New Florida licence programme comes as free and natural like breathing for many anglers but there are many who think otherwise. Eddy Corea enjoys since being laid off 18 months ago is fishing from the shore. He said that this new licence programme should be in the Constitution but he was not aware of a new state law requiring that those who fish from the shore buy a license for $9.
After learning this like many others Corea would not be part of an effort to muddy the once-free waters with government regulation. The people at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say they have heard it all before. The 1989 law that established licenses for saltwater and freshwater fishing did not include onshore anglers because state lawmakers wanted to keep some of the fun free.
Without the new licensing program, a new federal requirement that all anglers be registered would have cost people like Corea $15 to $25. Even worse, said Henry Cabbage, a spokesman for the state fish and wildlife agency, the money would have gone to Washington. It is told that the new licenses will bring Florida $900,000 in fees the first year, as well as $860,000 in matching money from Washington, which is nothing to toss back. But officials speak mainly of principle.
Cabbage said that the ocean is exhaustible, and even though they’re fishing from shore, they are taking from the resource. Environmentalists and many commercial fishermen tend to agree. Fish have proven to be a fragile resource worldwide, and here, they are a pillar of the economy. State research shows that fishing brings in $7.5 billion annually, more than in any other state.
