Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 19, 1993 TAG: 9307200588
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Starting this month, a regulation enacted by the 1993 General Assembly requires the sponsor, promoter or organizer of certain competitive freshwater fishing tournaments to notify the game department before the event, then pay a $50 fee and file a post-tournament report.
Tournaments fall under this requirement if they meet one of the following criteria:
Have 25 or more boats in competition.
Generate a profit or provide payment to anyone promoting, sponsoring or organizing the tournament.
Advertise a product or commercial enterprise.
Offer prizes with a total value more than $500.
Many tournament fishermen are just becoming aware of the regulation, and that is causing the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries phones to light up.
"We have received a number of calls," said Mark Monson, chief of the department's administrative services. "So far they have run the gamut of `What does this mean?' to `I can't believe I have to do this.' "
An irate caller reached Del. Vic Thomas of Roanoke, too.
"I had one Bassmasters call me up and bless me out," he said. "I said, `Wait a minute. The [Virginia State] BASS Federation put this thing in.' "
Thomas said he introduced a bill that would allow the game and fish department to charge for certain permits it has been issuing, but a fishing-tournament fee wasn't included. That was added through efforts of the bass federation when the bill went to the Senate, he said.
Pee Wee Powers, president of the bass federation, said his organization supported the tournament fee as a means of gaining information on the number of tournaments in the state and their potential impact. The $50 fee was established to offset the cost of processing the data, he said.
"There were a lot of people who turned their head and who hooted at us," he said. "But I felt we were going to get a fee system and we'd better have a say in it rather than have someone force it on us."
About half the states require permits for tournaments. Florida recently informed tournament organizations that they must begin collecting a 6 percent to 7 percent sales tax on entry fees, big-bass pots and prizes.
"In some states, it has become outrageous," said Powers. Virginia's regulation, he underscored, is a fee system, not a permit system with the authority to approve or reject an event.
The post-tournament report should provide useful data for the biologists who manage impoundments and streams, said David Whitehurst, the deputy director of the game and fish department.
"It going to give us information on the quality of fishing on a particular body of water," he said. "It will be another piece of the puzzle we can use in managing our resources."
The new law also provides for setting fees for a number of other activities, such as deer farming, wolf-hybrid kennels, wildlife holding and collecting, boat races, boat parades and hunting dog field trials.
The majority of these activities have required a permit in the past, but fees have not been charged. They are expected to be established over the next 18 months, with public hearing likely in October and January, Monson said.
The system could bring the department as much as $120,000 annually, which officials see as "cost-recovery" funds, not new revenue.
by CNB