This should go over real well around here.
By Steve Urbon
Standard-Times senior correspondent
December 24, 2008 6:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — The federal government is giving Northeastern states an extra year to come up with a system of registering saltwater recreational fishermen or face federal regulation, which state officials believe may be enough to pass legislation in Massachusetts in 2009.
Paul Diodati, director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, told The Standard-Times: "We continue to explore it. We have met with a number of representatives of the recreational fishing industry in workshop settings, which has gone very, very well."
"Those representatives, for the most part, have supported the idea that the state rather than the federal government administer such a program," he said. That is especially true if and when fees for the licenses are ever required, which some view as inevitable and maybe even desirable.
Today, for instance, the state doesn't have a revenue stream dedicated to expanding the availability of saltwater fishing spots in Massachusetts, Mr. Diodati said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is putting the registry in place to gather data as required under the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, under which NOAA manages saltwater fish stocks.
The final rule, issued Monday, requires anglers and spearfishers who fish recreationally in federal ocean waters to be included in the national registry by Jan. 1, 2010, according to NOAA. There is currently no fee proposal.
States that have their own registries are exempt, as long as they meet NOAA's needs for data collection.
Today, the states that already have their own systems are California, Washington and Oregon, along with Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina.
Those with systems that will need upgrading are Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.
All of New England (excluding Vermont), along with New York and New Jersey, have no saltwater recreational registries or licensing, and will fall under federal rules if they don't implement one.
"It's a matter of a choice between administration by the federal government and the state, at this point. It's become clear from our meetings that there might be more local benefits if the state administers it, more control over cost and implementation," Mr. Diodati said.
Asked how it came to be that the Northeast is the last holdout against such registrations, he said, "There has just been a reluctance on the part of New England to go in this direction, although the Division of Marine Fisheries has recommended a licensing program several times in the past 15 years or so.
"When it comes right down to it, the recreational fishing public has always supported maintaining something that's free rather than pay for it. They've been somewhat satisfied with the level of services they receive from the natural resources agency, and if they had a choice to maintain freedom of public access, that's what they chose," he said.
Contact Steve Urbon at [email protected]
By Steve Urbon
Standard-Times senior correspondent
December 24, 2008 6:00 AM
NEW BEDFORD — The federal government is giving Northeastern states an extra year to come up with a system of registering saltwater recreational fishermen or face federal regulation, which state officials believe may be enough to pass legislation in Massachusetts in 2009.
Paul Diodati, director of the Division of Marine Fisheries, told The Standard-Times: "We continue to explore it. We have met with a number of representatives of the recreational fishing industry in workshop settings, which has gone very, very well."
"Those representatives, for the most part, have supported the idea that the state rather than the federal government administer such a program," he said. That is especially true if and when fees for the licenses are ever required, which some view as inevitable and maybe even desirable.
Today, for instance, the state doesn't have a revenue stream dedicated to expanding the availability of saltwater fishing spots in Massachusetts, Mr. Diodati said.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is putting the registry in place to gather data as required under the 2007 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, under which NOAA manages saltwater fish stocks.
The final rule, issued Monday, requires anglers and spearfishers who fish recreationally in federal ocean waters to be included in the national registry by Jan. 1, 2010, according to NOAA. There is currently no fee proposal.
States that have their own registries are exempt, as long as they meet NOAA's needs for data collection.
Today, the states that already have their own systems are California, Washington and Oregon, along with Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Georgia and South Carolina.
Those with systems that will need upgrading are Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, South Carolina and Florida.
All of New England (excluding Vermont), along with New York and New Jersey, have no saltwater recreational registries or licensing, and will fall under federal rules if they don't implement one.
"It's a matter of a choice between administration by the federal government and the state, at this point. It's become clear from our meetings that there might be more local benefits if the state administers it, more control over cost and implementation," Mr. Diodati said.
Asked how it came to be that the Northeast is the last holdout against such registrations, he said, "There has just been a reluctance on the part of New England to go in this direction, although the Division of Marine Fisheries has recommended a licensing program several times in the past 15 years or so.
"When it comes right down to it, the recreational fishing public has always supported maintaining something that's free rather than pay for it. They've been somewhat satisfied with the level of services they receive from the natural resources agency, and if they had a choice to maintain freedom of public access, that's what they chose," he said.
Contact Steve Urbon at [email protected]
![[thinking]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/010.gif "Thinking [thinking]")
![[angry]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/008.gif "Angry [angry]")
.
