Well I hate to add to the confusion but we had the same question regarding license requirements. A fishing partner talked to the Northwest office of ODFW earlier in the week and was told that either license was legal in the Columbia. Today another fishing partner sent the email below and received the following response. Now I'm really confused? :whazzup:It's sure frustrating when you are trying to follow the regulations but can't figure out what they are. To be covered we will spend the $16.50 for out of state licenses.
Partners email to ODFW:
We are Washington State residents and intend to go crabbing next
weekend in
the Columbia River between Buoy 10 and Chinook, WA. It is our
understanding
that the Oregon/Washington border in this area is very near the
Washington side
of the river and that we , most likely, will be in Oregon waters. As
we read
the Oregon regulations it is legal for us to take crab from these
Oregon
waters if we have valid Washington permits and licenses as long as we
abide by the
Oregon regulations. It appears that where the Columbia River is the
border
between the two states, either Oregon or Washington licenses are all
that is
required. In order to insure that we are interpreting the regulations
correctly
we have the following two questions regarding this matter:
1. If we have the shellfish/seaweed license and catch record card
for
Washington can we take crabs from anywhere in the Colulmbia River
between Buoy
10 and Chinook or do we need to purchase nonresident licenses from
Oregon? ,
and
2. If we take crabs from the Columbia River in Oregon waters and
abide
by Oregon regulations do we need to record the crabs taken on our
Washington
catch record card if we launch our boat in Washington (most likely at
Chinook,
WA.)?
Thank you in advance for taking the time to answer our inquiry.
Response from ODFW:
There is no reciprocity between Oregon and Washington for the harvesting
of shellfish in the Columbia River. If you are harvesting crabs in
Oregon waters you MUST have an Oregon Shellfish License and vice versa.
-Travis
Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
Information and Education Division
www.dfw.state.or.us