License Price SkyRocketted

[TBark]

Over in 4 hrs, I don't think so, ha.

[Poppa]

Glad they made the change! I paid a high rate for outsiders licenses in Manitoba and Ontario this past year...was more than worth it for me. Someone made a great point comparing it to how much you pay for one round of golf in this province. Still super cheap to fish here!

[idaman]

Originally Posted by elkdump

The odds of getting caught fishing without a valid fishing licence is about the same odds as of catching a decent fish ,,,

Not even close...
Must not be much of a fisherman.

[Isopod]

Originally Posted by THERICARDO

Why not? basically same price as going to a movie now anyways...

I purchase a Sask and various BC ones every year, my brother and dad always buy ab and bc. Always the joke was how cheap AB was for Can resident other than SAsk or BC's..

People need stuff to cry about so this is just one more..

Not crying, I just think $25 is far too expensive for 1 day. Suppose family or friends stop in from another province and want to hit a trout pond one evening. At $25 per person it just isn't happening. That seems a shame. It won't stop serious fishers who want to head out for a full day of fishing, but it will certainly stop casual fishers who thought an hour or two at a trout pond or at the river might have been a fun thing to do in Alberta.

In reverse, I see it is the same in most provinces. If I want to visit family in Ontario and I have a few hours to kill and think it might be fun to walk to the lakeshore and see if anything's biting, am I really going to pay $25 for that? No way. I just think we should cut other Canadians a bit of a break, as they should us.

[Wes_G]

Originally Posted by Isopod

$25 for a 1-day license for non-Alberta Canadian residents? That's nuts, who would pay that? When uncle Larry visits from another province, the one thing you know you won't be doing while he's here is taking him out for an afternoon or evening of fishing.

Will cost you $40+ for a day of river fishing in the east Kootenays.... thats even if you get drawn through an application process that happens 3 months in advance!!!! $25 for a non resident day in Alberta doesn't seem to bad now does it?

[Isopod]

Originally Posted by Wes_G

Will cost you $40+ for a day of river fishing in the east Kootenays.... thats even if you get drawn through an application process that happens 3 months in advance!!!! $25 for a non resident day in Alberta doesn't seem to bad now does it?

Two wrongs don't make a right. As an Albertan, I can buy a fishing license good for the entire year for $28. Other Canadians have to pay $26.63 for a single day??? Are they really going to impact the fishery as much in one day as I do in an entire year? No way, it's just a money grab, and as long as people support a money-grab, the government will be only too happy to comply.

I'd much rather see daily license fees of $5 in every province across the country. It would be cool to drive from Alberta or BC to the east coast, and cast a line for a couple hours in each province, for $5 per province. But at $25 per province, it isn't happening, at least not for me.

[Poppa]

The problem seems to be that fishermen have been spoiled for too long...it's been so cheap, for so long, people are shocked by the increase. It's been far too inexpensive for a long time...the rate hikes, in theory, will allow Nat Res folks to do more/better work...

[neilsledder]

Originally Posted by elkdump

The odds of getting caught fishing without a valid fishing licence is about the same odds as of catching a decent fish ,,,

You most not be a good fisherman lol.

Yah it sucks to pay more but really it's not that much compared to the price of gear a guy has. You just have to get out more to make it more worth while!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Big Red 250]

Originally Posted by Poppa

Glad they made the change! I paid a high rate for outsiders licenses in Manitoba and Ontario this past year...was more than worth it for me. Someone made a great point comparing it to how much you pay for one round of golf in this province. Still super cheap to fish here!

$28 for a yearly non-resident Canadian fishing licence in Manitoba is considered a high cost for you. How do you even afford to buy a fishing rod?

[Poppa]

Originally Posted by Big Red 250

$28 for a yearly non-resident Canadian fishing licence in Manitoba is considered a high cost for you. How do you even afford to buy a fishing rod?

Point is, I paid for licenses in AB, MB, and Ont this year....and didn't phase me one bit, as it's completely worth it, IMO...I'm completely against people complaining about the increase in license fee.

[Isopod]

The fee system makes no sense. I understand not charging kids. Most of us pay $28 per year and have a certain impact on the resource. But if you are 65, retired and can fish every single day of the year, you get to do it for free. Where's the logic in that? Also, if you are a casual fisher from another province, you now have to pay as much for a single day as an Alberta resident pays for the entire year... gouge our fellow Canadians much? Oh, but it's okay, because other provinces gouge Canadians from outside their province too. Mine, mine, mine, logic.

