17.25.160 Commercial fish quality control requirements.
(a) Commercial fishers must meet the following commercial fish quality control requirements:
(1) Icing for Fish. At the time they begin fishing, commercial fishers must have with them adequate ice to chill and pack all fish to be harvested.
(2) Containers. Fishers must have adequate containers (e.g., ice chests or totes) in which to pack fish. Containers must be of a material that can be readily cleaned/sterilized and must be maintained in a sanitized condition.
(3) Handling Fish. Fish are never to be placed on the ground. Fish must be handled gently, held by the head. Never handle fish by the tail.
(4) Bleeding Fish. Harvested fish are to be immediately bled (for example, by pulling a gill).
(5) Packing Fish. All fish must be iced immediately. Ice must surround and cover the fish and is also to be placed in the belly, or the fish must be packed in slush.
(6) Cleaning Fish. Fish must be gutted immediately no later than 10 minutes after removal from the water.
(A) If fish cannot be immediately gutted, fish must be placed within 10 minutes in a slush tank or ice to chill them while waiting.
(B) No fish should be held more than one hour before gutting.
(C) Do not cut into the belly wall when gutting the fish. Remove the kidney (backbone blood) using a spoon, with special care for the pockets near the head and tail. If visible blood remains in the veins of the belly, press it out by stroking toward the backbone.
(D) Fish that are removed from the water dead are subsistence fish and must have the dorsal fin clipped.
(7) Keeping Up with Harvest. Fish must be alive when removed from a net. Fish must be removed promptly from a net and cleaned and iced immediately. If the fisher and crew cannot meet this standard, then part of the net is to be tied up so that it is not fishing and they have time to properly care for the fish.
(8) Any additional requirement specified by an adjustment.
(b) Any fish not handled in this manner must be clipped, cannot be used for commercial use, and shall be considered a subsistence fish.
(c) A person commits the level two offense if the person possesses an unclipped salmon or steelhead and does not meet commercial fish quality control requirements. [Ord. 44 § 1416, adopted, 7/23/2015.]