And there it is....

[kenyee]

Originally Posted by likwid

NOAA may exempt anglers from registration if they already have a state-issued saltwater fishing license or registration, and the state provides sufficiently complete information to place in the national registry. In certain instances, anglers in states participating in regional surveys of marine recreational fishing may also be exempted. The new rule allows states to apply for exemptions.

Err...see the dinner bell for the politicians?
It won't be exactly hard for them to extend their freshwater license to include saltwater so they can keep the fees, and of course, they'll increase the license fee since this will include "more" areas...

And the operative part of this "Any fee that a state collects through a license can be used for restoration and fishery management in the state" is "can". They can say the license is for other things and tack on more costs if I read it correctly. Without the full legalese, we're just guessing though...

[likwid]

Originally Posted by kenyee

Without the full legalese, we're just guessing though...

Its all there on the regulations.gov site.
Just very very long.

[Flaptail]

Told you all months ago it was coming. Another fee for nothing. Bait shops will take it up the ass, plain and simple on Cape.

Somne nitwit with a phd and no actual fishing experience dreams this
up as a way to find out who is fishing?

More likely a way to fund the research (ie: his grant) to do this ensuring them of an income for a not needed research project.

[Grapenuts]

Federial Receational Saltwater lisc.

How would you like it up your butt..with or without jelly?

[Nebe]

I wonder if this is why Bush named striped bass a gamefish?

Yes, I am always skeptical.. sorry

[kenyee]

Originally Posted by likwid

Its all there on the regulations.gov site.
Just very very long.

It's currently in proposal form...not law yet, but I can't find anything in this that says the money can't be thrown into some random General Fund that the politicians can wallow in....or anything that says the states can only charge what's needed to cover their expenses:
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/mrip/abo...ter_Notice.pdf

As far as I can tell, it lets states claim their licenses are enough if they'll provide the names/addresses/phone#s of all their fishermen so someone can survey them. There's no limit on what fee the states think is "reasonable" for this.

What's amusing is the federal tracking info for this survey is estimated to cost $1.7M. Bet that'll go overbudget as usual