Proposed Angling Levy Increase

[FishingForLife]

Howdy everyone! Haven't seen a post about this yet. The ACA is bringing forward a proposal to increase the levy on fishing licenses.
The link below is their website showing the changes they proposed, aswell as a feedback page where you can applaud or rant over their decisions.
Personally, I'm all for it, as long as we know where the extra money is going.

http://www.ab-conservation.com/go/de...se/background/

[Steven Noel]

So be it.

[Bound2Fish]

I am all for it. The increases arent that much and as long as the funds are being properly utilized I see it as a good thing.

Also applies to hunting licenses too.

[Guitarplayingfish]

Non-Resident Canadian
Current - $25.66
Proposed - $56.00
BC - $55.00

Hopefully this goes through. It's not much of an increase for us, and those darn BC people will finally have to pay similar to what we have to pay over there.. which is ridiculous. Alberta is OUR fishery, not BC's. It is unfair that we have to pay an arm and a leg over there while they get away with paying what we (residents) pay.

[Riverbc]

I'm in BC and think it's about time Alberta raised the price for non-residents to fish their waters. Glad to see it will be comparable to BC's which is dirt cheap, when you compare it to to other sports. 2 days at whistler for lift tickets is $218, one day skiing Grouse Mountain is $58. Green fees for a Saturday at Golden Eagles Golf Course are $54. So $55 or $56 for a whole year of fishing fresh water is pretty cheap. IMO...I hope they put the $$ back into the resource in habitat protection or enhancement, and not the infamous general revenue!!

[waterninja]

i don't mind a small cost increase in resident fees (really not much to start with), and i agree it's about time non-residents pony up. for years i have been upset at what it costs for an albertan to fish (or hunt) in bc. Even better, i wish our licesences were valid in other provinces and vice-versa.

on the other hand, being the cynic that i am i'm betting that even with increased fees for fishing (like every other type of cost increase) the money will just disapear down the gen. revenue hole with no discernable benifts to anglers. time will tell.
Also wouldun't be surprised if they start some kind of fee for senior citizens and perhaps even children in the future.

[Wild&Free]

Originally Posted by waterninja

Also wouldun't be surprised if they start some kind of fee for senior citizens and perhaps even children in the future.

I'd be disappointed if that happens

[huntsfurfish]

Wouldn't have objected to higher fees.

Would like to see Seniors have to pay a licence fee though.(doesn't have to be full price though).

Kids licencing needs some thought too.

all in all = positive

Guess we will still have to work on the seniors and kids.

[NEWB]

Originally Posted by Bound2Fish

I am all for it. The increases arent that much and as long as the funds are being properly utilized I see it as a good thing.

Also applies to hunting licenses too.

x2.

The extra $2.34 for residents isn't a big deal for me. Personally I wouldn’t mind paying up to $60.00 per year for a resident license. This would be conditional on if the funds are allocated properly and great improvements are made, or it helps fund much needed projects.

It is nice to see the non resident cost increase though.

[kingshow]

I'm afraid that an increase more then a few bucks would make allot of once or twice a year anglers choose to not purchase a liscence and still fish. That should be a consideration, just a thought

[huntsfurfish]

Still a lot cheaper than most other forms of entertainment. And if it was $60.00 or so for a licence Id like to see ACA get the bulk of the increase.

Also you could maybe have a 3 or 7 day licence or something then for $28.00.

Seniors and kids for $28.00 too.

[recce43]

hmm most seniors are on fixed incomes i think they should be free

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by recce43

hmm most seniors are on fixed incomes i think they should be free

If they can afford to fish, they can afford a licence- they don't cost much here in AB.

Hope its in place before I hit 65.

[recce43]

they raise fees but the money never goes where it should go .goverment always finds way to screw ya

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by recce43

they raise fees but the money never goes where it should go .goverment always finds way to screw ya

Check out the op link - first post

[recce43]

yup but its the goverment who is going to decide where the money goes and you can't trust them money grabbing redford

[FisherPotch]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

If they can afford to fish, they can afford a licence- they don't cost much here in AB.

Hope its in place before I hit 65.

I agree fully.

Also..... No offense to the seniors but SOME seem to struggle with having to release fish.

Increase rates to non residents drastically please! Most of these funds are just Alberta's money coming full circle anyways.

I don't want to see funds going into other aspects of srd though. Fishing license revenue needs to be put back into fishing!!! And I love catching rainbows and all but I'd like to see something new or more stock of other species. I vote tiger trout!! Or splake! Hell I would pay an additional fee to fish lakes with rare fish.

Or take all that fundage and put into signage that reads "catch and release only", "no bait" lol

Aerators on all these winter kill lakes!!

Hopefully with the funds ACA can add columns to their stocking report for avg size and genome. Lol or maybe try stocking more than rainbows??

Make it a hundred a year for residents I'm cool with that.

[jacenbeers]

I am cool with increasing the fee if the additional funds are allocated effectively. I am against increasing funding so that more lakes can be stocked with tiny rainbow trout that are fished out less than a week after being stocked. I think more stringent limits should also be implemented in the stocked bodies of water so that more people can also enjoy the benefit of stocked lakes.

[RavYak]

Not too bad of increase except sucks for any non residents that come to Alberta to fish.

I don't get why a Canadian non resident should be charged so much more for a license. Each year I have to pay Saskatchewan's outrageous non resident fee even though I am from there and have family etc there.

If there is a logical reason as to why a non resident needs to be charged so much more then I would accept it but there doesn't seem to be one except to gouge tourists.

[Wild&Free]

Originally Posted by recce43

hmm most seniors are on fixed incomes i think they should be free

Not only that, but they've spent there entire lives building this nation and it's economy. Least we can do is let them fish in peace.

