THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 7, 1994 TAG: 9409070429
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON, N.C. LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
Using a tactic that has worked well for him in the past, Senate leader Marc Basnight hit the road this week trying to win support for a proposal to require a license to fish in the state's salty waters.
Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, met with media representatives in Elizabeth City on Tuesday and is scheduled to visit newspapers in Washington, New Bern, Morehead City, Swansboro, Jacksonville and Wilmington today.
Basnight said that he hopes during his trip to dispel misconceptions among fishermen about the proposed license and explain his plan to create a trust fund with the proceeds of license sales.
``Response to the license has been mixed,'' Basnight said. ``I've talked with a number of fishermen, . . . and many of their concerns are based on misinformation.''
At a meeting last week in Raleigh, Basnight offered a plan that may give new life to the license proposal, which could be voted into law by the General Assembly next year.
The proposal calls for the money from license sales to be put into a trust and used only to pay for programs that would improve the state's fisheries stocks or other wildlife programs.
At some stops to promote the plan, Basnight will be joined by his colleagues in the Senate.
Robert V. Lucas, chairman of the Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates fishing along the state's coast, said Basnight's efforts may be crucial in getting legislation approved.
``We're going to need the help of all coastal legislators. That is very important,'' Lucas said. ``Then there has to be a lot of public support for it.''
Promoting his agenda through visits to newspaper editors has worked well for Basnight before.
During the summer of 1993, after a highly visible five-week trip by House Speaker Dan Blue, D-Wake, to promote the work of the General Assembly, Basnight hit the hustings and visited newspapers across the state to promote four bond initiatives and other parts of the Senate agenda.
While Blue's tour, which featured stops in Greenville and Elizabeth City, included speeches to local civic groups, Basnight concentrated on meetings with newspaper editorial writers.
After voters approved all of the initiatives, some political observers credited part of their success, particularly in northeastern North Carolina, to Basnight's efforts.
While North Carolina requires recreational anglers to be licensed to fish in its inland waters, it is one of the few states that do not require sports anglers to be licensed to fish in coastal waters.
The latest saltwater fishing license proposal requires sports anglers to pay either $5 per week, $15 each year, or $250 for a lifetime license in order to fish in the state's coastal waters. Owners of fishing piers and charter boats can exempt their patrons from the license if the pier owners and charter boats buy fishing licenses, under a plan being considered by a committee of the Marine Fisheries Commission.
Some fisheries officials have said the money from license sales paid by the estimated 600,000 sports anglers who fish in the state could reach about $9 million a year, although others say that figure will be lower because of license exemptions.
But even with Basnight's support, a saltwater fishing license still faces some strong opposition, including concerns from a growing number of commercial fishermen along the Outer Banks who have raised questions about the license and who have begun to circulate petitions to stop it. by CNB