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Grouper
Posts: 1173
  
Location: Tampa Bay | Worth the price of admission?
By FRANK SARGEANT Tribune correspondent
Published: May 16, 2009
It was a long time coming. Twenty years, in fact.
That's how long some conservationists have been campaigning for the state Legislature to pass a law requiring the same licensing for saltwater anglers who fish from shore, bridges, piers or by wading as for those who fish from watercraft.
This year, it finally happened.
Provided the governor signs the bill - and it's expected he will - shore-bound anglers will be required to buy a license costing $7.50, or about half of what boating anglers pay.
Anglers fishing in their home county with a cane pole will not be required to buy the license, and qualified low-income residents will be exempt, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Lee Schlesinger.
The new license could apply to as many as 338,000 residents, and thus would gross as much as $2.5 million. And because federal Wallop-Breaux monies, raised by taxing boats, motors and fishing gear, are apportioned to states based on the number of fishing license buyers, millions more could come to Florida's conservation commission. These would be monies now being lost because Florida does not license the hundreds of thousands of shore anglers.
All license funds go to conservation, management, research and law enforcement for Florida's fish and wildlife.
Though many who would have to buy the new license are complaining long and vociferously on Internet Web sites, the continuing free lunch for shore anglers was about to end in any case. Managers of federal fisheries are rapidly working toward putting a recreational fishing permit into place so they can better count fishing effort and adjust their management efforts to match the pressure.
(The feds have gotten a lot of criticism from anglers in recent years because their fishing pressure and survey methods determining fishing success are deemed by many to be highly inaccurate, resulting in regulations that don't accurately reflect the state of many fisheries. Gag grouper and red snapper are the current hot buttons.)
The permit will apply to all anglers who fish coastal waters, inshore and offshore.
According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, anglers who buy saltwater licenses from their home state will not be required to buy the added federal permit, which is expected to cost $10.
Anglers who fish from commercial piers where a fee is charged to enter will not be required to buy the shore license. However, anglers who ride in a boat to a fishing spot - a wade-fishing flat, for example - would be required to buy the standard saltwater license. The less expensive shore license would not be applicable for them.
All of Florida's fishing licenses are available by phone or via the Internet. Anglers buying licenses this way are issued a temporary authorization number, or TAM, which allows them to fish legally immediately. The actual license arrives via U.S. mail within 10 days of the purchase.
To buy a license (after July 15), call 1-888-347-4356 or visit www.myfwc.com and click on licenses.
Original Article
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Shore Anglers License Required - Frank Sargeant | TBO
