OAR 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. (d) When retrieving derelict Dungeness crab gear as pursuant to OAR 635-005-0490 or 635-005-0491; (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.