w, Al Daughtndge takes an 



afternoon off to trout fish in Pamlico Sound, 

 he often passes commercial shrimp trawlers. 



"When I trout fish behind trawlers, all I 

 see is mud," says Daughtridge of Rocky 

 Mount, who is concerned that trawling may 

 damage the sound's bottom. 



But as a recreational fisher, 

 Daughtridge doesn't feel that he has any 

 voice in legislation concerning trawlers or 

 other commercial fishers. 



"The commercial fishermen have a 

 strong foothold in Raleigh," he says. 

 "Recreational fishermen won't have a voice 

 until a recreational saltwater fishing license is 

 passed." 



Many recreational anglers and 

 environmental groups share Daughtridge's 

 viewpoint. For more than a decade, North 

 Carolina legislators have debated a 

 recreational license for saltwater anglers. 

 Although a bill passed the state House in 

 1 999, it did not get out of the state Senate 

 this year. 



In the 1999 House bill, individual 

 licenses would cost $7.50. Blanket 

 licenses for private and charter boats and 

 fishing piers would be priced according to 

 the length of the boat or pier. 



"I think it is a bill whose time has come 

 to help protect the state's natural resources," 

 says state Rep. David Redwine, the bill's 

 sponsor. "The bill that passed the House 

 could have been improved by the Senate. It 

 is a shame to have gotten this far and have 

 nothing happen." 



Bill Harrell, chairman of the 4,600- 

 member Coastal Conservation Association 

 of North Carolina, also was disappointed 

 that no legislation was passed. 



"We were assured that it would come 

 up this year in the Senate," says Harrell. 



The North Carolina Fisheries Associa- 

 tion opposes the license. 



"I represent commercial fishermen," 

 says Jerry Schill, association president. 

 "Many proponents of the recreational 

 license have a real hard time understanding 

 why commercial fisherman are opposed to 

 it. The primary reason is very simple really. 

 What businessman in his right mind would 

 go along with any proposal that would inflict 



Saltwater 

 Fishing 

 License 

 Proposal 

 Sparks 

 Dfebate 



millions of dollars to a regulatory agency 

 that regulates his way of life? The answer: a 

 really stupid one." 



Schill says his industry realizes that 

 fishery regulations are a necessity and that 

 fisheries are a public trust resource that 

 belongs to everyone, including commercial 

 and recreational fishers and seafood 

 consumers. 



"However, to expect an industry to 

 accept the notion that more money spent on 

 a state bureaucracy will equate to more fish 

 in the water is absurd," he adds. "History is 

 replete with government failures that have 

 provided millions of dollars being thrown at 

 a problem with the notion that the money 

 alone can provide the solutions." 



Some recreational anglers also oppose 

 the license. 



"I don't think you should have to have a 

 license to fish in the ocean," says David 

 Wolfe of Grandy. "I am a conservative 

 Ronald Reagan Republican. I don't like 

 government controls." 



North Carolina is the only southeastern 

 state that doesn't have some kind of 

 saltwater fishing license. South Carolina 

 requires anglers who fish from private boats 

 to buy a $5.50 annual saltwater stamp. 



A 1 998 North Carolina Fisheries 

 Resource Grant survey of anglers found that 

 over 78 percent of respondents would 

 support the saltwater fishing license if the 

 money goes into a designated fund, says 

 North Carolina Sea Grant acting extension 

 directorJackThigpen, who worked on the 

 project. "They aren't interested in supporting 



the license if the money goes into a general 

 revenue fund." 



The license would generate about $1 1 

 million a year, according to the survey 

 conducted by Wlliam Clifford and Thomas 

 Hoban, North Carolina State University; 

 Vernon Kelly, Coastal Carolina Community 

 College; John Whitehead, East Carolina 

 University; and Ron McPherson, Winston- 

 Salem Saltwater Sport Fishing Club. 



The N.C Division of Marine Fisheries 

 (DMF) estimates that there are between 1.1 

 and 1 .5 million recreational anglers in North 

 Carolina. "We are the largest user of 

 fisheries," says Harrell. "As the largest user of 

 resources, we want to give back to the 

 resource. We want to make sure that the 

 fisheries' resources are maintained." 



The General Assembly conducted 

 studies in 1 994 and 1 996 to determine if 

 North Carolina needed to license saltwater 

 anglers. Both studies determined that a 

 recreational license for saltwater anglers was 

 needed because it would greatly enhance the 

 quality of data collected for the recreational 

 harvest of the state's coastal resources. 



'To make prudent decisions about 

 fisheries, we need accurate biological data," 

 says Damon Tatem, who served on the 

 study committee and is a member of 

 the Atlantic States Manne Fisheries 

 Commission. 



Through the Fishery Reform Act in 

 1 997, DMF is required to establish fishery 

 management plans for important species. 



"We feel like one of the critical pieces of 

 information for managing fishery resources is 

 accurate landings by recreational fishermen," 

 says Preston Pate, DMF director. 'To achieve 

 that, we need an accurate account of the 

 number of fishermen so we can expand our 

 samples to everyone harvesting resources." 



McPherson, co-chairman of the Inland 

 Advisory Committee of the North Carolina 

 Manne Fisheries Commission, agrees. 



"We need to develop management 

 plans so areas don't become overfished," he 

 says. "Our children and our children's 

 children need a place to fish where there are 

 fish to be caught. It has become more and 

 more difficult to even catch enough fish for 

 a dinner." □ -A.G. 



COASTWATCH \ 1 



