California will now offer year-round 365-day fishing licenses
By MARIO CORTEZ | mcortez@times-standard.com
With the approval of an Assembly bill penned by North Coast representative Jim Wood (D-Santa Rosa), anglers in Humboldt County and the rest of California will be able to fish for a full 365 days after acquiring their fishing licenses.
Signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday afternoon, AB 817 authorizes the director of the California Fish and Wildlife to transition the current calendar-based fishing license to one that is valid for 365 days from the date of purchase. Under the newly signed bill, the CDFW is also authorized to allow anglers the option to display a sport fishing license electronically or on their mobile device, allowing them to keep the document close by at times.
“Tourism is one of the largest parts of the North Coast’s economy, and anglers come from all over to enjoy fishing in our ocean and many lakes, rivers and streams,” said Wood in a prepared statement, “and it’s only common sense to move past the calendar-based license to a model that is used for so many things in your everyday life.”
The current calendar-year-based fishing license is valid from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 regardless of the date of purchase. Many Californians who fish for sport are often not willing to pay full price later in the year for a license that is valid for only a small part of the year.
Fishing guide and columnist Kenny Priest said to the Times-Standard the license mode was long overdue.
“It’s been in demand for quite a few years. The fact that it finally came to fruition is a big deal,” he said.
Currently, 14 states have 365-day licenses. Neighboring states like Arizona and Nevada issue this mode of fishing license. Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia have rolled out the year-round licenses as well.
The press release from Wood’s office points to the economic benefit of the 365-day model, making the argument that license revenue in states with 365-day licenses is higher than revenue in states offering yearly licenses.
“They’re going to be able to sell more licenses,” Priest elaborated on the subject. “A lot of people say ‘I’ve only got, you know, the salmon season for a couple months, so I’m just not going to buy a license, because I have such a short window to fish. But now, I have a big window because now I can buy a license in October and not only can I take advantage of that fishery, but I could get the winter steelhead fishery that starts around the first of January.’ Now anglers can actually capture those last three months as opposed to waiting for Jan. 1.”
Priest also pointed out the added economic activity triggered by more people out fishing.
“So somebody goes out and buys a license. They’re not only going to buy a license. Now they have to go buy gear, potentially stay at a hotel and get something to eat somewhere. That’s big for all the businesses that cater to fishermen,” he said.
The governor’s signature comes as fishing license sales have declined 55% since 1980 despite a 60% population growth since. Wood’s office states California has the lowest fishing participation rate per capita in the country despite the wide array of fishing options available throughout the state.
“There are so many fishing opportunities here,” Priest said of the local fishing options.
Aaron Ostrom is the owner of local outdoor recreation company Pacific Outfitters, which offers fishing licenses to locals. He believes the new model will be a boon and better value for anglers.
“I think it incentivizes people to go fishing,” he said. “(Yearly license sales) taper off as we get closer to the end of the year because who wants to pay for one month or two months. The 365-day license makes a lot more sense at the same price.”
Mario Cortez can be reached at 707-441-0526.
California will now issue 365-day fishing licenses, under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Previously, the state issued a calendar-based license that expired on Dec. 31, regardless of when it was issued. Assembly Bill 817, authored by Assemblyman Jim Wood, D-Santa Rosa, also authorizes the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to allow for sport fishing licenses to be displayed electronically on a mobile device.
Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article254866187.html#storylink=cpy
“Tourism is one of the largest part of the North Coast’s economy, and anglers come from all over to enjoy fishing in our ocean and many lakes, rivers and streams,” Wood said in a statement. “and it’s only common sense to move past the calendar-based license to a model that is used for so many things in your everyday life, like your Costco membership card.” The new law seeks to reverse a trend that has found California annual resident sport fishing license sales down 55% since 1980, despite the state’s population growth by 60% in that same period, according to Wood’s office.
Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article254866187.html#storylink=cpy
“While California has a population of more than 39.8 million people, one of the country’s longest coastlines, more than 3,000 lakes and thousands of rivers and streams, it has the lowest fishing participation rate per capita in the country,” Wood’s office said in a statement. With the new law, California joins 14 other states in transitioning from a calendar-based fishing license system to a 365-day license system, including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Maryland, Mississippi, Nevada, New York, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Utah and Virginia. “Providing anglers access to a fishing license that provides greater value and technology that makes fishing more accessible is long overdue, and what better way to achieve these goals than to boost the value of a license purchased by an angler? It’s kind of a no-brainer,” said Wayne Kotow, executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of California, a sponsor of AB 817. Wood said in a statement that it was time for California to abandon its “antiquated” fishing license system. “Modernizing our sport fishing license to one that is valid a full 365 days from the date of purchase will encourage more Californians to fish and increase fishing license revenue that fund critical state fishing and conservation programs. Making fishing more accessible really supports communities that rely on outdoor recreation and tourism, like my Northern California district,” he said.
Read more at: https://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article254866187.html#storylink=cpy