Introduction
The Department of Fish and Wildlife relies upon hunter and fisher reporting as a method to assess effort, harvest rates, and to set future seasons. In order to incentivize reporting, the Department provides promotions and increased opportunities for hunters and fishers who self-report their harvest in a timely manner.
The Fish and Wildlife Commission has the authority to set an administrative penalty for failure to comply with rules requiring the reporting of taking or effort to harvest wildlife. The Commission has adopted rules requiring hunters and fishers who fail to complete their report to pay an administrative penalty of ten dollars before issuing a new hunting license or Puget Sound Dungeness crab catch record card.
Pursuant to RCW 77.32.070 (2)(b) and (3)(b) the Department is required to submit an annual report to the legislature for hunter and fisher compliance with the harvest reporting requirement, administrative penalty, and amount of administrative penalty collected. The hunter compliance requirement applies to all hunting licenses, while the fisher compliance requirement is specific to Puget Sound Dungeness crab catch record cards. This report to the legislature fulfills that requirement.