Ocean Shores advisory board discusses changing ordinance to allow carp hunting after Fish and Wildlife meeting

Members of the Fresh Waterways Advisory Board discussed on Aug. 4 a recent meeting with Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officials about options for managing invasive grass carp in Ocean Shores waterways and whether to ask City Council to amend local rules that currently prohibit hunting the fish. The discussion matters because Fish and Wildlife representatives told the board they could offer targeted tools and technical help only if the city first clarified what it wants the waterways to be 2D a fishery or a more cleared/swimmable water body 2D and suggested that removing the city27s prohibition on hunting carp would be the first step toward some removal options. Board member James, who led the delegation to the state agency, said the department described local examples where targeted herbicide and other control work improved fisheries and that 22they are dying to help us.22 He said Fish and Wildlife recommended the city decide what it wants the water to look like and, if the city wants a fishery, to consider removing the local prohibition so additional removal methods could be pursued. Board members and other speakers flagged unresolved legal and jurisdictional questions. One board member reported that the municipal code section cited was 8.20.010 and that ordinance number 996 contained the current language; a caller who identified himself as Don said ordinance 996 was passed on March 27, 2017, and urged the board to review the minutes and ordinance text. Members noted the police department had a different operational view and that police sergeants had told them the code as written could be interpreted in more than one way. The board did not vote on a code change. James said he would 22send the language to the city attorney and ask for an opinion22 about what change, if any, would be needed and what steps Council would have to take. Board members also requested a written statement from Fish and Wildlife documenting the agency27s position before the board pursued code changes with the city. Participants discussed other removal and disposal options that Fish and Wildlife described: DNA testing to confirm carp type (there was concern that triploid carp can sometimes produce fertile offspring), a carp derby run by outside groups as a removal method, and the possibility of selling carcasses to rendering plants. One board member said another jurisdiction obtained about $5 per pound from a renderer for carp, which the board noted as an anecdote rather than a guaranteed revenue source. Speakers asked Fish and Wildlife to resume or update surveys; the board heard the last Fish and Wildlife survey of Ocean Shores waters was in 2014 and that current vegetative coverage estimates from the department were about 5%, with a stated target of 30 to 40% healthy vegetation coverage for a viable warm-water fishery. Next steps recorded in the meeting: the advisory board will seek a written statement from Fish and Wildlife about jurisdiction and recommendations, and James will forward proposed code language to the city attorney for a legal opinion. No ordinance changes were proposed or enacted at the meeting.