Washington State Waters

To designate the shore to the 3 nautical mile boundary where State of Washington regulations apply.

Species of Concern: Multiple

Restrictions

Endangered or threatened species may not be taken, possessed, or removed from the water. A list of endangered and threatened species in Washington State is linked to this map.
The following is a non-exhaustive list of some restrictions that apply generally in Washington state waters:
- vessels must stay 300 yards from Southern Resident killer whales on either side and 400 yards in front and behind the whales. Vessels must reduce speed to 7 knots within .5 nautical miles of Southern Resident killer whales and must disengage engines if whales appear within 300 yards. As of January 2025, the required distance will increase to 1,000 yards. Vessels should stay 100 yards from all other marine mammals (e.g. humpback whales, gray whales, sea lions and seals).
- Bottom trawling is prohibited in much of WA state waters.(RCW 77.15.740)
- It shall be unlawful to take, fish for, or possess salmon for personal use by angling from any vessel engaged in any type of commercial fishing or having commercially caught food fish aboard. (WAC 220-353-140)
- It is unlawful to take and possess crab, shrimp, and crawfish taken for personal use except by hand or with hand dip nets, ring nets, shellfish pots, or any hand-operated instrument that will not penetrate the shell. (WAC 220-330-020(1))
- It is unlawful to retain green sturgeon.(WAC 220-316-010(1))
- It is unlawful to fish for or possess halibut taken for personal use, except in a few designated areas.(WAC 220-314-030)
- It is unlawful to fish for squid for commercial purposes within 1/4 mile of the shoreline.(WAC 220-340-770(4))
- It shall be unlawful to take, fish for, or possess for commercial purposes herring or anchovy in Puget Sound except during lawful seasons, with lawful gear and for such purposes as provided in the WAC.(WAC 220-356-110)
- It is unlawful to use purse seine gear (for herring and anchovy) in any Puget Sound area, with exceptions.(WAC 220-356-110(2))
- It is unlawful to discard pacific cod taken by commercial fishing gear.(WAC 220-355-020(9))
- It is unlawful to trawl for scallops in Washington territorial waters west of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line. (WAC 220-340-600)
- It is unlawful to possess lingcod less than 26 inches in length or greater than 36 inches in length taken with commercial gear in all state waters east of the Bonilla-Tatoosh line.(WAC 220-355-020(4))
- Washington has a management plan in place for the commercial and recreational forage fish fisheries. The following prohibitions are some of the restrictions mentioned therein: commercial fishing for sardine in coastal waters is prohibited, except by special permit; the use of castnets or gillnets for is prohibited when fishing for forage fish for personal (a personal use food fish license is required).
Permitting and licensing requirements may apply to any fishery, whether for commercial, sport, or personal use.

Allowed

All removal of marine life must conform to local, state, regional and federal regulations. First, look up the region and then the species of interest. These regulations detail the license, permits, and reporting required. They specify the seasons, vessel type, method of capture, gear type and bait allowed, size and catch limits (including bycatch). These guidelines are not comprehensive: users are responsible for reading the regulations, and for their own compliance with the law. Commercial fishermen need to comply with commercial regulations; sport fishermen need to comply with sportfishing regulations.