CASTING COMMENTS As aFREELunch No SuchThing By Ted Venker, Conservation Director, Coastal Conservation Association
O O
VER THE YEARS, I have had a few people ask if the recre- ational angling community works together to achieve conservation goals and, in fact, we do. We have excellent relationships in this arena. Coastal Conservation Asso- ciation, the American Sportfishing Association, The Billfish Foundation, the National Marine Manufacturers Association and the International Game Fish Association, among others, have all worked together successfully on a number of issues
But while it is well known that there
are significant philosophical differ- ences between recreational fishing and commercial fishing, it is less under- stood that there are equally significant differences within the recreational ang- ling community itself. Nowhere are those differences more evident today than in the Northeast, where the states of New York and New Jersey recently decided to repeal the cost of a saltwater recreational fishing license after a cam- paign mounted by recreational anglers. With the exception of saltwater anglers along the Northeast coast, sportsmen have generally always been willing to fund some of the expenses of managing the resources essential to their sport. Freshwater anglers and hunters all over the country are willing supporters and active participants in the management of their resources. In many states, saltwater anglers have also stepped up to the plate to do their part to ensure healthy marine re- sources. License revenues in Texas, South Carolina, Louisiana and Florida have been used to great effect for enforcement, research and habitat enhancement. However, some anglers believe a license is nothing more than a tax on a fundamental right to fish and have stood fast against the $10 or $15 a year that was proposed for a saltwater recreational fishing license in New
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York and New Jersey. Rather than ask saltwater anglers to fund some of the expenses of managing the resources essential to their sport, they champi- oned a “free” license that will fulfill the bare minimum federal data re- quirements, but will also undermine the states’ ability to manage marine fisheries. In today’s economic environ- ment, when state budget deficits run into the billions of dollars, it is difficult to imagine any legislature would agree to further burden the budget to fund management programs that anglers are unwilling to fund for themselves. But in today’s hostile and angry polit- ical environment, it is all too easy to cave in to populist sentiments against government and anything that might resemble a tax. Fighting for a “free” license makes a great sound bite, but when you dig a little deeper into the issue you quickly realize what is at stake. A “free” registry is not really free. It costs money to run even the most basic registry, and so by making it free, recreational anglers become a burden to the state government, in- stead of an asset.
By essentially de-funding the man- agement agency, the anti-license effort opens the door to a degree of anarchy in state waters. Who manages the fish- ery? How are laws enforced? Who catches the poachers? Who determines how healthy (or unhealthy) stocks of fish are? A number of recent editorials in outdoor news publications in New York indicate some are already begin- ning to realize the cost of a “free” license. The state is likely to lose its artificial reef program. Those who purchased lifetime licenses at $150 are in limbo, and many suspect that when the chickens come home to roost, the $10 annual fee that was repealed will be set considerably higher to pull the state out of the hole it is now busily digging.
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It is also becoming apparent to those who fish upstate and hunt in New York that saltwater fishermen are freeloading and essentially have their hands in others sportsmen’s pockets. Upstate anglers and hunters, who pay $29 for their basic licenses rather than the rejected $10 saltwater license fee, are annoyed that the saltwater folks may try to raid the Conservation Fund cookie jar and take funds away from upstate programs rather than fund marine programs out of a dedicated license.
One would have to assume that
the efforts in New York and New Jersey are just the beginning of an ideological campaign against recre- ational fishing licenses. Abill filed by Florida State Sen. Joe Negron aims to eliminate fishing license sales in the Sunshine State. Generally regarded as the saltwater fishing capital of the world, repeal of the saltwater fishing license would have a devastating impact on the Florida’s ability to con- tinue to manage its fisheries at a very high level. And you would also have to assume that there will be similar attempts to repeal saltwater licenses in Texas, Louisiana and other states as well.
I would be surprised if any sports-
man’s organization in the country has ever lobbied to cut off funding and hobble the ability of management agencies to do their jobs with regard to ducks, deer, elk, trout, bass, geese, etc. It is simply counter-intuitive to the conservation ethic of sportsmen every- where. The question is, why would any saltwater angler promote this? Anti-license campaigns assume that anglers place a very low value on their sport. We do not believe that’s true but if it is, and anglers are unwill- ing to be the stewards of the resource over a $10 bill, then angling is facing a much bigger problem than a mere license fee.
TIDE
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