Proposed- Federal Saltwater Fishing License

[mrw]

"Free" the first 2 years

How very nice of them.

$25. -$50 per year there after with the Feds encouraging individual States to implement their own version also.

That means for someone to hit the saltwater once or twice a year during their annual "beach vacation", it might cost as much as $100. to acquire the proper licenses to fish.

May I suggest all of you take a moment and let our freedom loving Government know exactly how you feel about this proposal?

Kindy follow this link and blast away

http://www.regulations.gov/fdmspubli...00006480620f04


Thank you

[warthog]

This is why I avoid signing any of those petitions that limit "commercial" fishing. Some of my well meaning hippy friends get a bunch of signatures together, and pretty soon my rights as a casual weekend fisherman are affected. Here, it is mostly done through mandatory slow speed zones for the "endangered" Manatee. But sometimes they have complete bans on Grouper for one or two months.

I see this as a further extension. The Feds know they have to do something to protect the oceans. First they start by limiting the commercial guys, which leads to less commercial guys. Then, when they realize the funding (which they got mostly from the commercial sector) has dried up, they come after the casual anglers.

I love paying for the shortsightedness and ignorance of others.

[mrw]

Now is the time to take a stand.

[GoEhuge]

Oh man, what a freaking joke. Most casual vacationers who decide to pass some time or escape the family for a few by doing a little shore casting rarely catch a goddamn thing, and only do it for a few hours a year. Give me a break. If my dad has to pay to get away from the kids and the wife for a few hours in the morning after hes spent an assload to rent a beach house... not cool.

[LegoSkier]

I'm totally unfamiliar with the East Coast. Don't you need a fishing license to fish in those states? You would need one here in Cali even if you are just visiting for a few days. The proposed rule states:
"It also would exempt persons from that requirement if
licensed by a state that provides registration data determined to be
sufficient for the agency's needs."
So you wouldn't need the federal license if you have an applicable state license of any type. Which I imagine would apply to most everyone. So at the most, this proposed program just seems like a big waste of time and money since most people would be exempt.

[mrw]

no saltwater license required on the East coast

Freshwater, I can understand as it helps with re-stocking etc.

[hop]

I've been paying for saltwater fishing licenses since I was 16.

Maybe this explains why the ratio of beer bellies to bikinis was about 20:1 on the beaches of NJ last week. I've never seen so much fishing effort outside of combat zones in AK before. Hrm.