The Virginian-Pilot
©
RICHMOND
The General Assembly on Wednesday passed a bill that will keep Virginia anglers in compliance with a federally ordered national registry.
Because of several saltwater fishing license exemptions, Virginia was non-complaint with the National Saltwater Angler Registry. That would have forced state anglers to sign up for the registry and pay a yearly fee starting next year of between $15 and $25.
Senate Bill 668 opted to do away with exemptions and bring the state into compliance with the federal law, angering many anglers who purchase a license for their boat that allows anyone on that vessel to fish without purchasing an individual license.
The bill passed and was sent to the House, where an addition was added to keep the exemptions.
On Wednesday, the two sides compromised and ordered a state registry that will both meet the federal requirements and keep all exemptions in place. The Senate approved the revised bill 39-1 and it unanimously approved 94-0 in the House.
To pay for the new state registry, the cost of individual licenses likely will increase by $5, while the widely popular “boat” license will go up $10.
The bill still has to be signed by the governor.
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want higher fee for what???
These fisherie management people say they care about the fish stocks, but they turn a blind eye to the menhaden.One of the most important fish in the bay,and let a texas company use them for fertalizer.They are a waste of taxpayer money in my book.
It's a Census
The government socialists want to first find out how many fisherman work the coastal areas. Then they are going to close off these areas for the environmentalists to "protect" the fish, while taxing the fisherman and taking these fees {taxes) for purposes other than fisheries. It's what the government is good at. Virginia already diverted fishing fees for unrelated purposes last year. This was reported by the Pilot.
Typical government.Just what does the regristry do?
Typical government.Just what does the regristry do?
National registry
Santa, you ask a valid question. Here's the problem. Fisheries management depends on good catch data. The feds don't have any of that for recreational anglers. Commercial fishermen are required to report all of their catches. Dockside surveys is how they get recreational data and how many of us have ever been surveyed. The national registry is supposed to give the feds a list of recreational anglers they can do phone surveys with. It might just be a better way. The jury is out on that one as well. I sounds better, but will it be? As recreational anglers who complain about data, we owe it to give this way a try. That's the reason for the national registry.
Thanks for the answer,
Thanks for the answer, however, the State should not charge for something I can register online for for free.
It's not free
Santa, the national registry is free this year, but starting next year will cost between $15 to $25 a year.
More layers of bureaucracy
Five dollars more an angler, ten dollars more a boat just to record-keep.
When will the bureaucracy end and the work begin. If they are so concerned about fish, why don't they actually do something- build and operate more fish hatcheries. Maybe they'll just do another study or, better yet, hire a consultant.