Recreational anglers need state saltwater permit 2011
LYNN - The days of picking up your fishing rod and tossing a line into the ocean without a license are gone.
As of Jan. 1, saltwater fishing from beaches, rocks, docks, shorelines and non-charter boats is a punishable offense in Massachusetts unless the angler holds a $10 state-issued permit.
Although licenses for hunting and fresh-water fishing have long been required in the Bay State, recreational anglers until now could spontaneously jig for flounder or troll for stripers from the family Whaler with no thought of breaking the law.
"The state wants people to buy their licenses online so that the government gets the money," said Laura Ippoliti, owner of Ippi's Bait & Tackle at 5 Parkland Ave. "When I first started three years ago, I was given a probation period for selling licenses. The state made me buy a permit, a $6,000 bond that cost me $600 out of pocket. Basically, they screwed me, so I don't sell licenses anymore."
Ippoliti said anglers can buy a saltwater fishing permit at the Dick's Sporting Goods retail chain store in Danvers, but not the one in Saugus. "Each Dick's store would need a separate permit to sell licenses, so Saugus doesn't do it," she said. "Most people buy them online."
Ippoliti said the upside of the new permit requirement could manifest itself in the hiring of more state Environmental Police officers to protect saltwater species and expanded fisheries management. "That may be the good thing because there are still a lot of people out there catching and keeping illegally," she said, recalling a recently heard story of a man fishing from Red Rock Park off Lynn Shore Drive. "The guy had his car parked nearby with a bucket under his engine hood where the windshield water fluid would be and he was filling it with flounder that were short (of the legal size)."According to the state Division of Marine
Fisheries (DMF), all permit fees will be deposited in a dedicated account managed by the agency. An advisory panel will assist DMF in development programs to spend collected funds. Permits fees cannot be used for any purpose unrelated to marine recreational fishing in Massachusetts.
Charles Casella, chairman of the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Committee, owner of a Winthrop-based charter company and member of the Marblehead Surfcasters, was among the advisers to craft the saltwater permit.
"We wanted it to be dedicated funding so that the money collected would be used for fisheries management and federally protected," he said. "I can understand how people might be concerned about how the money is spent. That's why there was a recreational panel of 25 stakeholder members who came up with this."
Fees collected for freshwater fishing licenses in Massachusetts are returned to the state. The bulk of saltwater permit fees pay for the administrative costs associated with the federal registry, said Casella, noting the approximately $2 left over is applied to fisheries management.
Told some anglers fear the $10 annual fee will increase, just as freshwater licenses have risen from $10 to $30, he said, "Hunting and inland fishing licenses have only gone up twice in 30 years. Inland fishing license fees support the Fisheries and Wildlife budget. That isn't the case with the saltwater permits. They were not created to raise money for the state."
Fines stemming from the saltwater permit system are also returned to the fund, not the state.
Under the new system, anglers must purchase a $10 annual saltwater permit valid from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. Residents under age 16 are not required to obtain one. Permits are free to those older than 60.
However, senior citizens must still apply and register before receiving their fee-waived permit.
The regulations were enacted to include a reciprocal agreement with adjacent states so that Massachusetts residents can use their saltwater fishing permit in New Hampshire or Rhode Island.
If fishing buddies from out of state want to try their luck in Massachusetts coastal waters, they must purchase a saltwater permit for $10.
Saltwater permits are for sale online at www.mass.gov by the state Department of Fish and Game, or in person at the offices in Gloucester, Boston and New Bedford. The Gloucester and New Bedford offices only accept checks, money orders or exact-change cash payments.
A separate permit must be obtained for freshwater fishing. Combination licenses are not offered in Massachusetts.
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