Newsday.com: In long run, licensing could aid saltwater fishing

In long run, licensing could aid saltwater fishing

Tom Schlichter

April 18, 2008

On the surface, the thought of adding bureaucracy to the saltwater-fishing scene stinks like a putrid pile of sun-ripened bunker guts.

Still, a registry of some sort may help prove what local saltwater anglers have been claiming for years - there are more of us than government agencies recognize, and we have less negative impact on fisheries resources than the data suggest.

In the long run, licensing may help give fisheries managers a more accurate estimate of the recreational saltwater catch. It may also encourage them to speak out in a more unified voice to demand an equitable share of saltwater fisheries resources.

Money from the Wallop-Breaux Sportfish Restoration Fund is appropriated based on the total amount of land and water in each state, as well as fishing license sales and an estimate of saltwater anglers. Funds are dedicated directly to sportfishing in the state where they're collected, so New York may find a small windfall that can be used to help rebuild stressed fish stocks, improve fishing access and restore degraded fishery habitat - if more anglers sign up than are now assigned in the estimates.

The flip side of licensing could be as ugly as a toadfish. The perceived hassle and eventual fee involved with registration will undoubtedly cause some anglers to simply opt out of the sport. One wonders, also, how quickly a small license fee will swell to cost more than a five-gallon tank of gas. And how long will it take to generate this new, better data? Three years? Five? Ten?

Will the money go into a New York State fishing fund where it can be diverted to build access ramps upstate, or a fund dedicated strictly to saltwater fishing along the coast? Will it be siphoned off from a general fund with no real return on the investment - or trust - of local anglers? What happens if fewer saltwater anglers sign up than are used in the estimates for Wallop-Breaux?

There's still a lot to hash out, and it's doubtful anyone but scientists and bureaucrats will be happy with the initial outcome. Since a license is coming down the proverbial pike whether we like it or not, the time has come for saltwater anglers to stand up and be counted. That's at least one data set the feds should get right.