The other day I was fishing in New Jersey when an officer from the Division of Fish & Wildlife approached and asked if I had my National Saltwater Angler Registry Card. Huh? I did not know you needed one. Turns out I didn’t.


Signing up under the Marine Recreational Information Program is mandatory if you fish saltwater in a State that doesn’t require a saltwater license. But if you’re fishing in one of those States and have a license from a State that does, you don’t need to sign up. Make sense?


Here’s how it works. I have  full-year saltwater license for Florida and also for New York State. So as long as I can produce one of them while fishing in New Jersey, I’m covered. If not, I’d need the free registry card.


Click on the website and see if you need to register.


Written by: Pete McDonald
Pete McDonald is a contributing editor to Power & Motoryacht. Previously, he spent 11 years on the editorial staff of Boating. He has won multiple writing awards and holds a master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.