# Fishing License for New Jersey



## littlefry (May 5, 2003)

I was in New Jersey this weekend and saw alot of people fishing everywhere. Do you need a fishing license to fish in New Jersey? If so, how much for out of state?


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## davehunt (Mar 27, 2003)

litlefry,

No License required for Marine waters, only freshwater.

Go to the NJ DEP web site for details (see link below)
http://www.nj.gov/dep/fgw/fishing.htm


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings littlefry!

Davehunt is right on the money (as usual!) 

The New Jersey Legislature brings up a saltwater license every couple of years, but so far hard lobbying by highly organized sportsmen groups has always kept it off the ballot. The big sticking point for most anglers is where the money would go. Most (if not all) of the proposed bills had the money going into the general fund. If the proceeds were to be dedicated to fishing (especially enforcement), most of the serious anglers would have no problem with paying a few bucks a year. Party and charter boat patrons would be covered by a single "vessel" license.

The downside would be the "little guys" who fish from jetties, public piers and bulkheads. A lot of these guys are fishing for dinner. I'm sure a nominal fee of $5.00/season would be acceptable. But like anything else capable of generating revenue, it wouldn't be long before the politicians twisted the license into an unrecognizable monster. And that is why political action comittees (like the RFA) have drawn their line in the sand.


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## AplusWebMaster (Jun 21, 2004)

The JCAA is with us on this too:

- http://www.jcaa.org/JCAA_NJSFSC_Position.htm
"(In NJ)...The sales tax generated by recreational anglers is between 41 and 61 million dollars. If just 2% of that was put into the Division of Fish and Wildlife, we could not only manage striped bass but we could also manage the total marine resource including commercial fishing. The Division needs an additional 2 million dollars to run their programs well. The long-term solution is to secure more funding from the legislature. In the short term, we need about 195,000 dollars to be included in the striped bass bill that will be considered by the current legislature.
> We do not believe any fee should be associated with the bonus tag program. A saltwater license by any other name is still a saltwater license. All we have to look at is the HMS permit. In the beginning, all you only needed was a $22 permit to fish for Bluefin tuna. Now the NMFS has added so many species to the list requiring a permit that you are forced to buy one if you want to fish for any highly migratory species. This tuna permit is now a federal backdoor saltwater fishing license and _none of the money benefits the fishermen_..."


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings Aplus!

As stated above: "But like anything else capable of generating revenue, it wouldn't be long before the politicians twisted the license into an unrecognizable monster." The HMS permit is a prime example. Thanks for sharing!


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## AplusWebMaster (Jun 21, 2004)

*You know it!...*

...what I don't get is why the guys at the NC forum here:
- http://fishmojo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5547
...seem to -want- a license  , dreaming the revenue will be used by the government political appointees correctly. Amazing...


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## Manayunk Jake (Oct 3, 2001)

Greetings (again) Aplus!

When you look at how many times the Federal Government has tried to tap into funds provided by excise tax for sporting equipment (Pittman-Robertson, Dingell-Johnson, and Wallop-Breaux Acts), it's easy to see how local funds could be easily manipulated. A marine license for any state would have to be written on the same level as those groundbreaking pieces of legislation to be effective plus stand the test of time. Unfortunately, local legislation never receives the attention to detail that federal legislation does. The fact is a good percentage of federal legislation contains loopholes and addendums that ultimately defeat the purpose of the legislation.

Thankfully the three cited acts, through careful writing and interpretation, have done immeasurable good for fish and game, nongame species, habitats, access, and scientific study. To expect a local legislature to achieve similar results is probably asking too much. Perhaps a national marine license could come close, as long as it didn't suffer beuracratic overkill. Simply paying the money to the states involved, with strict restrictions on how the money is used, would come close. But again, I don't see the individual states giving up the right to COLLECT the funds....


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