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There are some behind the scenes discussions concerning the license fees, structures and license rules for all of the commercial and recreational fisheries in Virginia. These discussions are occurring at very high levels. One of the topics that have come up is the concept of recreational crab licenses. The two that come to mind is a fee for those that make use of the two pots for any individual rule and the second is the concept of a recreational crabbing license for those that dip or chicken neck for crabs.
From what I can tell the goal is to generate additional income to be applied to the management of the resources, enforcement and, to a lesser extent, habitat improvement. If it were to pass, I would expect that the recreational increases would pass through the recreational fishing advisory board, which, in my opinion, has a pretty good record of making good use of the money that they have gotten in the past. That being said there is always the potential that the state will mandate that a certain percentage of the overall license fees go to funding positions and programs within VMRC.
Crab license fees are just part of the deal. You also have fishing license fee increases on the recreational side. None of the recreational fishing license increases that have been discussed have been more than the $12.50 individual or $50.00 boat license that was on the table last winter. There have been discussions concerning other fees for the “commercial” side of recreational fishing such as fishing piers, charter boats, etc. Additionally, several options concerning commercial fee increases comparable in total dollars to the recreational increases are being discussed.
Other background. Although I do not have a number for the number of estimated trips/individual or individuals using the two-pot exemption, a recent study, funded by the commercial license fund, determined that the recreational harvest is something less that 5% of the total harvest of crabs in Virginia.
Currently there are the following recreational licenses:
For a recreational gill net up to 300 feet . . . . . . . . . . $7.50
For a recreational fish cast net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8.00
For a recreational fish dip net. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.00
For up to 2 recreational eel pots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00
For up to 5 recreational crab pots . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .$29.00
For a recreational crab pound or trap . . . . . . . . . . . .$5.00
For an ordinary crab trot line up to 300 feet . . . . . . . . $8.00
For saltwater recreational fishing license . . . . . . . . . . $7.50
For saltwater recreational boat license .. . . . . . . . . . . $30.00
*Crab pounds are used for harvesting peeler crabs. It is much like a miniature pound net about 20 to 50 feet long.
So what do YOU think? Should there be additional fees or licenses imposed on the recreational crabbers and fishermen in Virginia. How much should the fees be? Should one or both crabbing licenses that I mentioned be included as part of a recreational fishing license?
I will give my opinions in a follow up post.
Tom
From what I can tell the goal is to generate additional income to be applied to the management of the resources, enforcement and, to a lesser extent, habitat improvement. If it were to pass, I would expect that the recreational increases would pass through the recreational fishing advisory board, which, in my opinion, has a pretty good record of making good use of the money that they have gotten in the past. That being said there is always the potential that the state will mandate that a certain percentage of the overall license fees go to funding positions and programs within VMRC.
Crab license fees are just part of the deal. You also have fishing license fee increases on the recreational side. None of the recreational fishing license increases that have been discussed have been more than the $12.50 individual or $50.00 boat license that was on the table last winter. There have been discussions concerning other fees for the “commercial” side of recreational fishing such as fishing piers, charter boats, etc. Additionally, several options concerning commercial fee increases comparable in total dollars to the recreational increases are being discussed.
Other background. Although I do not have a number for the number of estimated trips/individual or individuals using the two-pot exemption, a recent study, funded by the commercial license fund, determined that the recreational harvest is something less that 5% of the total harvest of crabs in Virginia.
Currently there are the following recreational licenses:
For a recreational gill net up to 300 feet . . . . . . . . . . $7.50
For a recreational fish cast net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8.00
For a recreational fish dip net. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $6.00
For up to 2 recreational eel pots . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00
For up to 5 recreational crab pots . . . . . . . . . .. . . . .$29.00
For a recreational crab pound or trap . . . . . . . . . . . .$5.00
For an ordinary crab trot line up to 300 feet . . . . . . . . $8.00
For saltwater recreational fishing license . . . . . . . . . . $7.50
For saltwater recreational boat license .. . . . . . . . . . . $30.00
*Crab pounds are used for harvesting peeler crabs. It is much like a miniature pound net about 20 to 50 feet long.
So what do YOU think? Should there be additional fees or licenses imposed on the recreational crabbers and fishermen in Virginia. How much should the fees be? Should one or both crabbing licenses that I mentioned be included as part of a recreational fishing license?
I will give my opinions in a follow up post.
Tom