FREE ANGLER REGISTRY BILL CLEARS NEW HURDLE
- Details
- Published: Tuesday, 14 December 2010 16:05
- Written by Recreational Fishing Alliance
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Budget Committee Sends S1122/A823 For Full Senate Vote As Early As 12/20
December 14, 2010 - This morning in Committee Room 4 on the 1st floor of
the State House Annex in Trenton, the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee
voted unanimously to send S1122 (and its Assembly companion bill A823) to the
Senate for a full vote. According to the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA),
the committee's vote today means the Senate could vote on New Jersey's saltwater
registry bill as early as December 20.
According RFA Executive Director Jim Donofrio who testified before the
committee in support of the legislation, all eleven Senate committee members who
heard statements today from both sides easlily saw the fiscal benefits of the
legislation and found complete consensus with regard to the merits of the
bills.
"The legislators who have supported the free registry have made it very
clear that there's no place for a saltwater fee in New Jersey," Donofrio said.
"It's quite obvious that the Senators and Assembly representatives from various
committees are in unanimous consent that a free saltwater registry is the way to
move forward at this time, and we're very thankful for the democratic process,"
he added.
Sponsored by Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May) and Sen. Jennifer Beck (R-Red
Bank), S1122 would require the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) to maintain a free annual saltwater registry program to meet the new
federal mandate for data collection, allowing New Jersey's coastal fishermen to
avoid paying a $15 federal registration fee beginning January 1. The bill was
approved unanimously in the Senate Environment Committee last week.
Massive sea swells continued to roll through the shore as high as twelve
feet at Romer Shoals. Big ocean swells stirred up plenty of bait fish and
produced birds working on the surface making fall bass conditions picture
perfect. Bass fishing remained steady from Romer Shoals to Shark River Inlet if
you had a strong stomach and waited for the tide changes. With good marks
showing signs of fish, anglers roughed it out and picked away at keepers most of
the week.
