Committee barely favors bill to increase fishing license fees

By Julie Harris, Bangor Daily News Staff

Fishing licenses for Maine residents will go up by $5 if the full Legislature approves a bill that made it out of committee after a work session in Augusta.

LD77, sponsored by Rep. Stephen Wood, R-Greene and written by the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, would also increase one-day and three-day licenses by $7 and all non-resident licenses by $19.

The Legislature’s Standing Committee on Inland Fisheries and Wildlife voted 6-5 on March 5 that the bill ought to pass, with two members absent.

The department plans to use the extra income to bolster and maintain the state’s eight hatcheries where it raises brook trout for stocking lakes and ponds. The money could be used toward building new hatcheries as well. The bill also provides for improvements to boat launch facilities around the state.

Fresh-water fisheries bring in nearly $400 million to the state’s economy each year, according to DIF&W Commissioner Judy Camuso in her testimony before the committee. The increased fishing license fees would bring in approximately $1.97 million to DIF&W’s annual budget. 

The state last increased those fees $4 in 2010.

The proposals in LD77 ran into some criticism, both on the committee and in public testimony, mostly having to do with its amendment that removed a designation of money from the increase to benefit wild native fish. The amended version makes no mention of specific money for wild native fish and provides more detail on how the new funds would be applied to hatcheries.

The Maine chapter of the Native Fish Coalition supported the bill before it was amended because money would be designated specifically for wild native fish conservation. Without that provision, the coalition, as well as Maine Audubon, issued testimony neither for nor against the bill, but expressed their disappointment.

The Maine Trout Unlimited Council also supported the original bill, but expressed concerns about the amended version. Greg Pointe of the council said the group supported raising fees, but wanted assurances that wild native fish wouldn’t be forgotten.

The bill found support from Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine Institute for Legislative Action, which has been working with the state on plans to build a new hatchery, according to David Trahan, executive director of SAM. 

DIF&W helped SAM get a $700,000 Congressionally Directed Grant two years ago to search for a site to build a hatchery, he said. Former SAM president Nick Archer and former DIF&W deputy commissioner Matthew Scott assembled a hatchery committee to help modernize existing hatcheries and to find a suitable site to build a new hatchery, Trahan said in his testimony. Project manager Jon Edgerton and a subcontractor are working on it now, he said.

Improvements to existing hatcheries are needed to bring their effluent discharges in compliance with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection’s permit requirements. The department will soon sign a consent decree with the DEP toward getting the hatcheries in compliance, Trahan said.

Maine Professional Guides, whose members rely on recreational fishing, and Ron Greco of Maine Moose Kids, which provides kids with disabilities and critical illnesses free hunting and fishing adventures, also supported the bill, pointing out the great opportunities Maine provides residents and visitors alike.

A total of 22 groups and individuals testified before the committee during the public hearing on Feb. 24.