A bill that would create a registry for all saltwater fishermen was approved today by members of the Assembly committee on agriculture and natural resources.
The Assembly bill, which matches an identical one introduced last month in the Senate, allows the state to set up its own database of saltwater anglers without charging any license fee to fishermen.
The law would mean the state does not have to take part in a federal registry, a move that would save fishermen paying a fee next year to Washington, D.C.
Sponsors of the bill, including Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matt Milam, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, and Assemblyman John Amodeo, R-Atlantic, all argued the plan to create a simple database now would be better than waiting to let the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) start charging each state's recreational anglers a fee of up to $25 to put their details, such as name, contact details and fishing habits, on file.