Originally Posted by RavCanoe

Not too bad of increase except sucks for any non residents that come to Alberta to fish.

I don't get why a Canadian non resident should be charged so much more for a license. Each year I have to pay Saskatchewan's outrageous non resident fee even though I am from there and have family etc there.

If there is a logical reason as to why a non resident needs to be charged so much more then I would accept it but there doesn't seem to be one except to gouge tourists.

If it was cheaper to fish in BC, how many more people would be choking up the limited access to the more popular rivers. Taking thousands of more fish out of those rivers and creating a deficit the locals have to live with. I don't like it any more then you do having to pay more to fish someplace I used to live. I don't live there though, it's no longer my local resource and paying more to utilize it doesn't bother me. I just don't go as often. Classified Waters in BC for a non resident is killer.

[Tikka300]

Fee increase doesn't bother me, if the money can go towards more accurate studies of Alberta lakes then heck I'll pay double.

I was impressed this year to see ACA and fish and wildlife summer students out doing creel census on some of the lakes I fish. It is too bad alot of anglers were giving them grief about sampling their fish... they dont touch any of the meat and the information they gather like this through angler harvest is way better than fall test netting and killing more fish.

So yeah if its going to something useful then no problems.

[ericlin0122]

Take my money.

[tallieho]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Wouldn't have objected to higher fees.

Would like to see Seniors have to pay a licence fee though.(doesn't have to be full price though).

Kids licencing needs some thought too.

all in all = positive

Guess we will still have to work on the seniors and kids.

x2 i agree they have the opportunity to do it,along with there other reccomendations..use the resource you should have to pay something...

[RavYak]

Originally Posted by Wild&Free

If it was cheaper to fish in BC, how many more people would be choking up the limited access to the more popular rivers. Taking thousands of more fish out of those rivers and creating a deficit the locals have to live with. I don't like it any more then you do having to pay more to fish someplace I used to live. I don't live there though, it's no longer my local resource and paying more to utilize it doesn't bother me. I just don't go as often. Classified Waters in BC for a non resident is killer.

Really how many people are going to drive/fly to BC to fish. The cost of gas etc is far more then the price of the license and there is no way that raising the non resident fee is to try and deter others from fishing here(or BC). It is just a money grab imo.

[EP2]

1) it is time our province reciprocates the BC govts attitude to nonresident citizens by making out best waters "classified" and charging 20$ a day to fish like they do in fernie et al.
2) these fees are fairly in line with most other nonresident fees
3) I would like to see a Manitoba style of two tiered liscence wher I pay less for more required catch and release and/or lower possession and retention limits.
4) if seniors do not even need a slip of paper for a minimal fee, how do they know all the regs? How many do not even check?
5) if a 13yr old can bag grouse and needs a liscence, why not a fisher? If dad takes kids fishing but does not cast himself, who hold the liscence? Why am I paying for a 15 year old to keep his limit each time?

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Wouldn't have objected to higher fees.

Would like to see Seniors have to pay a licence fee though.(doesn't have to be full price though).

Kids licencing needs some thought too.

all in all = positive

Guess we will still have to work on the seniors and kids.

Think about how many seniors in Alberta are fishing. Even a small fee of $10 would go a long way.

[AdverseCity]

I'd like to see a bigger increase if the funds are going to the right areas, it'll be interesting to see what they do with this little influx. Great to see the non-resident increase as well, it's still the cheapest part of any out-of-province fishing trip.

As for the seniors and kids fees, I'd like to see them required to get a license but at a highly reduced rate or even free. It'll help kids learn a sense of responsible fishing and discourage people from just bringing grandma out to double their limit. I don't have an issue with seniors fishing free but some non-seniors take advantage of that. If you can't make it to the store for a cheap/free license than you're obviously not catching your own fish.

I think children and seniors should have to physically catch their own limit (or at least spend the day trying, we've all had bad trips) to bring any fish home. I see too many people bring the kids to Chain lakes ice fishing, they triple their limit and lines in the water while the kids go sledding or watch a movie in the truck.

[EP2]

Kid limits can be included in the liscence holders. Kids must either fish with liscence holder or buy their own. Must buy their own for a separate bonking limit.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

I have said this for the past 4-5 years a large increase is needed , I was just in be paid nearly 50 dollars for a year round fresh water license , I think they are 40 dollars for a week and 30 for 1 day . Not exact numbers but close .

I also like the thought to an additional sturgeon license , since its the new hype . Add a 8-10 dollar license , make up a brochure to have tips for safe handling etc . Make guys report there catches , get an even better idea of how many fish are out there . Leave the measuring and tagging to the sturgeon tagging group . That's my personal thought .

It's about time that the Government of Alberta does a little more with what it has , and that all costs money .

I wouldn't be opposed to pay 30-40 dollars for a license as long as more funds were put into Alberta's fishery .

[DiabeticKripple]

Originally Posted by BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES

I have said this for the past 4-5 years a large increase is needed , I was just in be paid nearly 50 dollars for a year round fresh water license , I think they are 40 dollars for a week and 30 for 1 day . Not exact numbers but close .

I also like the thought to an additional sturgeon tag , since its the new hype . Add a 8-10 dollar tag , make up a brochure to have tips for safe handling etc . Make guys report there catches , get an even better idea of how many fish are out there . Leave the measuring and tagging to the sturgeon tagging group . That's my personal thought .

It's about time that the Government of Alberta does a little more with what it has , and that all costs money .

I wouldn't be opposed to pay 30-40 dollars for a license as long as more funds were put into Alberta's fishery .

Are you talking about a tag for harvesting sturgeon, or a license to specifically fish for them like Wayne does?