Since May 4, 2011, anglers who fish New Jersey marine waters must register every year with the NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program at saltwaterregistry.nj.gov or face fines of $25 for a first offense, and $50 for subsequent offenses. Any owner/operator of a for-hire vessel that fails to register with the NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program will be subject to a penalty of $100 for a first offense and $200 for subsequent offenses. Of course, the NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program at saltwaterregistry.nj.gov also offers For-Hire Registration as well in order to provide blanket coverage for those passengers onboard to maintain compliance with the registration program.
The 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act by congress – signed into law by President George W. Bush in January of 2007 – required the federal government to create a national registry of saltwater anglers. Coastal states which did not already have a saltwater license in place which could comply with the national registry requirements were responsible for then coming up with a compliant registration program. While many nearby states like Delaware, Maryland, Connecticut and Rhode Island implemented a license fee for anglers, both New York and New Jersey moved forward a free registration initiative to ensure that saltwater anglers fishing in those states were compliant with the federal standard.
Signed into law by then Governor Chris Christie, state statute N.J.S.A. 23:2B-22 required that the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) establish a free recreational saltwater registry to serve as a contact list of anglers and vessel owners/operators for survey purposes. “An angler registry will facilitate better recreational fishing data in two ways: first it creates a database of recreational fishermen; and second, it allows for an improved survey pool,” the DEP states online at saltwaterregistry.nj.gov. “Instead of asking a random sample of coastal U.S. residents if they’ve gone fishing, an angler registry would target only those who have identified themselves as saltwater anglers, or for-hire vessel owners or operators.”
Bottom line, the National Marine Fisheries Service needs better information for recreational data collection and the NJ Saltwater Recreational Registry Program provides access to an up-to-date database of saltwater anglers that can be contacted for angler surveys about recreational harvest and participation. Get more information about minimum data requirements and the recreational surveys at countmyfish.noaa.gov.
Before you drop a line in the salt this season, be sure to visit saltwaterregistry.nj.gov and update your 2022 NJ saltwater registry; remember it’s absolutely free for all who fish New Jersey marine waters, residents and non-residents alike. For freshwater licensing and stamp purchases go to njfishandwildlife.com.