And how much revenue is the province really going to raise by raising fees for non-resident Canadians? They have a minuscule impact on our fishery compared to commercial, native, and resident sport-fishing. If they really want to raise cash to improve the fishery then the fees should be raised for the people who are having an impact on the fishery, particularly the commercial fishery and resident Albertans, especially those over 65.

[Crankbait]

Originally Posted by Isopod

Not crying, I just think $25 is far too expensive for 1 day. Suppose family or friends stop in from another province and want to hit a trout pond one evening. At $25 per person it just isn't happening. That seems a shame. It won't stop serious fishers who want to head out for a full day of fishing, but it will certainly stop casual fishers who thought an hour or two at a trout pond or at the river might have been a fun thing to do in Alberta.

In reverse, I see it is the same in most provinces. If I want to visit family in Ontario and I have a few hours to kill and think it might be fun to walk to the lakeshore and see if anything's biting, am I really going to pay $25 for that? No way. I just think we should cut other Canadians a bit of a break, as they should us.

aren't you on the other thread about having your nephews fill up your freezer?

[Isopod]

Originally Posted by Crankbait

aren't you on the other thread about having your nephews fill up your freezer?

Not me. My nephew's family has a cottage down east on a lake that is great for bass, but as far as I know he has zero interest in fishing. Certainly when I was there catching bass, no one else there showed any interest in joining me. I think they consider fishing a bit evil.

And I only keep one or two fish a year myself, so I'd need a really small freezer to "fill it up", lol.

[SteveY66]

I hope non resident hunting licenses sky rocket too. It would be nice to be par with other provinces and the States

[Mountain Guy]

Originally Posted by Isopod

Two wrongs don't make a right. As an Albertan, I can buy a fishing license good for the entire year for $28. Other Canadians have to pay $26.63 for a single day??? Are they really going to impact the fishery as much in one day as I do in an entire year? No way, it's just a money grab, and as long as people support a money-grab, the government will be only too happy to comply.

I'd much rather see daily license fees of $5 in every province across the country. It would be cool to drive from Alberta or BC to the east coast, and cast a line for a couple hours in each province, for $5 per province. But at $25 per province, it isn't happening, at least not for me.

Bc's been gouging us Albertans for a long time....
Two wrongs don't make a right but whats good for the goose is good for the gander

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Big Red 250

Just saying> Last year I bought a non resident fishing licence in Mb, cost me $28. That's for the whole year. I caught a few good feeds of walleye while I was there. Senior's are free there too.

MB has more water per capita than Alberta. More fish per angler.

Every water body in Alberta close to any population is under serious fishing pressure.

Can't compare AB to MB

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Mr Flyguy

Hey. not that a $5 charge will break me but I waited 65 years to fish for free so take it easy on us older guys.

Actually, if I could be assured that the dollars were being used efficiently to maintain the resource and stop poachers, etc., I would happily fork out for a license. It's about one (1) gas tank fillup!

As an angling community I am sure extra cost going towards protection and enhancement of the fishery would be accepted by the vast majority.

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by elkdump

The odds of getting caught fishing without a valid fishing licence is about the same odds as of catching a decent fish ,,,

Fishery protection is greatly under manned. At the same time there are fish to be had.

[Okotokian]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

As an angling community I am sure extra cost going towards protection and enhancement of the fishery would be accepted by the vast majority.

sundance, you know the truth. The money is going into general coffers. We are just getting out-of-province folk to contribute more to our tax burden. That's all. F&W doesn't get a penny more. That angler from Manitoba is buying me a light bulb!

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Okotokian

sundance, you know the truth. The money is going into general coffers. We are just getting out-of-province folk to contribute more to our tax burden. That's all. F&W doesn't get a penny more. That angler from Manitoba is buying me a light bulb!

Actually, the government only gets 5% on fishing licenses.

Breakdown:

Per dollar:

$0.64 is distributed to the Alberta Conservation Association. For more information on how funds are used to support Fisheries programs, please visit www.ab-conservation.com

$0.31 is used for licensing allocation and administration providing compensation to the Service Provider and the network of private Licence Issuers as well as provides funds for programs to monitor fish populations. For more information, visit mywildalberta.com

$0.05 goes to Government of Alberta General Revenue Fund

This is found in the regs.

