- Division of Marine Fisheries
In 2011, in response to federal regulations that mandated a nationwide saltwater recreational angler registry, the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) joined many other states and began requiring anglers to obtain a state-issued recreational saltwater fishing permit rather than having anglers pay to join the federal registry. Unlike most other state agencies, DMF worked with stakeholders to craft enabling legislation that included some very important provisions, most notably that collected permit fees go directly into a dedicated fund that would be spent only to benefit recreational fishing in the Commonwealth.
The resulting legislation also created an appointed panel that would advise DMF on how to spend permit funds while also requiring that a third of all collected permit fees be dedicated to creating and maintaining public access for saltwater anglers. Fifteen years on, the story of the Recreational Saltwater Fishing Permit is one that Massachusetts anglers should know and be proud of.
One of the clear achievements of the permit program has been the improvements to public access for saltwater anglers in Massachusetts. The funding from the Permit allowed DMF to hire our first full-time Public Access Coordinator. This position has proven vital as the Coordinator works with stakeholders across the Commonwealth to understand local access needs and concerns, oversees access to state-owned parcels like Craven’s Landing in Sandwich and Leland Beach in Edgartown, and develops projects to replace ageing or create new access infrastructure. These projects can be advanced through DMF’s annual Saltwater Fishing Access Improvements Grant or, in the case of larger projects, through collaborations with municipalities and other government organizations like the Office of Fishing and Boating Access or the Department of Conservation and Recreation. Since 2011, DMF has participated in 49 access improvements. Small projects have covered the full range of upgrades, from life rings in Chatham, new decking and bait stations in Beverly, maintaining pathways to water in Danvers and Rockport, to ramp repairs and improvements in coastal towns like Cohasset, Barnstable, Wareham, Plymouth, Truro, Marshfield, and many others. The largest investment has been in fishing piers and artificial reefs. Permit fees have been vital to the construction of new piers in the Bass River and Smuggler’s Beach in Yarmouth, in Oak Bluffs, and at Deer Island in Winthrop. They have also been used to build replacement piers at the Willows in Salem and Cashman Park in Newburyport.
Recognizing that communicating and educating recreational anglers is a vital part of what DMF can do, permit fees were also used to create dedicated positions for an Information and Education Coordinator and Angler Education Coordinator. Both of these positions have been important contributors to DMF’s goal of generating new and better-informed anglers who can be stewards of our aquatic resources while spreading the joy of saltwater fishing in their communities. Over the past 15 years, our Information and Education Coordinators have grown a fishing community on media platforms and created amazing outreach materials like the Saltwater Fish of Massachusetts and Sharks of Massachusetts coloring books and the Saltwater Fishing Field Guide, sparking interest and amazement in tens of thousands of young anglers. Last year, we launched the new FishMA stickers, featuring seven popular recreational species pursued by anglers. In just over a year, we have handed out over 15,000!
Our Angler Education Coordinator has created a program that has grown into an effective and popular series of fishing clinics covering the entire coast of the Commonwealth. At every clinic, DMF staff and partners educate attendees, covering the basics of fish biology and fishing technique, including proper handling, knot tying, casting, and picking out the perfect bait or lure. DMF held 93 clinics between 2017 and 2025 and with 24 scheduled in 2026 we will eclipse the 100-clinic mark. Demand for new events is still growing and our Angler Education Coordinator has started training others to conduct clinics and created a Rod and Tackle Loan Program, so local groups can learn how to conduct a clinic in their community and conduct events without incurring significant expenses for a one-day event.
With only a relatively small part of the overall Fund spending, DMF has conducted cutting-edge research to benefit recreational anglers and improve the management of recreational species like striped bass. Most recently, we completed a five-year study that resulted in a new, more accurate estimate of post release mortality for striped bass across the entire migratory range. For decades an estimate of 9% has been applied to the number of fish caught and released by anglers. While this figure is lower than the estimate for many other species of fish, the popularity of striped bass among anglers leads to millions of fish being caught and released every year in Massachusetts alone. Put together, the number of striped bass that are believed to die after release can surpass the number of fish harvested by recreational anglers and far outweighs the removals from commercial fisheries. As the overall number of striped bass available to anglers has shrunk over the past decade the number of fish dying after release has had more influence on fishing regulations and opportunities, creating an urgent need to have an accurate release mortality estimate.
Using a three-stage approach, DMF conducted acoustic telemetry research to observe release mortalities, a Citizen Science project to identify the best predictors of release mortality, and a large-scale survey of anglers in six coastal states that account for over 80% of annual striped bass catches to characterize the coastal fishery. When all this work was completed, DMF arrived at a new average estimate of 4.2%, less than half of the previously used 9%. However, we did observe variation in release mortality based on fish size and age, with mortality higher than 6% for larger, older fish. This does not mean that there are half as many dead fish as we thought, but it will have effects on the upcoming stock assessment and may reduce the need for immediate conservation measures considering that harvest-based regulations will have regained leverage over release mortality.
DMF has used permit dollars to improve recreational fishing in less direct but still important ways as well. These include collecting additional data and improving habitat for the forage base that supports all our recreational fishing adventures. Through these investments, we have increased the staff and resources available to complete the surveys used to generate recreational catch estimates, undertaken river herring and rainbow smelt habitat assessments and monitoring, and spearheaded diadromous fish restoration projects. Collecting more data, fixing fishways, clearing streams, and removing dams is the on-the-ground and in-the-water work that leads directly to improved fishing. Better information to support regulation changes can increase fishing opportunities, as we saw this year with a reduced size limit and extended season for black sea bass. River herring restoration work has increased populations of these forage fish, drawing striped bass into rivers and estuaries in the spring and fall and creating epic fishing in the Merrimack River, Boston Harbor, Scituate and Marshfield, along both sides of the Cape, and in Mt. Hope Bay.
Over the past 15 years, the fees collected by the Recreational Saltwater Fishing Permit have been used to create lasting impacts that have helped contribute to Massachusetts’ world-class fisheries. Looking forward, DMF has begun black sea bass research projects to help support this popular fishery, has begun to develop a new site for a large public access pier on the South Coast, and continues to expand our Angler Education opportunities. The opportunities provided by the permit funds will continue to provide exceptional value to our anglers by going right back into efforts that improve their fishing. Visit our website to learn more about where your permit dollars go.
