See below for rules adopted in 2022 by the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission or the Director of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The public comment period has ended for all rules listed below.
See the Rule-making glossary for more information about the terms used here.
Permanent rules
The Department proposes to amend WAC 220-660-370 Bank Protection. The agency’s purpose for this rule amendment is to implement Substitute Senate Bill 5273 (SSB 5273), passed by the legislature in 2021.
This rule making expands the types of gears available for commercial harvesting of salmon in the Columbia River and reduce the number of Washington non-treaty commercial licenses participating in the Columbia River gillnet fishery.
The proposed amendment limits the waiver of a license requirement on free fishing weekend to fish that do not require a catch record card.
The department proposed to add dealer geolocation to the required information provided on an electronic fish receiving ticket. This rule change was needed to support a fishery enforcement feature of the new WA-Tix electronic catch reporting application under development by WDFW.
WDFW proposed to add a new section to Washington Administration Code (WAC) 220-351-Commercial Fisheries- Permits/licensing. This rule making proposed to allow four unspecified commercial crewmember licenses instead of the current allowance (of two) which can be held by a commercial fishing license holder for specific fishing licenses.
The purpose of the amendment to WAC 220-415-100 Cougar hunting seasons and regulations is to add additional recreational cougar hunting opportunity in specific geographical areas with the primary purpose of addressing a cougar and ungulate management concern by using recreational hunting through a second cougar harvest opportunity in identified game management units (GMUs).
The department considered rule changes for hunting season regulations for the 2022-2023 game seasons.
The purpose of this rulemaking is to regulate the commercial salmon fisheries in Willapa Bay and Grays Harbor.
These rules are part of a comprehensive suite of rulemaking packages to implement the new 2022-2023 salmon seasons for Washington State, developed through the broader North of Falcon process pursuant to the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s North of Falcon Policy C-3608 for 2019-2023.The purpose of this rulemaking is to regulate the recreational salmon fisheries statewide. These rules are part of a
comprehensive suite of rulemaking packages to implement the new 2022-2023 salmon seasons for Washington State developed through the broader North of Falcon process pursuant to the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s North of Falcon Policy C-3608 for 2019-2023.The purpose of this rulemaking is to regulate the commercial salmon fisheries in Puget Sound. These rules are
part of a comprehensive suite of rulemaking packages to implement the new 2022-2023 salmon seasons for Washington State developed through the broader North of Falcon process pursuant to the Fish and Wildlife Commission’s North of Falcon Policy C-3608 for 2019-2023.The department considered rule changes to WAC 220-413-030, which relates to regulating importation of hunted cervids (deer, elk, moose and caribou) from other states or countries.
The department considered rule changes for the methods of harvest and the restriction regulations required during hunting seasons.
The department amended several regulations in WAC chapters 220-320, 220-340, and 220-352 that pertain to commercial crab, shrimp, sea cucumber, sea urchin, scallop, squid, octopus, and razor clam fisheries.
The department amended several regulations in WAC Chapters that affect harvesting clams and oysters for personal use.
The department considered amendments to several recreational fishing regulations including shellfish, gamefish, and forage fish.