posted by admin on Dec 30
Johnny G asked:
As I understand it, at least in NC, you must have a fishing license if you are using artificial bait but you don’t have to have one if you use live bait. I can’t understand the reasoning. People have been feeding themselves and their families for all time by fishing. Being that there are more blue collar and lower-income people fishing for food to feed their families, how is this not the same as a tax on the poor?
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As I understand it, at least in NC, you must have a fishing license if you are using artificial bait but you don’t have to have one if you use live bait. I can’t understand the reasoning. People have been feeding themselves and their families for all time by fishing. Being that there are more blue collar and lower-income people fishing for food to feed their families, how is this not the same as a tax on the poor?
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January 1st, 2009 at 2:44 pm
It’s a way to get money for fines out of people by having two different standards. Typical government trick to bilk you, the taxpayer, out of additional money by collecting a fine.
January 2nd, 2009 at 9:03 am
How else will the wildlife enforcement officers pay for those funky hats?
January 4th, 2009 at 6:03 am
License fees go back to the state governmanet to help with wildlife/fish rescources. These fees help you in the long-run.
January 5th, 2009 at 12:59 am
It would be others with money to buy artificial bait, not the poor & blue collar workers, they can dig worms and fish for free!
January 6th, 2009 at 10:11 pm
The reason for every license in the country is revenue.
January 8th, 2009 at 6:20 am
Ahhhhhhhh the government. Don’t you just love it. I feel your pain!!
January 10th, 2009 at 5:06 pm
it seems to me that those with more money would be the ones able to buy artificial lures. there really aren’t that many people who rely on the fish they catch for food. the vast majority of people who fish for a living sell it. it doesn’t make sense to not make everyone have a license though. if you have evidence that there are actually people who catch just the food they need, and that they are being hurt by this license fee, then you can come back and ask again, but until then this is a stupid, silly little “problem” that you’ve just blown way out of proportion
January 13th, 2009 at 3:03 am
Don´t need a license for live bait, that´s great, I wouldn´t be bitching about anything.
January 15th, 2009 at 3:02 am
You have a good question here and good points
Natural resources such as fish are a publicly owned resource. As everyone has a stake in the resource people are licenced to use it. The licencing fees go back and are used to manage the resource so that it will be sustainable. Some of the fees are used at government owned Fish Hatcheries to fund the work that they do to sustain our fishing. Some of the fees are used for developing or fixing fish habitat. The fees are also used to fund Gamewardens as they protect the fishery from misuse.
Now you make a good point that people feed themselves with these fish all the time, and thats a valid point. But we all use the resource as it is common property and by having licencing fees it helps to sustain our fishery in the long run, as if we didn’t have them it would be depleted as we tend to over harvest it anyway. The fish hatcheries are what really keep it going.
Hope this helps
January 17th, 2009 at 11:26 pm
They use the cash from licenses to do biological studies , stock and rear fry at hatchery’s,pay the game wardens,its not a total waste but i agree some is,they also want to know who is doing the fishing ,another way for the “man”to keep tabs on you
January 20th, 2009 at 10:22 am
I understand your frustration with the system but I think I can offer one up on the NC system. Here in TX you have to have a fishing license to fish but you must also but a freshwater stamp and a saltwater stamp depending on the water you wish to fish or both to have a valid fishing license. Is that not forcing you to buy a 2 licenses in order to fish?
I know the proceeds for the stamps go to fund fish and wildlife projects but it does seem odd.
January 20th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
DNR helps so much with the conservation of our resources, it is just a small fee to help them help us. If there was no fees, then there would be no conservation, and the poachers and other idiots would soon ruin it.