San Francisco Business Times
Steven E. F. Brown

California Trout, a conservation group, called for a freeze on fishing licenses for up to five years after the state's budget negotiations endangered money meant to be spent on hatcheries and wild trout preservation programs.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger proposed a state budget that would take $4 million in fishing license fees and put them in California's general fund to help close a deficit. That money was meant to go into an account created in 2005 to support trout hatcheries and preservation of wild trout populations.

The freeze on fishing license fees, which have gone up steadily from $26.25 in 1999 to $37 this year, would encourage the state government to pay back the $4 million more quickly and also keep the state from continuing to raise fees while cutting services for anglers.

About 2 million people buy fishing licenses in California each year, said Jeff Shellito, government affairs manager for California Trout, and one third of those fees is supposed to be spent on hatcheries and wild trout protection.

Those funds are vital for sport fishing, said Shellito, because the state already planned to cut back on how many fish it stocks in lakes and streams because of high gas prices.

"We're hoping this will speed up repayment of the money," said Shellito. It isn't fair, he added, for the state to keep raising license fees while cutting back on support for fishing.

Shellito works in Sacramento, but the group itself is headquartered in the historic Flood Building on Market Street in downtown San Francisco. California Trout is the only state sport fishing group that has a full-time lobbyist in Sacramento.

Budget negotiations will begin in early June, said Shellito, perhaps by June 10. Although there's a deadline of June 15, he doesn't expect quick resolution. "We're all anticipating a protracted battle," he said.