hey all....just want to bounce a quick question off ya...
Last year shrimping i had a great idea...since i shrimp from a 12'er and hand pull all my pots i thought if i just tethered two pots together about 50' apart and ran one line and buoy, i would only have to make one pull for both my pots. I later read the WDFW gear rules and it says "every shellfish pot, ring net, or star trap left unattended in Washington waters must have its own buoy line and a separate that is permanently and legibly marked...." So does this mean if my shrimp pots are not unattended (or tended) i don't have to have a separate line and buoy?? Will the WDFW even care?? i really don't want to get a stupid citation for something like that. What is your interpretation??
Shrimp Pot Gear Rules Interpretation
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Rollin with Rolland
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Shrimp Pot Gear Rules Interpretation
Last edited by Anonymous on Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:02 pm, edited 1 time in total.
I have caught many fish in my life. The most exciting? The next one.....
RE:Shrimp Pot Gear Rules Interpretation
Hey Roland,
I believe that unattended means not under a person’s immediate control. Setting pots from a boat renders the pots unattended unless your buoy line was attached to your boat. I believe Attended means under a person’s immediate control. Example of Attended; a person is fishing a pot or pots from a dock and is present at the end of the pot line which is usually attached to the dock. The key word for both is immediate. When fishing a pot or pots unattended, each pot is required to have its own buoy line and yellow buoy so, if you are setting pots from a boat, unless the line is tied to your boat, each pot is required to have its own buoy line and buoy. They can’t legally be attached together with one buoy if they are unattended.
Will the WDFW care? If they contact someone fishing in violation of the law, they will care and will likely issue a citation. I know you didn’t mean anything by it but I don’t think citations are stupid. Unfortunately they are very necessary because of all the idiots out there who don’t care and think they can get away with breaking the law. These are often the same folks who leave their trash behind, are rude to others on the water and at the launch, or who are loud and obnoxious out on the water. Just my opinion based on my career and personal experience. Great question. The rules are confusing sometimes. I hope this reply helps. Good luck and good fishin.
WA State laws can be found at mrsc.org. Here are a few that apply to your question.
Washington Administration Code (WAC) 220-56-315 Crabs, shrimp, crawfish -- Unlawful acts. (8) One unit of gear is equivalent to one ring net or one shellfish pot. It is unlawful to have more than one unit of unattended gear attached to a buoy line or to fail to have a separate buoy for each unit of gear.
WAC 220-56-320 Shellfish gear -- Unlawful acts.
(a) Unattended shellfish gear must have the line attaching the buoy to the gear weighted sufficiently to prevent the line from floating on the water's surface.
(b) All buoys must consist of durable material and remain visible on the surface at all times except during extreme tidal conditions. It is unlawful to use bleach, antifreeze or detergent bottles, paint cans or any other container.
(c) All buoys attached to shrimp gear must be yellow or fluorescent yellow in color. Flags and staff, if attached, may be any color.
(d) All buoys attached to crab gear must be half red or half fluorescent red in color and half white in color. Flags and staff, if attached, may be any color.
The code continues with other requirements.
I believe that unattended means not under a person’s immediate control. Setting pots from a boat renders the pots unattended unless your buoy line was attached to your boat. I believe Attended means under a person’s immediate control. Example of Attended; a person is fishing a pot or pots from a dock and is present at the end of the pot line which is usually attached to the dock. The key word for both is immediate. When fishing a pot or pots unattended, each pot is required to have its own buoy line and yellow buoy so, if you are setting pots from a boat, unless the line is tied to your boat, each pot is required to have its own buoy line and buoy. They can’t legally be attached together with one buoy if they are unattended.
Will the WDFW care? If they contact someone fishing in violation of the law, they will care and will likely issue a citation. I know you didn’t mean anything by it but I don’t think citations are stupid. Unfortunately they are very necessary because of all the idiots out there who don’t care and think they can get away with breaking the law. These are often the same folks who leave their trash behind, are rude to others on the water and at the launch, or who are loud and obnoxious out on the water. Just my opinion based on my career and personal experience. Great question. The rules are confusing sometimes. I hope this reply helps. Good luck and good fishin.
WA State laws can be found at mrsc.org. Here are a few that apply to your question.
Washington Administration Code (WAC) 220-56-315 Crabs, shrimp, crawfish -- Unlawful acts. (8) One unit of gear is equivalent to one ring net or one shellfish pot. It is unlawful to have more than one unit of unattended gear attached to a buoy line or to fail to have a separate buoy for each unit of gear.
WAC 220-56-320 Shellfish gear -- Unlawful acts.
(a) Unattended shellfish gear must have the line attaching the buoy to the gear weighted sufficiently to prevent the line from floating on the water's surface.
(b) All buoys must consist of durable material and remain visible on the surface at all times except during extreme tidal conditions. It is unlawful to use bleach, antifreeze or detergent bottles, paint cans or any other container.
(c) All buoys attached to shrimp gear must be yellow or fluorescent yellow in color. Flags and staff, if attached, may be any color.
(d) All buoys attached to crab gear must be half red or half fluorescent red in color and half white in color. Flags and staff, if attached, may be any color.
The code continues with other requirements.
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Rollin with Rolland
- Captain
- Posts: 689
- Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 12:37 pm
- Location: Whatcom County
RE:Shrimp Pot Gear Rules Interpretation
wow dave....much thanks for the response. You sure seem to be a great resource. usually i stay within 10-20 feet of my pots, but i don't actually tie them off to my boat, but I might try that this season. I will trust your experience until i hear anything different from wdfw. I just didn't see a definition of attended in the regs. Like you said, i didn't mean citations are bad, i'm just trying my best to not get one, plus i want to do what's right. I believe the wdfw has great reasons and research data to make the rules they do, i'm sure they know more than me!! Thanks again for the input.....
I have caught many fish in my life. The most exciting? The next one.....
RE:Shrimp Pot Gear Rules Interpretation
Rolland, You are very welcome. No worries at all. Feel free to ask questions. This site has a ton of knowledgeable folks who can answer almost any question and help us all learn more about fishing. Good luck on the water.