority: RCW 75.08.080. WSR 93-15-051, § 220-52-051, filed 7/14/93, effective 8/14/93; WSR 91-18-030 (Order 91-73), § 220-52-051, filed 8/28/91, effective 9/28/91; WSR 87-23-006 (Order 87-187), § 220-52-051, filed 11/6/87.]