Contact: Josh Weiss, Legislative/Legal Affairs Coordinator (360) 902-2226

Situation

The Department of Fisheries and the Department of Game were merged on March 1, 1994, into the Department of Fish and Wildlife. From pre-merger days, there still remain two separate freshwater fish guide licenses -- one for game fish and one for salmon.

Problem

Administration of fishing guide licenses and enforcement on all guiding activities in freshwater is not as efficient as it could be because guide licensing has never been streamlined to reflect the merger.

Solution

The agency proposes merging the current two guide licenses and creating a single guide license for all freshwater guiding, amending the fee structure of this license, and giving the director additional power to set safety restrictions. Specifically, the agency proposes that:

• RCW 77.65.370 be amended to require a natural person to obtain a fishing guide license, to act as a fishing guide for both game fish and food fish, and to give additional authority to the director to require boat identification and other public safety requirements.
  
  
• RCW 77.65.010 be amended to expand the requirement for a guide for salmon in freshwater to include all species that may be fished.
  
  
• RCW 77.65.150 be amended to include game fish as a fish that can be taken with a charter license and a guide license.
  
  
• RCW 77.65.480 be amended, repealing the paragraph describing the game fish guide license, as it is no longer appropriate.
  
  
• RCW 77.65.440 be amended to adjust the new combined annual resident fishing guide fee from $130 to $175 and the non-resident fee from $630 to $620.

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