Again, the licence fees do not go to the government!

Sorry Oko, not directed to just you.

[Isopod]

Hmm, so...
-5% to government general revenue,
-31% to licensing and administration (which really means largely to AB government), and
-64% to ACA for fishing and hunting programs.

Interesting that not a penny goes to enhanced enforcement. So much for the argument that higher fees will mean more CO's and better enforcement of the regs.

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Isopod

Hmm, so...
-5% to government general revenue,
-31% to licensing and administration (which really means largely to AB government), and
-64% to ACA for fishing and hunting programs.

Interesting that not a penny goes to enhanced enforcement. So much for the argument that higher fees will mean more CO's and better enforcement of the regs.

No, it does not mean "largely to the AB government"! It means the 31% goes to paying venders (both on line and in store) for selling licences not to the government.

As to the part in bold, it has never meant that. Comes from the budget like anything else.

[Isopod]

Fair enough. But I think there is a misconception that part of license fees go towards enforcement -- I certainly had that misconception -- and it's interesting to see that they don't.

I'm not the only one... higher up on this thread someone wrote "But the money may be going back to fund more policing of our fish and wildlife to stop poachers so there are more fish to be caught legally".

I wonder if people's enthusiasm for higher fees would lessen when they realize it will make no difference to enforcement? (It does make a difference to enhancement of the fishery though, which is a good thing.)

[Bhflyfisher]

I honestly can't see the 25/Day for non resident being that much of a big deal. If you truly think that is aimed at the odd traveller passing through with a rod for just a couple casts it isn't. That 25/day for nonresidents is more directed at the guides who hop the BC border in the kootenays to plug the oldman/crow/bow etc. Guides in fernie don't have rod days on their rivers, guess where they head? But they're collecting the guiding fees, not an Alberta guide. At least 25/day is comparable to a classified waters tag in their area.

I like the increase, why the hell is everyone so cheap? Rapalas are 16 dollars at the store, a tank of gas is 60+, what is so wrong with an increase? 60 for an annual? If thats too much you might want to pick up another hobby. More money is more money, even if it isn't solely directed to enforcement, if 64% is the correct number heading into ACA, its still more cash flow into ACA. ACA is vastly underfunded. Thats the bottomline.

[Isopod]

You may be correct that the fee increase was caused by guides, as you describe. If so, that's unfortunate for the casual fishers visiting our province.

Much of what irks me about this whole thing is that everyone is keen on non-residents paying more, yet no-one has suggested that Albertans should pay more than $28 per year, or $0 per year for seniors, for all the great things they say these fees support. I think the mentality is "so happy things are dirt cheap for me, now let's make people who aren't me pay a lot more."

[Puma]

About time Alberta started charging what the other provinces have been for years.

I Bass fish in Northern Quebec a couple times a year, and always have had to pay 70.00 or so for a license.

[huntsfurfish]

Originally Posted by Isopod

You may be correct that the fee increase was caused by guides, as you describe. If so, that's unfortunate for the casual fishers visiting our province.

Much of what irks me about this whole thing is that everyone is keen on non-residents paying more, yet no-one has suggested that Albertans should pay more than $28 per year, or $0 per year for seniors, for all the great things they say these fees support. I think the mentality is "so happy things are dirt cheap for me, now let's make people who aren't me pay a lot more."

Actually, I might have suggested something along those lines in an old thread.

I would like to see a reg licence double to $56 per year and senior licence of $28 per year. Also under 16 licence for $28 per year.

Non Res Canadians would be higher as would Non resident aliens higher still in relation to what they have now.

Everyone should be licensed and contributing money!

Even at those costs, it is still very inexpensive licensing.

[mclean]

Sounds like a true NDP member

[mclean]

Originally Posted by huntsfurfish

Actually, I might have suggested something along those lines in an old thread.

I would like to see a reg licence double to $56 per year and senior licence of $28 per year. Also under 16 licence for $28 per year.

Non Res Canadians would be higher as would Non resident aliens higher still in relation to what they have now.

Everyone should be licensed and contributing money!

Even at those costs, it is still very inexpensive licensing.

Sounds like an NDP loyalist.

[Mountain Guy]

$35 bucks for a National Parks fishing licence now when it used to be 15 bucks not all that long ago. What does that fund??
Short of helping Parks Canada net out the odd lake to destroy non-native fish species I'm not sure.