GALLOWAY TOWNSHIP - The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council, in a split vote and after a heated debate, voted Thursday night to support a saltwater fishing license.Council Chairman Gil Ewing, who pitched the license as a way to fund marine fisheries programs, said the annual license fee would likely be in the $15 to $25 range.Council also supports lowering size limits for striped bass to 24 inches. Click Here for That StoryState legislation would be needed to institute the license requirement, targeted for next year. There was no exact estimate of how much money it would generate, but there are an estimated 600,000 anglers, some from other states, who fish here.Ewing outlined past attempts to get the state Legislature to fund marine programs that were all unsuccessful. Anglers pay $100 million in taxes to New Jersey each year but the state spends only $1.7 million on fisheries programs, far less than other East Coast states.Ewing said states such as North Carolina have larger fish quotas because they have research that supports them. New Jersey has been shut down in some fisheries, most recently with tautog and later this year possibly with sharks, due to a lack of research or manpower to conform to mandates from the federal government."I know a saltwater license is a bitter pill to swallow. I was against it when I first came on council but I've seen what we lose and what we need. I'm tired of losing on fisheries both recreationally and commercially," Ewing said.The vote on a motion by Dick Herb was 7-2. It was opposed by Joe Rizzo and Ed Goldman.Rizzo and Goldman supported the first part of the motion that called for the council to set up a committee to research a saltwater fishing license and other funding options, with recommendations due at the May meeting.They opposed the second part of Herb's motion calling for supporting a saltwater license "in concept" and sending letters to state lawmakers, including Gov.-elect Chris Christie, stating the stance and asking that council be involved in the process.Some fishermen at the meeting also questioned the need for a committee if a decision to support the license is already made.Herb said there is a time problem. The federal government is forcing anglers to register with a national saltwater registry this year. It is free in 2010 but the federal government may charge a fee in 2011. States with their own license fees in place do not have to pay the federal fee."You don't need a saltwater license to comply with the registry," argued Tony Bogan of the group United Boatman.Bogan also complained that those wanting a license opposed a proposed bill by state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, to create a free New Jersey registry to comply with the federal mandate. Van Drew argued if the state set up a registry it would not have to pay a federal fee. His bill died in committee in December.The license proposal also was opposed by the local group Recreational Fishing Alliance, or RFA. Adam Nowitsky of RFA argued New Jersey anglers pay $242 million in taxes, including $100 million to the state, and only get a return of about 2 percent in funding."I keep hearing license, license, license; the real problem is in regard to funding," Nowitsky said.Fred MacFarland, president of the Cape May County Party and Charter Boat Association, said he represented a coalition of 8,000 anglers who support the license."The federal registration is only free for this year. We're running out of time. Several fisheries are in jeopardy right now," he said.Herb said the state lost 40 percent of its tautog catch one year because it did not have the research or even the manpower to get paperwork done in time. The state may face a shark moratorium later this year for failing to adopt new management measures in time. Herb said the value of New Jersey's fish harvest is No. 3 on the East Coast but the state is No. 12 in funding.The coalition's main concern is money paid doesn't get raided by lawmakers for other programs.Dave Chanda, who heads the state Division of Fish and Wildlife, said fees paid by freshwater anglers and hunters for more than a century have never been raided by lawmakers. There have been attempts but because this would jeopardize federal funding for the programs they were never successful."We get $1.7 million from New Jersey to manage marine fisheries. We need about $20 million to do the job right," Chanda said.Council member Eleanor Bochenek expressed concern funding from the license could lead to a reduction in existing state funding for some programs.Bochenek, however, voted for the license along with Herb, Ewing, Patrick Donnelly, Erling Berg, Frances Puskas and Scott BaileyThe committee will report back to council at the May 13 meeting.
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