“Buying a Washington state hunting or fishing license will be a lot easier next year with the help of a new computerized licensing system now being designed for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.The agency has signed a contract with MCI Worldcom Communications Inc. to develop and maintain a computerized system that will allow Washington residents and non-residents to buy hunting and fishing licenses over the Internet or by phone.It will also speed up over-the-counter sales and allow the department to keep up-to-the-minute records of license sales.Bruce Crawford, manager of WDFW’s licensing program, said testing of the new Washington Interactive Licensing Database (WILD) system will begin this summer at WDFW regional offices with full deployment at all 700 dealers expected by spring 2001.Telephone and Internet service is expected to be on line by winter of this year.In addition to the added convenience for customers, the new licensing system will also allow the department to maintain a complete, up-to-the-minute record of license sales, eliminating the need for tallying paper receipts by hand. The new telephone and Internet service will also allow the agency to collect hunting and fishing survey information more quickly and accurately, giving resource managers better information to set seasons and harvest levels, Crawford said.WILD will be financed with a new transaction fee approved by the 1999 Legislature. Under the terms of the contract with WDFW, MCI will provide all computer hardware and software, as well as training for the agency’s 700 license dealers, in return for a 9.5 percent transaction fee on the price of a license.Beginning March 1, 2001, for example, a resident freshwater fishing license would cost $20 plus a $1.90 transaction fee, which will go to MCI. Customers will still pay a separate dealer handling fee of $2.00 in addition to the new transaction fee for most purchases.The contract stipulates that MCI will maintain the system for at least six years at least through June 30, 2006 and must give the agency at least 180 days notice if it wants to terminate the contract after that time.Under the WILD system, those who purchase licenses by phone will be issued an authorization number so they can begin fishing or hunting right away if those licenses do not require an accompanying game tag or catch record card. Those who purchase licenses via the Internet can print them out on their home printer or have them mailed. Game tags and catch cards will be sent through the mail to those who buy licenses by phone or the Internet.REGULATIONS CHANGE: Recreational clam and oyster seasons are changing on eight Puget Sound beaches. The following rules went into effect Friday:Eagle Creek (on Hood Canal between Lilliwaup and Hoodsport): open for oyster harvest through May 31.Freshwater Bay County Park Tidelands (west of Port Angeles): open May 16-July 15 for oyster harvest.Hope Island State Park: closing immediately for clam harvest.Pillar Point County Park: open for clam harvest through April 30. Potlatch State Park: open for clam and oyster harvest through June 30.Fishers should check the Fishing in Washington regulation pamphlet for additional rules. Recreational clam and oyster harvesting requires a shellfish/seaweed license. Harvesters also should check the Marine Toxin Hotline (1-800-562-5632) for red tide information and WDFW’s Shellfish Rule Change Hotline (360 796- 3215) before fishing. NO CRABBING: Marine waters near Bellingham and Anacortes are now closed to all recreational and commercial crab pot fishing.The WDFW will allow recreational fishers to continue to fish for crab using ring nets, start traps, wading or diving in those areas. Norm Lemberg, WDFW resource manager, said the closures are necessary to protect molting crab now entering a soft-shell period when they are vulnerable to handling mortality. Waters affected by the pot fishing closure include Bellingham, Chuckanut, Samish, Padilla and Fidalgo bays. The area scheduled for closure includes that portion of Marine Area 7 south of a line extending from Point Francis to the north end of Inati Bay on Lummi Island, east of a line drawn through Lummi Rocks on the west side of Lummi Island to the northern point of Sinclair Island, and east of a line drawn from the southeast point of Sinclair Island to the Shannon Point state ferry dock near Anacortes. The portion of Marine Area 7 that includes Lopez Sound, Blakely Sound, Mud Bay and Hunter Bay is already closed to recreational crab pot fishing. Also closed are Marine Areas 8-1 and 8-2, which include marine waters on the east side of Whidbey Island, which closed in December to ensure tribal treaty allocations. Lemberg said he expects the pot fisheries to be reopened this summer when the molt is complete and tribal allocations are assured.RECORD CARDS REQUIRED: Sport Dungeness crab fishers must begin recording their harvests on WDFW catch record cards beginning today. The catch record cards are available at WDFW regional offices and at fishing and hunting license vendors and are issued when new fishing licenses are purchased. Sport fishers must have their 2000-2001 fishing licenses to fish as of today. Fishers will receive one catch record card with sections for Dungeness crab, salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and halibut. The consolidation to one document is part of WDFW’s effort to simplify the fishing and hunting licensing system. THE REEL FACTS: According to reports, the trout fishing has been fair at Pass, Cranberry, and Lone Lakes. … salmon fishing in been slow at Midchannel Bank off Port Townsend although some anglers have landed some decent sized chinook. … halibut seasons have been announced by the Pacific Halibut Commission. Fishing is expected to be good this year with the catch quota for Washington increasing 9 percent from last year. Inland waters from Tatoosh Island east will open May 25 through July 27, with fishing closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays. The limit will be one fish. The north coast, catch Areas 3 and 4, opens May 2 and closes after a catch of 92,774 pounds. Seven-thousand pounds will be reserved for a season opening July 1. Fishing will be closed Sundays and Mondays, and the limit is one. … the winter blackmouth season ends April 10. The best action has been off north Hat, Camano Head, and north to the San Juans.Got a hot scoop or a fishing tip you want to share? Call Bob Taylor at the News-Times at 675-6611, or e-mail sports@whidbeynewstimes.com”