Aug. 11 deadline approaches on saltwater registry proposal

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Just a few days ago (before bears began wandering Bangor’s city streets and pigs began flying in Patten) we asked you to take part in an on-line poll about saltwater fishing licenses last week. BDN readers made their views on the matter perfectly clear.

Of the 359 respondents to our poll question, 85 percent said they did not think saltwater sport fishing should require a license.

What our question did not ask, however, is perhaps more important: What are you planning to do about it?

That question doesn’t fit well into a yes-or-no poll format, but I’d wager many of our respondents would answer that query in similar fashion: “Nothing.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is considering a proposal that would require states to take part in a saltwater angler registry.

If states build their own registry (read: start charging a license fee and forwarding the names and addresses of anglers to the feds), everything would be fine.

If the states balk or delay, however, NOAA says that entry into a federally administered registry would be required for those seeking to fish saltwater. In that case, the federal government – not Maine’s Department of Marine Resources – would get all the cash.

Personally, I have no problem with a saltwater registry, nor a saltwater license that could be purchased for a nominal fee.

My rationale: Every time I buy a license and begin itemizing the hours of enjoyment that permit allows me, I realize how cheap entertainment can really be. In the grand scheme of things, the $15 I’d spend for a state saltwater permit wouldn’t be a deal-breaker for me.

Others feel differently, and I respect that.

If the feds do step forward and mandate that states fall into line, I’d just as soon have that money stay in Maine where it could be used toward management of our fisheries.

BDN readers, however, seem to disagree: Most don’t want any saltwater license, no matter what.

Regardless of your position on the issue, now’s the time to let the decision-makers know what you think.

If you don’t write to the folks that are pondering the proposal soon, you’ll lose the opportunity to do so.

Comments on the proposed rule are being accepted until Aug. 11. They can be sent to John Boreman, Director, Office of Science and Technology, NMFS, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD, 20910, attn.: Gordon Colvin. Comments will also be accepted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov.

Castine yacht events on tap

Each summer, Maine communities host festivals of all kinds. If you want to celebrate blueberries or the blues, lobsters or potato blossoms, ployes or folk music, this is the state for you.

While not an official festival, organizers in Castine have put together an event that provides another reason to visit the picturesque community next week.

The Castine Yacht Club, in cooperation with the Eastern Yacht Club in Marblehead, Mass., and yacht designers Sparkman & Stephens, are sponsoring two races that will finish in the coastal community.

The festivities kick off Sunday with the start of the Marblehead to Castine Race, and events will continue throughout the week.

If the weather is favorable, organizers expect the fleet of about 15 boats in the 145-nautical-mile Marblehead-to-Castine Race to arrive in Castine on Monday.

On Tuesday, a pair of sailing-oriented events are on tap: First, Gary Jobson will sign his book, Championship Sailing, at the Compass Rose Bookstore beginning at 3 p.m.

At 4:30 p.m., Jobson will speak at Maine Maritime’s Delano Hall. His topic: “Sailing in America, A Tribute to Olin Stephens.”

On Wednesday, visitors will get a chance to view a number of boats at the town dock. Buzzard Bay 30s restored by French & Webb and Darling’s Boatworks, and the sardine carrier Jacob Pike.

Match racing will then be held in the harbor.

And July 31, about 40 yachts will sail a 19.6-nautical-mile course in the Castine Classic Yacht Race. Participants will start at the Castine Harbor bell, head out to Robinson Rock at the southern end of Islesboro, and finish off Curtis Island in Camden.

The events commemorate the 100th birthday of Olin Stephens, one of the 20th century’s top yacht designers. Many Stephens boats will take part in the races.

Organizers also expect an impressive fleet of Classic and Spirit of Tradition yachts.

According to David Bicks and Bob Scott, co-chairmen of the events, some of the larger yachts expected to race include Dorade, the famed 52-foot yawl which launched Stephens’ career in 1929; Anna, the 56-foot S&S sloop built by Brooklin Boat Yard in 2007; Whitehawk, the 105-foot ketch (styled after Ticonderoga) built in Rockland in 1978; the 76-foot (W-76 Class) sloop Wild Horses designed by Bob Stephens; the 65-foot Swan Eden designed by S&S; Valiant, the 64-foot 12-meter Americas Cup contender designed by S&S in 1970; the 58-foot (P-Class) Joyant, a 1912 Herreshoff design; and three 46-foot (NY32 Class) sloops designed by S&S in 1936 – Siren, Falcon and Gentian.

If you’ve got a bit of saltwater flowing through your veins, the event promises to be a memorable one.

jholyoke@bangordailynews.net

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