Saving money???

[daker1979]

Sounds like those fishing the Niagara Bar, and St Lawrence river areas can be saving some money as they have come up with more reason NOT to buy a Canadian fishing license. In the Rochester Democrat and chronicle today...... I assume this will apply to all those fishing in Canadian waters, not just charters. Makes no sense to me but what do I know?

Rick Ungar's charter fishing service promises a great time on Lake Erie. But there's a catch  and it's not freshwater fish. It's the Homeland Security Department's new anti-terrorism rules.

When the 2008 charter season begins next month, U.S. citizens paying to fish on Lake Erie will have to bring either a passport or two other IDs if they plan to cross the northern border's invisible watery line.

When they get back to shore in the United States, they'll have to drive to a local government reporting station and pose for pictures. They won't be posing with their fish, but for customs officers via a videophone connection.

That's because half of Lake Erie  as it happens, the half with the deeper and cooler waters that often spawn the best fishing  is in Canada. The Homeland Security Department intends to enforce new border security rules  largely focused on those coming into the country by land and air  on fishermen re-entering the country.

Ungar and many of his fellow charter boat captains  Lake Erie alone has 600-plus  are incensed.

They say the rules are difficult to follow, will dramatically cut down on tourism and won't protect against terrorism.

"How does this secure our country?" asks Ungar, a retired Cuyahoga Heights, Ohio, police chief. "I'm not insensitive to law enforcement issues, but these are fishermen, for God's sake."

The rules apply to all the Great Lakes.

"That's something new to me," said fishing boat captain Jon Arena, a member of Rochester's Genesee Charter Boat Association.

Arena said he was familiar with similar procedures being used for land and air travelers, and for U.S. citizens arriving in Canadian ports, but not for U.S. citizens beginning and ending fishing trips in the United States.

The news comes a few days from the start of charter fishing boat season on Tuesday.

"It (the policy) could cause some problems on short-term trips," said Arena. "The extra security procedures could become a pain."

Opposition is most potent on Erie because the geography of the lake means the best fish are often over the international line.

Some operators haven't decided whether they'll continue fishing in Canadian waters. If they do, the operators will be required to:

Fax in passengers' personal information, including name, date of birth and government ID number, to the local Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office an hour before they leave shore. The names will be run against the government's terrorist watch lists.

Make sure passengers carry either a passport or a government ID.

Send the passengers to a local border protection reporting station after landing, so they can call in on a videophone.

Officers will be watching and doing spot checks on patrol boats and government aircraft.

"Our concerns are anything from terrorists and terrorist weapons to drugs and undocumented aliens," says Brett Surgeon, a spokesman for Customs and Border Protection.

Jim Bonner, whose Sunshine Charters business has been taking tourists fishing on Lake Erie for 25 years, calls the rules "a waste of taxpayers' money."

"It's a shame," he says. "It's just wide-open water."

[danjr]

Guy ,

Looks like we are not fishing Welland with Andy this year! Hope to see you out there!

Take care,

Dan