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Licensing Fight Grows

Anglers Won’t Bite At License

BUTTERFLIES AND FISHERMAN are free, bat the latter 1 * unfettered activity may be a thing of the past If a proposal for mandatory salt water licenses fishing licenses becomes law.

By Kathleen Cox Schaeffer Lou Rodia has been grappling with an issue harder to hook than any fish for 23 years and he’s determined to stay with it until he’s hauled it in. Rodia, chairman of the Jersey Cape Sportsmen’s Committee to Stop a Salt Water License is the county’s leading opponent of a proposal seeking federal legislation that would require all salt water

fishermen to obtain licenses to fish in the ocean. Controversy over the proposal began as a ripple among disconcerted fishermen years ago and has spread like a ground swell ever since. The salt water license issue is broadbased, affecting not only saltwater fishermen, but the economy of ocean resort communities, Rodia said. Seen in its entirety, the

proposal is just one more example of federal government’s attempt /to over-regulate, expand and perpetuate an already mammoth bureaucracy, he added. "What we’re talking about here is a principle, a broad issue," Rodia said. Proposed by the Board of Directors of the Sport Fishing Institute in a May 1978 resolution, the salt water licensing law would require all saltwater

fishermen to pay a $5 annual registration fee. They would also be required to keep records of catches. The license would be reciprocally honored in various coastal states and revenues would be put toward "biological, ecological and environmental research urgently needed for effective management of the recreational fisheries.” It would also provide for development of recreation fishing facilities and minimum related administration and enforcement activities. Licensing would also create a data base for research and allocation of surplus fish within the 200mile U.S. fishery conservation zone, according to proposents of the proposal. Penalties for license infractions include a fine of not less than $100 for the first offense of fishing without a license, $50 for additional offenses. Anyone caught operating a recreational fishing vessel without a license would be liable to a $1,000 fine for the first offense and $2,000 for subsequent offenses. The Coast Guard and a specifically created enforcement agency would patrol the waters for

license offenders. Rodia calls the proposal "totally unrealistic”. "We’re into one more manifestation of people control," he said. And, how many people would be controlled by a salt water fishing license? There are currently 1,600,000 saltwater fishermen in the state of New Jersey, Rodia said. Some 15 percent of the total U.S. population saltwater fish and one-third of the total population either fishes salt or fresh water, he said. Recreational fishing nets the state an estimates $375 million per year, according to N.J. Congressman Bill Hughes office Many fishermen see the attempt to license saltwater fishing as a bald imposition, Rodia said. "It would discourage fishermen. You can't count negatives, but the license would limit the growth'of the sport and it will have a serious effect on the tourist business in this area," he said. Congressman Hughes, who has introduced legislation that would discourage states from requiring licenses or fees for saltwater fishing agrees. "Ocean sport fishing is vital to our resort in-

dustry," Hughes said in a press statement. "It v provides customers for I tackle shops and charter boats and attracts vacationers from distant places to our shores. A salt water fishing license or any similar requirement would discourage' people from coming to South Jersey to ) fish," Hughes said. Both state legislatures have passed resolutions .opposing the license. Triough there is no sponsor for the proposal at the federal level, Hughes, a member of the House Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, said he will do everything he cart to prevent it from becoming law. Some 20 percent of New Jersw residents polled . said they would not pay for a license, Rodia said. "This is not a matter of \ freeloading," Rodia said. "We’re not just talking about a license, we’re talking about a bureaucratic buildup.^’ In addition to paying the license fee, anglers would be required to keep a log of the number of fish caught and various details about the catch. A trcrhendous organization would be needed to process the reports, administer and (Continued on Page 18)

St. Peter’s -By-The-Sea

‘Gingerbread Church’ Stands Sentinel At Point

l»\ .1.A. Cunningham CAI’K MAY POINT - One ol tlte most charming of ‘Cape May County's churches is the little Episcopal chruch in Cape May Point, officially named St. Peter's-By-The-Sea. but called by many. •The Gingerbread Church". In the 1870's, members of the Presbyterian Church planned a community to be laid out on what was then Stiles Beach. This resort town was christened Sea Grove. When its post office was established in 1978, it was given its present mime. (The establishment of post offices forced many communities to change their name to avoid duplication.) Despite the fact that the town was set up primarily for Presbyterians, members of other denominations were also drawn to this tranquil and attractive village.

There was a close relationship between the Presbyterians and Episcopaliams who visited Cape May Point. Before 1880. Episcopal services were held almost every summer Sunday, either in hotel parlors oi private homes. Sometimes they were led by lay readers, but usually there was a visiting Episcopalian clergyman available. ^ In 1879. someone suggested it might be possible to acquire one of the buildings used in the 1876 Centennial which ^iad been held in Fairmount Park in Philadelphia.

According to the four

clergymen who founded the church, bought a "Fine, yellow pin frame;; and had it moved to Cape May Point. There seems to be a minor mystery about the original use of the structure. For years it had been

the records, Episcopal

rumored that it was part of either the Swiss or Swedish exhibits. On investigation it was proved that those buildings were actually in other locations. The church was named to recognize the efforts of the Reverend William R. Stockton, in whose home many of the early church services were held. He was the rector of St. Peter’sChurch in Phoenixville, Pa. Donations were asked for the upkeep of the church. Some came in small change, but there were also substantial contributions. In the early years, the building was moved from place to place at least 5 times. It was/irst erected on the grounds of the Stockton cottage. wett» the first services were held July 25. I960. A year or* so later it was moved to another location which was more central and nearer

, thc/sca. Another move took blocks out on the water. In triangular lot where the

GINGERBREAD CHURCH. A hallmark of Cap* May Point i» the oM ’ st. Peter's By-the-Sea Episcopal Church.