NY Saltwater License Repeal Bills Expected

The Good News Never Stops

February 28, 2011 – New York State Sen. Lee M. Zeldin announced that there are plans to repeal the state’s very controversial saltwater fishing license fee. The Senator even spoke at the Suffolk County Boat Show, highlighting his plan to replace the with a free online registration which will be compliant with federal regulations.

New York’s saltwater fishing user fee took effect in October 2009 and was initiated by act of legislation in part to collect the names and phone numbers of saltwater anglers in New York, a new federal requirement for data collection. Last week, New Jersey governor Chris Christie signed a new angler registration system into law designed to meet these same federal requirements, one with no angler fee attached, something New York’s sportfishing community wonders why it couldn’t have been similarly accomplished.

“Anglers in New York are frustrated by the federal limitations on when and how we’re allowed to fish, especially with regard to the draconian size and bag restrictions on fluke,” said Jim Hutchinson, Jr., managing director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA) and president of the New York Sportfishing Federation (NYSF). “It’s hard to comprehend how a saltwater user fee was supposed to make everything better when regulations in New York are the worst on the Atlantic Coast and only getting worse.”