Kenai River report January 2020 - Jim Rusk Fishing Guide Alaska

Hi Everyone and a happy new year from Jim Rusk Fishing here on the Kenai, With the New year here it is time again to purchase my new Alaska fishing license. And I wanted to share this article i received from the Alaska department of fish and game which shows how the money from your fishing license helps with conservation here in Alaska.

How fishing funds conservation

When you purchase a sport fishing license or a king salmon stamp, where does the money go? The short answer is, the money you spend on a sport fishing license or king salmon stamp helps fund resource conservation in Alaska.

In this issue of Reel Times we’ll explore in more detail how funds generated from the sale of sport fishing licenses and king salmon stamps helps conserve and maintain Alaska’s aquatic resources.

That being said, if you have yet to purchase your 2020 sport fishing license, please do so by visiting our online store: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/Store/.

2020 is here. We hope this will be a great year for all anglers who fish in Alaska.

Get Out and Fish. Together.

Tight lines!

Division of Sport Fish
Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Your license dollars at work

The Division of Sport Fish is funded in part through the sale of sport fishing licenses and king salmon stamps. This means when you purchase a sport fishing license or king salmon stamp, the money from that sale goes directly to fund staff working within the Division to protect and improve sport fisheries resources in Alaska.

Sport fish biologists, researchers, and technicians are in the field year-round, monitoring and managing a wide range of fish species, from Alaska’s Southeast Panhandle to the high Arctic to fulfill the mission of the Division of Sport Fish — to protect and improve the state’s sport fisheries resources.

We use the funds from our license sales to provide the required match for federal funding we receive through the Sport Fish Restoration Act, enabling each license dollar to go further.

The Division of Sport Fish was established in 1951, coinciding with the passage of the Sport Fish Restoration (Dingell-Johnson) Act. The Sport Fish Restoration Act provides Federal aid to all state and territory fish and wildlife agencies for management and restoration of fish species having a material value for sport fishing and recreation. Eligible projects include restoration, conservation, management, and enhancement of sport fish, boating access, and projects enhancing the public’s understanding of water resources and aquatic life.

Sport Fish Restoration funds originate from excise taxes on sport fishing tackle, fish finders and electric trolling motors, import duties on fishing tackle, yachts and pleasure craft, interest on the account, and a portion of motorboat fuel tax revenues and small engine fuel taxes attributed to motor boats (added in 1984 under the Wallop-Breaux amendment). To be eligible to receive Federal Aid through the Sport Fish Restoration program, states are required to pass laws which prohibit the use of license fees for any other purpose than the administration of the state fish department, called assent legislation (Alaska’s Assent legislation is found at AS 16.05.130).

In the state of Alaska these Sport Fish Restoration funds primarily matched with license dollars, fund most of our management of sport fisheries, research to aid in our management, education and outreach, as well as boating access projects across the state.

When you purchase a sport fishing license, king salmon stamp, fishing equipment, boats or boating equipment, or any other product used to go fishing, your money goes right back into resource conservation. You help keep Alaska’s sport fisheries healthy. And that’s something all anglers can feel good about.

For more information on sport fishing licenses and other licenses offered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, please visit: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=license.main.

How many sport fishing licenses and king salmon stamps were sold in Alaska in 2018?

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Licensing section keeps yearly records of all licenses and permits sold in the state. The below graphs show how many licenses and stamps were sold in 2018, the most recent complete dataset.

The below chart shows the number of licenses and stamps sold to residents and nonresidents.

Examples of Sport Fish projects funded through angler dollars

Sport fish biologists, researchers, and technicians are in the field year-round, monitoring and managing a wide range of fish species. The Division of Sport Fish uses the funds generated from the sale of sport fishing licenses and king salmon stamps to provide the required match for federal funding we receive through the Sport Fish Restoration Act, enabling each license dollar to go further.