THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 25, 1994 TAG: 9412240446
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C10 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 129 lines
Funding for the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament would be cut off under the budget Gov. George Allen released a few days ago.
This certainly was not the Christmas present saltwater fishermen wanted from the governor, although it was not unexpected.
This means that if the budget is approved, the contest will be broke after July 1, 1995, unless other money is found.
With a 1994 budget of $145,120, the tournament is a function of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Headed by Claude Bain, the contest is based in Virginia Beach.
As part of its promotional work, the program awards hardboard plaques, popularly known as ``citations,'' to anglers registering outstanding catches.
About 2,500 awards, which cost about $10 each, will be granted after the contest closes Saturday. In addition, the program hosts writers and TV show personalities doing features on saltwater fishing in the state.
It also maintains a strong database of recreational fishing statistics important to fishery management.
The governor's proposed elimination of the program does not necessarily mean its end.
Several alternatives exist.
First, the General Assembly could put funding back into the budget, as it did several years ago when Gov. John Dalton, also a Republican, tried a similar move.
But if that happens, the governor could veto the plan, still striking out the contest. Beyond that, the General Assembly could override his veto.
All this seems unlikely.
What is likely is that the Marine Resources Commission will find alternate funding, primarily from the $1.3 million collected annually from the saltwater fishing license.
On the surface, that seems logical, as it must have seemed logical to Gov. Allen.
The problem is that the license is limited to the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries. Yet between 70 and 80 percent of the citations go to anglers fishing ocean waters or along the Eastern Shore seaside, where the license isn't required.
The citizen committee which recommends expenditures from the fund has been hesitant to spend money on projects outside the license-coverage area.
The feeling here is that this is a perfect time to improve an imperfect license. Let's expand it to cover all salt waters of Virginia and let's increase the cost from $7.50 to $15 a year, providing enough money to really make a difference.
Funding the saltwater fishing tournament is a logical place for some of the license money. It's much better than using it to build boat ramps, which puts additional pressure on already-strained resources.
Anyway, the bottom line is that Allen, riding a crest of popularity and backed by a pretty fiscally conservative legislature, is almost certain to get his way.
If anglers want to save the tournament, which they certainly should, they need to look at making the Chesapeake Bay fishing license a statewide saltwater license.
RIGHT DECISION: This column often has been critical of the Marine Resources Commission. But the commission did the right thing Tuesday.
It declined to consider extending the Chesapeake Bay striped bass rod-and-reel season by four days. The extension was sought by fishermen and tackle shop operators who lost several days of their 32-day bay season to bad weather, including a flirtation by Hurricane Gordon.
The commission opened the door on just such a request in November. That's when the it added seven days to the gill-net season for gray trout off the Eastern Shore.
Both proposals were in conflict with Virginia's obligation under an agreement with other East Coast states to offer the two species protection from excessive harvest.
Any breach of that agreement could result in federal intervention to ban fishing, sport and commercial, for the involved species until the breach is closed.
That could well have happened with the gray trout had the fishermen been able to fish all seven days. They only fished once. But it wasn't likely in the case of the striped bass.
What probably would have happened there is that recreational fishermen would have paid a heavy price in the form of far fewer fishing days in the 1995 striper season.
With the East Coast striper fishery officially declared ``fully recovered,'' plans are being drafted for 1995 fishing. Virginia's recreational season could be expanded to as much as 191 days.
Anyway, striper fishermen and tackle shop operators were right by bringing the matter before the commission. And the commission did right by nixing the plan.
The good thing from all of this is that the commission learned that it screwed up by ever granting the gill-net extension.
What killed Tuesday's striper extension was the commission's understanding of the cliche of two wrongs not making one right.
CHANGE TIME: Several changes have been made in the state program for recognizing outstanding catches by freshwater anglers.
For one thing, it will have a new name: The Virginia Angler Recognition Program. For another, the awards will no longer be free. They'll cost $4.
Additionally, anglers won't need to weigh their fish to receive awards. Starting Jan. 1, anglers will be allowed to earn citations for fish measured in front of a witness, even when they're out on a boat and want to release the catch.
Upgraded certificates of the catch will reflect either the length or weight or both, if available. However, on-board weight measurements will not be allowed. These will be minimum sizes and minimum weights:
Largemouth bass, 22 inches or 8 pounds; smallmouth bass, 20 inches or 5 pounds; striped bass, 37 inches or 20 pounds; white bass, 18 inches or 2 1/2 pounds; rock bass, 12 inches or 1 pound; bowfin, 30 inches or 10 pounds; channel catfish, 30 inches or 12 pounds; flathead catfish, 40 inches or 25 pounds; blue catfish, 34 inches or 20 pounds; crappie, 15 inches or 2 pounds; gar, 40 inches or 10 pounds; muskellunge, 40 inches or 15 pounds; northern pike, 30 inches or 6 pounds; yellow perch, 12 inches of 1 1/4 pounds; white perch, 13 inches or 1 1/4 pounds; sunfish, 11 inches or 1 pound; brook trout, 16 inches or two pounds; and brown trout, 25 inches or 5 pounds.
Details on the contest are available from: Angler Recognition Program, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 4010 West Broad St., Richmond 23230-1104.
SHORT CASTS: All boat licenses for saltwater fishing on the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries will cost $30, effective Jan. 1. License fees have been $30 for boats under 27 feet and $60 for those 27 feet and over. . . . An increase in the special license to fish for freshwater trout is another change effective with the new year. The fee will go from $7 to $12.50. . . . The game department has issued a reminder that no Virginia hunting or fishing license is valid unless accompanied by the small envelope, known as a ``carrier,'' in which licenses are issued. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
VIRGINIA SALT WATER TOURNAMENT LEADERS
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB