Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 3, March 1, 2024
(1) A
boat license is issued in accordance with ORS
508.035 and
508.260 of the commercial
fishing laws and is required for the owner or operator of any boat used in
taking food fish or shellfish for commercial purposes, except for the taking of
clams or crayfish.
(2) A pair of
decals bearing the last two numbers of the year for which the license is issued
is included with the license for placement on the licensed boat. The license
year decals shall be affixed to the licensed boat in a conspicuous place on
each side of the boat on the superstructure as near midship as
practicable.
(3) In accordance with
subsection (3) of ORS
508.260, the assigned
identification number of each licensed commercial fishing boat shall be as
follows:
(a) The federal document number (all
vessels five registered net tons and over);
(b) The state vessel registration number (all
vessels not having a federal document number).
(4) Licensed commercial fishing boats which
are federally documented shall have the document identification number
displayed on each side of the boat adjacent to the current year license decal
in not less than 3-inch high block numbers either placed on the boat or on an
identification plate attached to the boat.
(5) Licensed commercial fishing boats which
are state registered shall have their identification number displayed on each
side of the bow as required by the appropriate laws or rules for displaying
such number.
(6) Except as
authorized by OAR 635-006-0132 or for fishers having a current Oregon Wholesale
Fish Dealer license and Fish Buyer license, it is unlawful to
transfer or sell commercially caught food fish, shellfish, or parts thereof,
from a commercial fishing vessel to other than an Oregon Wholesale Fish Dealer
or Fish Bait Dealer.
(7) As a
license condition, owners or operators of commercial fishing vessels must
cooperate with Department or Federal fishery observers, or observers collecting
data for the Department or Federal agency, when asked, by the Department, to
carry and accommodate an observer on fishing trips at no charge to the
sponsoring agency.
(a) If observer coverage
of a trip is denied by the owner or operator of a vessel, the Department shall
require an explanation in writing from the owner or operator. This explanation
shall be received by the Department within 15 days of written request by the
Department for an explanation.
(b)
The Department may request that the Commission revoke fishing permits or
licenses for failure to cooperate in the observer program, after first allowing
the owner or operator to meet with the Manager of the Marine Resources Program,
or their representative, to provide an explanation for the denial.
(c) The Department shall not require the
vessel operator or owner to provide an observer with meals or a subsistence
allowance on observed fishing trips, but the vessel operator shall accommodate
the observer with regard to reasonable eating and working conditions and access
to pertinent fishing information and fishery data while aboard the
vessel.
(d) Failure to provide
reasonable eating and working conditions or access to pertinent fishing
information or fishery data to observers, or actions taken by a vessel owner or
operator against an observer that is prohibited pursuant to subsection (e), on
observed fishing trips may lead to revocation of the vessel's fishing permits
or licenses following the procedure outlined in subsection (b) above.
(e) To ensure that observer objectives may be
reasonably and safely achieved, consistent with federal groundfish observer
rules, it is
unlawful for any person to:
(A) Forcibly assault, resist, oppose, impede,
intimidate, sexually harass, bribe, or interfere with an observer;
(B) Interfere with or bias the sampling
procedure employed by an observer, including physical, mechanical, or other
sorting or discarding of any catch before sampling;
(C) Tamper with, destroy or discard an
observer's collected samples, equipment, or personal gear, without the express
consent of the observer;
(D)
Prohibit or bar by command, impediment, threat, coercion, or refusal of
reasonable assistance, an observer collecting samples, making observations, or
otherwise performing the observers duties;
(E) Harass an observer by conduct that has
sexual connotations, has the purpose or effect of interfering with the
observer's work performance, or otherwise creates an intimidating, hostile or
offensive environment; or
(F)
Require, pressure, coerce, or threaten an observer to perform duties normally
performed by crew members.
Stat. Auth.: ORS
506.036,
506.109,
506.119,
506.129,
508.025 &
508.035
Stats. Implemented: ORS
506.109,
506.129,
506.306,
508.025,
508.035 and
508.260
