Fishing for numbers

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It may sound strange to recreational ocean fishermen in California, but there are quite a few states that require no fishing license. That presents a problem for the feds. Fisheries scientists have a whale of a time trying to get a handle on how many fishermen are out there and what they’re catching.

This may have sounded like a small matter until Florida State University’s Felicia Coleman and colleagues determined that the recreational catch was a real whopper for some prized fish.

Instead of requiring states to impose licenses -- fighting words in some states prompting various Freedom to Fish bills -- the National Marine Fisheries Service is edging toward a national registration for saltwater anglers. The idea, says acting head of the fisheries service, is to conduct surveys to get a sharper picture of the nation’s estimated 14 million ocean recreational anglers. The service is nervous. It promises no annual fees until 2011. Such a deal!

-- Kenneth R. Weiss