Short Wave Sportfishing wrote:
On Sat, 14 Jun 2008 06:26:15 -0700 (PDT),
wrote:

Wow, great article... But I was really hoping to hear your feelings on
the issue.. You have seen fishing from all sides of the table..

I'm not strictly "opposed" to the whole idea of a salt water license -
in fact, in a lot of ways, it makes a lot of sense to require one.

What I'm opposed to is the typical hodge podge approach to the problem
on the East Coast. The West Coast doesn't have the same "problems"
because there are only three states in the CONUS and Alaska/HA as
outriders not near any other state - it's an entirely different
approach.

On the East Coast you have fourteen states that all have an interest
in the Atlantic/Continental Shelf fishery.

If you look at this map...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:U...East_Coast.png

you see gist of the East Coast problem - border states.

In the area I fish, I can travel from CT waters through RI waters to
NY waters in the space of, and I'm not kidding here, 100 feet. If you
remember back when we launched out of Stonington, the second we left
the launch ramp we were in RI - we launched in CT. That bit where we
rounded Napatree Point, we were in CT - to the breakwater we were in
RI and past the breakwater we were in NY. Remember when we traveled
down to Race Rock and we could throw a rock at the Mystic Harbor? We
were in NY.

Each state has different regulations for their fishery. I can catch a
legal fish in CT waters and be stopped by NY DEM and cited because the
fish I'm carrying isn't fit their regulations. RI requires that the
fish be whole and not filleted on board while CT and NY don't. And the
various DEP/DEM organizations don't want to hear "I caught the fish
in...".

What NOAA is doing here is force those states that do not have a
sal****er license to adopt one - which means, technically, that each
state will have to adopt a separate licensing structure. If it follows
the normal structure, there will be a resident license and a
non-resident license. Which means, in theory, I'll have to obtain
licenses for CT/RI/MA/NY/NJ (if I venture beyond the area of Montauk)
which for four states will be twice what it costs a resident. In
theory, it will cost $230 dollars (based on current licenses for fresh
water) to obtain the licenses I will need to fish the waters I ply.

That's the essential nature of my complaint - five separate licenses
are too much - it's silly and it's plainly stupid. Add the licenses on
top of the varying rules and regulations and it's a freakin'
nightmare.

What I want to see is a permanent Federal license system that
supersedes state licenses for salt water - after all, the fisheries
are basically managed through the Feds via the regional councils so it
would make sense to have the Feds to the license procedures - after
all, their the ones who want the data.

Unfortunately, that's not how it's going to be. It's going to be a
nightmare unless the states have some sort of reciprocity and that
just isn't going to happen.

The interesting part of this is that NOAA is pushing this onto
recreational segement as the behest of the commercial interests. The
commercial types claim that the rec segement is taking too much of the
available stock and thus, ruining the commercial business side. The
commercials want the rec quota lowered ever more than it is and this
is somehow going to prove it.

Right.

And here's the other issue. Let's say that CT/RI/NY/MA don't enact a
sal****er license and you have to get the NOAA license/permit. Nothing
says that the NOAA license/permit is valid for anywhere other than the
state in which you live. Which would seem to mean that if CT enacts
the sal****er license and RI/NY don't, we cannot fish in NY or RI
waters even though we have the NOAA license/permit because the
license/permit is based on residency.

This is going to be a nightmare.

How much is it going to cost me??

In CT, probably $20 - which is what the freshwater license is. Out of
state will be $40.
It;s not about providing data on anything. It is about harassement and
elimination of individual's access to fish stocks. The commercials say
we don't need to fish that there is plenty of fish in the markets.
What Business wants business gets these days. There is no budget, There
is no economic planning. It is simply give Business anything it wants.
They know best and they are my constiutents. The Laws and soveignty and
our rights are obstacles to their profits. Everyone is contining to jut
give them a little and a little more and a little more. Better get some
backbone and stand up. One other thing our protectors want to know
everyone on the water and where they areand what they are doing. This no
doubt is figured as part of the proposal.