Florida saltwater fishermen catch a break on federal program Georgia

Florida saltwater fishermen catch a break on federal program Georgia


BRUNSWICK — Georgia saltwater fishermen with valid state fishing licenses won’t have to register with a federal program intended to improve the collection and analysis of recreational saltwater fishing data.

They are exempt from the National Saltwater Angler Registry and won’t have to pay the program’s $15 annual registration fee.

Georgia and Florida are among 22 coastal states that have saltwater fishermen registries or licensing programs, and therefore are exempt from the federal requirement to provide saltwater angler contact information, natural resources officials said.

The national registry is intended to improve how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration gathers, analyzes and reports saltwater fishing data. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources and other agencies use the information to monitor the health of marine fisheries, which contribute billions annually to the nation’s economy.


Congress created the registry through the Magnuson-Stevens Reauthorization Act of 2006 in an effort to improve surveys of saltwater fishermen. Better angler survey data will lead to better assessments of fish population health and more accurate estimates of fishing effort, said Spud Woodward, director of DNR’s Coastal Resources Division based in Brunswick.

Unless fishermen qualify for an exemption specified by the law, they must register if they are fishing three miles offshore in federal waters, targeting or might catch fish such as salmon, striped bass, shad and river herring, which live in saltwater but spawn in freshwater.

DNR has joined with NOAA for nearly 20 years in conducting saltwater angler and fishing guide surveys. Because of the increased use of cell phones, caller ID, and other communication changes, it’s become more difficult to contact fishermen by randomly calling households, Woodward said.

The national registry “will create a saltwater angler telephone book allowing surveyors to directly contact anglers, greatly improving the cost effectiveness and validity of surveys,” he said.

In addition to state-licensed fishermen, people under 16 or otherwise not required to have a Georgia or Florida fishing license also are exempt from the registry.

Also exempt are people who fish on federally permitted charter, party or guide boats, those holding a Highly Migratory Species Angling Permit or those fishing commercially under a valid license.

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