Or. Admin. Code § 635-005-0480 - Dungeness Crab Buoy Tag and Gear Marking Requirements
It is unlawful for commercial purposes to:
(1) Use commercial Dungeness crab gear in the
Columbia River or Pacific Ocean unless the gear is individually marked with a
surface buoy bearing, in a visible, legible and permanent manner, the buoy
brand and buoy color(s) of the owner, and the Department buoy tag issued for
the current season, provided that:
(a) The
buoy brand consists of letters and/or numbers, and the buoy brand and buoy
color or color combination are registered with and approved by the Department;
The buoy color or color combination shall be submitted to the Department as a
color photograph for registration;
(b) Only one unique buoy brand and one buoy
color or color combination shall be registered to any one permitted
vessel;
(c) All Dungeness crab gear
fished by a permitted vessel must use only the Oregon buoy brand number and at
least one buoy with the buoy color or color combination registered to that
vessel in the area off of Oregon;
(d) The Department shall issue crab buoy tags
to the owner of each commercial crab permit in the amount determined by OAR
635-005-0405(5);
(e) Except for replacement buoy tags, all
other buoy tags eligible to a permit holder must be purchased from the
Department at cost and attached to the gear prior to setting gear;
(f) Buoys attached to Dungeness crab gear
must have the buoy tag securely attached to the buoy closest to the gear at the
end away from the buoy line; and
(g) Additional buoy tags to replace lost tags
will be issued by the Department as follows:
(A) For a catastrophic loss, as defined in
OAR 635-005-0240; or
(B) If the Director finds that the loss of
buoy tags was:
(i) Due to an extraordinary
event;
(ii) The loss was minimized
with the exercise of reasonable diligence; and
(iii) Reasonable efforts were taken to
recover lost buoy tags and associated fishing gear.
(C) Upon receipt of the declaration of loss
required by subsection (1)(g)(D) of this rule, and a request for replacement
tags under subsection (1)(g)(B) of this rule, the Director or the Director's
designee may provide an opportunity for the permit holder requesting the
replacement tags to describe why the buoy tag loss meets the criteria for
replacement under subsection (1)(g)(B) of this rule. The Director or the
Director's designee shall provide the Director's order to the permit holder and
to the Department's License Services. The permit holder may appeal the
Director's findings to the Fishery Permit Review Board under OAR
635-005-0425.
(D) Permit holders (or their alternative
designated on the buoy tag order form) must obtain, complete, and sign a
declaration of loss under penalty of perjury in the presence of an authorized
Department employee. The declaration shall state the number of buoy tags lost,
the location and date where lost gear or tags were last observed, and the
presumed cause of the loss.
(2) Possess on a vessel, use, control, or
operate any Dungeness crab gear which does not have a tag affixed to the
individual pot or ring identifying the gear as belonging to that vessel, a
surface buoy bearing the Department buoy brand registered to that vessel, and a
Department buoy tag issued by the Department to that vessel for the current
season, as pursuant to ORS
509.415, except:
(a) To set gear as allowed under OAR
635-005-0405;
(b) Under a waiver granted by the Department
to allow one time retrieval of permitted Dungeness crab gear to shore by
another crab permitted vessel provided that:
(A) The vessel is incapacitated due to major
mechanical failure or destroyed due to fire, capsizing, or sinking;
(B) Circumstances beyond the control of the
permit holder as defined by undue hardship in OAR
635-005-0240 occurred;
(C) A Request must be in writing and a waiver
approved and issued prior to retrieval; and
(D) A copy of the waiver must be on board the
vessel making the retrieval.
(c) Under a waiver granted by the Department
to allow the activities described in this subsection. Waiver requests must be
in writing and a waiver must be approved and issued prior to conducting the
activity. A copy of the waiver must be on board the vessel conducting the
activity. A waiver may be granted by the Department for a:
(A) One time change of buoy tags for gear
deployed at sea associated with a Dungeness crab permit transfer under OAR
635-005-0440;
(B) One time change of buoy tags to another
vessel's tags for gear deployed at sea. The vessel making the change must be
either the vessel that the deployed buoy tags are assigned to or the vessel
that the new tags are assigned to;
(C) One time change of buoy tags at sea to
different crab pots or rings owned by the same vessel making the change. The
vessel making the change must be the vessel the buoy tags are assigned to, and
gear must be transported to shore on the same fishing trip;
(D) One time attachment of late season tags
to gear deployed at sea by a vessel other than the vessel the buoy tags are
assigned to; or
(E) One time
retrieval of permitted Dungeness crab gear to shore by another crab permitted
vessel from August 1 through August 14.
