Legislation sponsored by Senators Jeff Van Drew and Jim Beach to drastically reduce penalties associated with the new state fishing registry received final approval in the Assembly, and was sent to the desk of Governor Chris Christie.
The state implemented the free state registry for recreational saltwater anglers in May. The intent of the registry was to prevent anglers from having to pay a $15 federal fee for recreational saltwater fishing, which would have been assessed in New Jersey had the state not established its own free registry.
The Senators’ bill would scale back the penalties for noncompliance, imposing a fine of $25 for the first offense and $50 for any subsequent offense.
