Proposed fishing license bill is not the one we signed onto

By Bob Mallard

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife recently submitted a bill, LD 77, that would increase fishing license fees and create an Inland Fisheries Conservation and Enhancement Fund.

The department would then use the money in the fund “for the conservation and enhancement of inland freshwater fisheries resources,” according to the language in the bill. A portion of the fee increases would go to the fund.

I’ve always felt that MDIF&W spends too much money on hatcheries and not enough on wild native fish. Rather than spending more money on stocking, MDIF&W should look for ways to wean themselves off of what has become an economic black hole, and a situation in which some sportsmen are forced to pay for the recreation and consumption of others. 

I saw the original wording of LD 77 as an opportunity to do so.

The bill looked to increase each fishing license by $7. This would result in increases from 5 percent for a nonresident season hunting/fishing license to nearly 64 percent for a one-day resident or nonresident fishing license. A season resident fishing license would go up 28 percent. 

The dissemination of the increase was supposed to be $1 to the Boat Launch Facilities Fund and $6 into the Inland Fisheries Conservation and Enhancement Fund. Sixty-five percent ($3.90) of that fund was supposed to go toward conservation, research and management of the state’s native fishery, while 35 percent ($2.10) would go toward inland freshwater recreational fisheries (stocking). 

The Maine chapter of Native Fish Coalition looked into the bill and learned that Maine Audubon and Maine Trout Unlimited planned to support it, while Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine was planning to oppose it as written.

Like Audubon and Trout Unlimited, while Native Fish Coalition had some questions and concerns, it was planning to support the bill. 

A few days before the bill was to be heard, the MDIF&W sent out a notification that the public hearing was postponed. No reason was provided, but I assumed that it was due to opposition, questions and concerns.

A proposal to amend LD 77 just came out. It represents a complete rewrite of the bill that changes the fee increases to random amounts, removes funding for native fish and diverts all of the fee increases to hatcheries and general fisheries administration. 

Under the amended bill, fees would be increased to $7 (from $5) for residents and to $19 (from $7) for nonresidents. This would increase a season resident fishing license by 12 percent ($5), while a season nonresident fishing license would increase by 30 percent ($19).

The price of temporary nonresident fishing licenses in the amended bill would increase 64 percent instead of 30 percent (or $19 instead of $7). A season nonresident fishing license in Maine would become from 24 to 40 percent more expensive than in New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts and Connecticut.

The Conservation and Enhancement Fund would be replaced with the Fish Hatchery Maintenance Fund, which could fund engineering designs, facilities assessments, maintenance, repairs and capital improvements of state hatcheries and feeding stations, plus overtime for fish stocking and other hatchery work, according to the revised bill. It also can be used to design, build and operate new hatcheries.

While the proposal says “The [Fish Hatchery Maintenance Fund] may not be used to fund the general operating costs of an existing fish hatchery,” it also says, “The fund may be used for overtime personnel services costs when overtime for fish stocking and other hatchery-related work is operationally required.” 

Isn’t this a contradiction? 

Under the amended bill, $2 from each fishing license sold would go to the Fish Hatchery Maintenance Fund. Since it is not specifically noted, it appears that the rest of the increase would go to the MDIF&W general fisheries budget, which is already hatchery heavy.

As written, the proposed amendments to LD77 do not specifically provide for wild native fish, as the original document did. While some of the general fisheries budget goes to wild native fish, and there has been mention that more would be allocated, it is nonbinding and at the discretion of MDIF&W.

The amended bill is contrary to the direction MDIF&W should be going as it places a higher value on stocked fish than wild native fish. 

The bill will now move forward in the Legislature as amended. There is no way Native Fish Coalition and hopefully others can support it in its current form. We hope people will use the associated hearings to express their displeasure with the proposed changes and gain some concessions for wild native fish.

What started out as a win for wild native fish has turned into what appears to be just an increase in user fees and more money for hatcheries and general operations. 

And as often happens, MDIF&W has shifted much of the financial burden from residents who benefit most by the resource to nonresidents who have the least impact on the resource due to their transient nature.

Mallard is the former owner of Kennebec River Outfitters and a Registered Maine Fishing Guide. He is writer, author, and Executive Director for Native Fish Coalition. Look for Bob’s latest books, Squaretail: The Definitive Guide to Brook Trout and Where to Find Them, Favorite Flies for Maine: 50 Essential Patterns from Local Experts, and Fly Fishing Maine: Local Experts on The State’s Best Waters. Mallard can be reached at BobMallard.com or Info@BobMallard.com.