(e) A vessel may transit through the Columbia
River and the Pacific Ocean adjacent to Oregon while possessing Dungeness crab
gear not bearing Oregon buoy tags or Oregon buoy branded surface buoys,
provided that the vessel is authorized and en route to participate or returning
from participating in the Dungeness crab fishery of an adjacent state;
or
(f) When operating crab rings in
bays or estuaries, only a tag affixed to the individual ring is
required.
(3) From May 1
through August 14, possess on a vessel, use, control, or operate commercial
Dungeness crab gear in the Columbia River or Pacific Ocean unless the gear is
individually marked with a secondary Department buoy tag issued by the
Department to that vessel for the current season in addition to the buoy tag
required under section (1) of this rule, provided that:
(a) The primary buoy tag shall remain
attached as required per section (1) of this rule;
(b) The secondary buoy tag shall be securely
attached to the buoy closest to the gear at the end away from the buoy
line;
(c) The Department shall
issue secondary buoy tags to the owner of each commercial crab permit in the
amount requested by the permit owner, not to exceed the amount determined by
OAR 635-005-0405(10);
(d) Secondary buoy tags must be purchased
from the Department at cost and attached to the gear as of the effective date
but no earlier than April 10;
(e)
The exceptions found in sections (2)(b) through (2)(g) of this rule also apply
to this section; and
(f) Any
commercial Dungeness crab gear found in the ocean or Columbia River without a
secondary buoy tag from May 21 through August 14 shall be considered derelict
and may be retrieved per OAR
635-005-0490;
(4) From May 1 through August 14,
land Dungeness crab into Oregon for commercial purposes unless secondary buoy
tags have been purchased from the Department for the Oregon commercial crab
permit under which the landing vessel is operating, except vessels that do not
have any Dungeness crab gear deployed between 46º 15' 00" North Latitude
(Oregon/Washington border) and 42º 00' 00" North Latitude
(Oregon/California border) may land crab legally taken from another state into
the ports of Astoria or Brookings, Oregon.
(5) Use Dungeness crab gear with line other
than dual-colored yellow and black line, with the majority of strands colored
yellow and at least 1/3 of strands colored black, as follows:
(a) Effective December 1, 2026:
(A) For all line used between any two buoys,
except buoy gangions that are less than four feet long may be any color. A buoy
gangion is defined as line that passes through, and is affixed to, the buoy
forming loops on each end of the buoy. The length of a buoy gangion is measured
in a straight line between the opposing loop ends;
(B) For gear with a single buoy or no line
other than buoy gangions of less than four feet connecting multiple buoys, for
all line within six feet of the attachment point of the buoy closest to the pot
or ring, extending toward the crab pot or ring;
(b) Effective December 1, 2028, for all line
within 90 feet of the attachment point of the buoy closest to the crab pot or
ring extending toward the crab pot or ring, except up to 30 feet of line
closest to the crab pot or ring may be any color;
(c) Effective December 1, 2026, or December
1, 2028, as applicable, and through August 14, 2033, line with solid yellow and
black marks meeting the following specifications may be substituted for
dual-colored yellow and black line required by this rule:
(A) Each set of marks shall cover the entire
length and circumference of at least four feet of line with at least two feet
yellow within six inches of at least two feet black;
(B) Marks shall be regularly serviced and
maintained in a condition to readily identify the line marking scheme of yellow
and black;
(C) Effective December
1, 2026:
(i) Line between any two buoys must
have at least one set of marks; and
(ii) For gear with a single buoy or no line
other than buoy gangions of less than four feet connecting multiple buoys, line
must have one set of marks within six feet of the buoy; and
(D) Effective December 1, 2028, the 90 feet
of line measured from the attachment point of the buoy closest to the crab pot
or ring extending toward the crab pot or ring must have at least three sets of
marks. Sets of marks shall be distributed such that one set of marks is near
each end and one set of marks is near the middle of this 90-foot section of
line.
Notes
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 506.036 & ORS 506.119
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS 506.109 & ORS 506.129
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