Thanks for your question about display of fishing licenses. It's a good question. This is a subject that has been reviewed carefully by the Commission and the General Assembly in recent years. Like a lot of issues there are at least two sides to the question. For a number of reasons, the Fish and Boat Commission believes that anglers should continue to be required to display fishing licenses on outer garments while fishing.

The Commission has a longstanding regulation requiring that any person fishing on Pennsylvania waters display his or her fishing license on a hat or outer garment while fishing. This regulation differs from most other fishing regulations in that it requires that “a warning will be issued for a first violation of this section if a person has a valid fishing license in his possession.” Thus, our waterways conservation officers and deputies would only cite somebody for this violation if they ignored a warning to display their license while fishing.

The requirement that anglers display fishing licenses while fishing has been on the books since at least 1959, and it probably was in effect well before that. Similar requirements apply to hunting licenses. There is significant compliance with this requirement across the state. In 2001, the Commission prosecuted nearly 9,000 summary cases (and issued nearly 40,000 warnings). Our officers brought summary charges against about 1,600 people for fishing without a license. But there were only 5 cases of citations for not displaying licenses. Similar statistics hold true for prior years. A violation of these regulations is a summary offense of the fourth degree under the Fish and Boat Code. This offense carries the lowest penalty of any offense under the Fish and Boat Code.

Why should anglers be required to display their licenses when fishing? The Commission believes that open display of fishing licenses is more convenient for the angler, makes enforcement more effective and less intrusive, and encourages compliance with fishing license requirements.

When an angler’s license is checked by a law enforcement officer, it is much more convenient and less disruptive if the license is displayed. It’s true that a detailed check of the license will require a close inspection of the license information and other identification, but in many cases our officers do a cursory check to just make sure the person has a current valid license and trout stamp (if required). Instead of asking every angler to pull their license out of their wallet, the officer can simply check it on their cap or vest. This is better for both the angler and the officer.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of peer pressure among sportsmen. We believe that anglers respond positively to the peer pressure brought by fellow sportsmen. When display of a fishing license is required, as it is now, it is obvious to everyone around who is in compliance and who is not. Peer pressure encourages compliance, and the display of the fishing license makes it clear to all on the waters who has a license and who may not. If display were not required, we believe compliance with license requirements would be reduced. This would reduce Fish Fund revenues and could impact programs of importance to Pennsylvania anglers.

It’s true that many other states, including some of our neighbors, do not require anglers to display their fishing license. However, it should be noted that at least one state that did not require display of a fishing license now requires it, and that is the biggest state of all. Effective in March 1994, California required that all anglers display their fishing licenses while fishing. Why? To encourage compliance and enhance convenience and enforcement. Field and Stream Magazine had a lead editorial endorsing the California change. The magazine observed that anglers who fish without a license bilk the state out of millions of dollars each year, and the honest anglers who purchase a license have to make up that cost. All the major sportsmen organizations in California supported imposition of the license display requirement.

The National Rivers Authority of England and Wales did a study on requiring anglers to display fishing licenses. Their study, completed in 1994, concluded that the requirement would enhance enforcement efficiency and fishing license sales.

In conclusion, the Fish and Boat Commission believes the current regulations work well. The Commission receives few complaints about license display requirements. Almost all Pennsylvania anglers take pride in displaying their fishing license; it’s not unusual to see anglers displaying their license even when they’re not fishing!

June 2002

RELATED

• PA Fishing Summary Book

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