(1) Registration and limited participation salmon net fishery definition: For the purpose of this section, "registration and limited participation salmon net fishery" refers to any of the following commercial gillnet and purse seine fisheries:

(a) Catch Reporting Area 10 pink (odd-years only).

(b) Catch Reporting Area 7B coho.

(c) Catch Reporting Area 7/7A sockeye (every year) and pink (odd-years only).

(d) Catch Reporting Areas 7/7A, 10/11, and 12/12B/12C chum.

(2) The director may authorize a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery when a harvestable number of salmon is determined to be available, but unknown participation or full-fleet participation fishing effort presents risk of:

(a) Exceeding the available harvest; or

(b) Compromising other specific management objectives.

(3) The director may establish a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery for purposes including, but not limited to:

(a) Experimental or developmental fisheries;

(b) Fisheries necessary to refine run size data;

(c) Fisheries necessary to provide biological information; and

(d) Cases where:

(i) Other specific management objectives have been identified including, but not limited to, the following: Reducing levels of incidental catch of wild salmon stocks and reducing incidental catch of nontarget salmon species originating from regions other than the fishing area;

(ii) There is a reasonable expectation that foregone opportunity will be claimed, and the harvestable surplus cannot be carried forward to the next year of harvest; and

(iii) Full-fleet participation, even with time, space, or gear restrictions, may exceed the harvest goal.

(4) The number of units of each gear type selected to participate in a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery will reflect the most recent ratio of gear types in the full-fleet fishery directed at the species in question, except when conservation concerns, biological data collection needs, or specific management objectives dictate alternative ratios or use of a single gear type.

(5) Preseason commercial salmon application for a registration and limited participation salmon net fishery: A person who owns a valid department issued commercial salmon license must apply and register for the fisheries described in subsection (1) of this section by submitting an online preseason commercial salmon application to the department. License holders include: License owner, primary operator, alternate operator(s), or license lessees. Submission of the online preseason commercial salmon application is required to be an eligible participant in any registration and limited participation salmon net fishery as described in subsection (1) of this section.

(a) Preseason commercial salmon application requirements:

(i) License holders must submit a separate online preseason commercial salmon application for each registration and limited participation fishery the applicant wishes to register for.

(ii) Select one gear type: Gillnet or purse seine.

(iii) Provide a valid commercial salmon license number.

(iv) Provide a valid vessel name and vessel ID number.

(v) Provide a valid license holder name (first and last).

(vi) Provide a valid mailing address.

(vii) Provide a valid email address.

(viii) Provide a valid phone number that can receive standard text messages.

(b) Preseason commercial salmon application deadlines:

(i) Catch Reporting Area 7B coho - Third Monday of July.

(ii) Catch Reporting Area 7/7A sockeye (every year) and pink (odd-years only) - Third Monday of July.

(iii) Catch Reporting Area 10 pink (odd-years only) - Third Monday of July.

(iv) Catch Reporting Areas 7/7A, 10/11, and 12/12B fall chum - Second Monday of September.

(6) Registration lists and selection:

(a) Each year, the department will generate a randomly ordered registration list for each individual registration and limited participation salmon net fishery using all submitted preseason commercial salmon applications.

(b) Randomly ordered registration lists for each individual registration and limited participation salmon net fishery will be available for inspection at the department's Olympia office and posted publicly on the department web page prior to the fishery seasons, or upon written request to the department.

(7) In-season commercial salmon application for the registration and limited participation salmon net fishery: After submitting an online preseason commercial salmon application, the license holder, as described in subsection (5) of this section, must complete a weekly in-season commercial salmon application online for each registration and limited participation salmon net fishery in which they wish to participate.

(a) In-season commercial salmon application requirements:

(i) The applicant must have submitted a valid preseason commercial salmon application and be listed on the publicly posted randomly ordered registration list.

(ii) At the time of submitting the in-season commercial salmon application the applicant must possess an "active" commercial salmon license, as defined in (7)(c) of this subsection.

(iii) Each applicant on a registration list must submit an in-season commercial salmon application for each registration and limited participation salmon net fishery they intend to fish.

(iv) Select one gear type: Gillnet or purse seine.

(v) Provide a valid and active commercial salmon license number.

(vi) Provide a valid and active vessel name and vessel ID number.

(vii) Provide a valid and active license holder name (first and last).

(b) In-season commercial salmon application deadlines: In-season commercial salmon applications must be submitted online during the weekly registration window between each Tuesday at 12:01 a.m. and the following Monday at 12:00 p.m. (noon). Management weeks start on Sunday and end on Saturday for commercial salmon fisheries. Applications submitted during each weekly registration window are only valid for the following management week.

(c) Active license definition: For the purpose of this section, "active" refers to a commercial salmon license that has been renewed and activated for the current year through the department commercial licensing and includes an imprint card with the license number, registered vessel ID, primary operator, alternate operator(s), and vessel name.

(8) Compliance and license management:

(a) A vessel is compliant with this section if it displays an active commercial salmon license and:

(i) Has completed the preseason application for each registration and limited participation salmon net fishery once; and

(ii) Has fully completed the in-season commercial salmon applications for each registration and limited participation salmon net fishery weekly, as determined by the department.

(b) When multiple individuals share the same license number, only one application may be accepted for both the preseason and in-season commercial salmon application per registration and limited participation salmon net fishery.

(9) Participation and in-season management of registration and limited participation salmon net fisheries:

(a) When limited participation is not established during in-season management for a specific fishery:

(i) An applicant's position on the randomly ordered registration list does not change; the applicant retains the same position as in the previous management week.

(ii) If an applicant fails to submit a weekly in-season commercial salmon application by the deadline, the applicant is not eligible to participate in the subsequent management week's fishery.

(b) When limited participation is established during in-season management for a specific fishery:

(i) Failure to submit a weekly in-season commercial salmon application disqualifies an applicant from participating in the subsequent management week's limited participation fishery and moves the applicant to the bottom of the randomly ordered registration list.

(ii) WDFW will select applicants in order from the randomly ordered registration list and will continue down the list until the number of allowable units of gear is reached. Selected applicants will be moved to the bottom of the randomly ordered registration list for the subsequent management week's fishery.

(iii) Nonselected applicants retain the same position on the randomly ordered registration list as in the previous management week.

(c) Agreement to participate in an authorized registration and limited participation salmon net fisheries may require a department observer on board a participating vessel, per RCW 77.12.071.