Saltwater fishermen balk at national registry
by Jay Lindsay, AP
“Starting in 2010, federal law requires all the nation’s saltwater fishermen to be registered, whether they fish from a boat, dock or the Cape canal’s rocky borders. In most states, the registration will come with an annual fee of about $10 to $25.
But the new requirement has met stubborn resistance in the Northeast.
“People have tossed hooks and lines into the New England tides since long before there was a Cape Cod Canal for Eddie Pachucki to fish in. So Pachucki, casting into the canal’s current for striped bass, couldn’t fathom why he’d soon owe the state for the privilege.
“They didn’t put the stripers there,” said the 31-year-old baker. “Why should I pay to catch them?”
Of the 21 coastal states in the continental United States, five haven’t approved a registry: Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Maine and New Jersey, even though the National Saltwater Angler Registry was originally supposed to be in place in January.
Maine state Rep. John McKane, a Newcastle Republican who’s opposed to the registry, says it’s just not the government’s business to know who’s picking up a rod and heading for surf.
“It requires people to go and get a certificate from the government for something they’ve always done, free as you please,” he said. “We’re losing our freedoms, they keep getting eroded one by one, and this is a big one.”
The registry was mandated in 2007, when the federal Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Act was reauthorized. There are various registry exemptions, including one for anyone under 16.
Interesting to note, the The Pew Environment Group, an independent think-tank, “commended the Mid-Atlantic Council on its initial step toward implementing new federal requirements…”
The Natural Resource Defense Council, Environment America and the Marine Fish Conservation Network have also submitted comments backing the council as it works to faithfully implement the new rules to end overfishing.
When we took a look at just who these groups were, we find that the “The Mid-Atlantic Council consists of representatives from New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. The Council consists of 25 members (21 voting, 4 non-voting), representing State and Federal agencies and the public. The voting members are the Regional Administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service, a State fisheries official from each State, and thirteen public members nominated by the State Governors and selected by the Secretary of Commerce. Each State is entitled to at least one public member, with the remaining public members appointed at-large. The public members serve three-year terms. The non-voting members represent the Fish and Wildlife Service (Dept. of the Interior), the US Coast Guard, the State Department, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. A permanent staff, a Scientific and Statistical Committee, and an Advisory Panel are established to support and advise the Council.”
Looks to us as if there is no chance the people could have voted on this extra tax.. and that appointees and non-governmental organizations are advising for these changes.
The Natural Resource Defense Council, Environment America, and the Marine Fish Conservation Network are also non-governmental, private organizations who seem to have been self-appointed to the task of deciding whether we should be taxed on our use of the oceans.
Contrary to what some articles state, on May 13, 2009 the NH Senate approved a saltwater fishing license with a fee of $15 under the premise that if they did not levy the fee, the national fee could be a lot higher. The implementation of that fee would begin in 2011.