Starting January 1st, 2010, sport fishermen (and sportfisherwomen!) will be required to have a saltwater fishing license. This is due to a new federal mandate, seeking to gather better data on fish caught by recreational fishermen along the coast. And improved data collection is expected to lead to improved management of the fisheries. To that end, NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) is requiring that all recreational fishermen be part of the national saltwater angler registry by Jan. 1st, 2010. Coastal states that adopt their own recreational saltwater fishing license law are exempt from the federal fees. Yeah!The good news is that the fee will be zero ($0) for 2010, but going to $10 for 2011. Personally, I don't see where collecting $0 (or $10) will enhance any data collection. Sportfishing in saltwater should remain free. Gov. Duval didn't ask me. Read the details in this article in the Vineyard Gazette.
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