July 15, 2013 — According to the National Marine Fisheries, recreational fishing contributes 6,500 jobs to the Massachusetts economy. Jim Young, the shop’s manager, said summer vacationers are vital to his business. “A lot of people come in, they want to wet a line—the wife’s on the beach, they want to go cast," he said. "They may not catch anything, but they just want the fact that they can go fish.”
Sunrise was half-an-hour off, the sky was brightening, and already fishermen were stationed along the Cape Cod Canal every ten or twenty yards: each a solitary figure, casting, retrieving, and casting again.
On the slippery rocks exposed by the low tide, Steve Marchand pitched his lure across the water, aiming to get it out beyond the footings of the nearby railroad bridge. Marchand has been fishing the Canal for more than 40 years. He pointed to a spot just a few yards farther along the water's edge. “My father in 1985 caught a 60-pound bass right there." And in case anyone might doubt him, he added, "I've got pictures of it.”
From the Canal to the waters off Chatham, from Provincetown to Cuttyhunk, the Cape and Islands are known for great recreational fishing. It’s part of what makes the region a summer destination. Recreational fishing includes the weekend angler, vacationing families on charter boats, the lone kid at the end of the pier with a dropline: it’s a fragmented picture, but all the little pieces add up. A study out this year says recreational fishing brings 800 million dollars annually to the state. The greatest portion of that money impacts coastal areas like the Cape and Islands.
So, who’s looking out for the anglers that drive that economy? And who’s looking out for the fish?
The Massachusetts Saltwater Permit
"You need a permit," Mario Luciarini affirmed, when asked if he had his saltwater license. He was fishing a short scramble over the rocks from Steve Marchand. As he cast, a tugboat pulled a barge east along the Canal toward the red glow that would soon be sunrise. Luciarini said that this year, unlike previous years, officials had been checking that fishermen have the state-issued permit. "Oh yeah, the game warden checks. He'll ask you if you have a permit, and if you say 'yes,' he'll ask you to show it."
Many species of fish are migratory, which means they swim up and down the East Coast without concern for political boundaries. To gather data about this valuable, wide-ranging fishery, the federal government in 2006 mandated the creation of a national recreational registry. Individual states were given the option to administer their own programs, with state data feeding into the national registry. To comply, Massachusetts created the saltwater permit in 2009. The revenues raised by permit sales go to statewater fisheries management.
The permit costs ten dollars for the year, and most people buy it online. Signs are posted on telephone poles along the canal, reminding anglers of the law. They say simply: “No License, No Fishing.”
Read the full story and listen to the audio at NPR affiliate WCAI