Funding the Fishery.

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Frank

Reprinted with permission from Michigan Outdoor news

Legislation would fund Fisheries Division
Additional funds would boost fish production

By Victor Skinner

Contributing Writer

Muskegon, Mich. — A coalition of Michigan anglers is promoting legislation to rework funding for the Michigan Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Division in an effort to boost fish production.

Ed Blissick, president of the Great Lakes Salmon Initiative, told Michigan Outdoor News House Bill 5093, introduced in October, stems from a committee formed by a variety of angling interests to address the department’s budget constraints while providing a return on that investment for license buyers.

“We’re at a point now going into 2026 there’s nothing left to cut,” Blissick said. “We don’t want to see cuts to fisheries production.”

The proposal, sponsored by Rep. Curt VanderWall, R-Ludington, includes a $2 fishing license fee increase that covers all species of fish not stocked by the DNR, as well as a $5 hatchery stamp that would be required for stocked fish.

In exchange, HB 5093 authorizes anglers to “run additional rods when trolling from a boat in Great Lakes waters,” Blissick said.

“There would be no rod limits on the Great Lakes,” he said. “The money from that hatchery stamp is going to go back to the stocking program” to produce 1 million more walleye and tens of thousands more muskie for inland waters.

The DNR, Blissick said, is “committed to increasing inland stocking with this hatchery stamp.”

HB 5093 also aims to increase what’s now about 55% of fishing license revenue dedicated to the fisheries division to 100% for the first five years, before a reduction to 80% in perpetuity.

“We as anglers think when we buy fishing licenses it should go to fishing,” Blissick said.

Other aspects of the legislation include a $2 increase for senior licenses in 2027, authorization to increase licenses by the rate of inflation or no more than 2% per year, and a $5 youth fishing license. The legislation allows youth to fish without a license on inland waters before age 12, but a youth license would be required for anyone younger than 12 who wants to keep fish caught on the Great Lakes.

HB 5093 also creates a Fisheries Oversight Committee comprised of a variety of angling interests, from charter captains to river guides to recreational anglers, that would make recommendations to the DNR on decisions about future license fee increases, proposed budgets, work plans, and other issues.

“This structure ensures that future financial decisions reflect the diverse needs of Michigan’s angling community and are made transparently, responsibly, and free from undue political pressure,” according to a HB 5093 fact sheet. “Any future fee increases will need an approval recommendation from the Fisheries Oversight Committee to ensure trust and transparency that fee increases are justified.” HB 5093 is backed by at least 31 different fishing clubs and associations from across the state.

“We think it’s a great concept,” Blissick said. “Fees have to go up to keep pace with inflation, but there’s a return for it.”

“We need a long-term solution for fishery management so that we don’t inadvertently mess with the ecosystems that we have enjoyed for decades,” VanderWall wrote in an email to Michigan Outdoor News. “I believe this bill helps address what is a worsening problem where our fisheries are underfunded, and that has put pressure on the sport and on our habitats.”

“The main point of the bill is that it directs the revenue from these license fees straight to fisheries management, where currently the money just goes to the DNR to be used wherever,” he wrote.

The legislation comes as separate bills proposed by Sen. John Cherry, D-Flint, to increase hunting and fishing license fees remain under consideration in the state Senate. Cherry’s Senate bills 276 and 277 were poised for final passage in the upper chamber in mid October.

DNR Fisheries Chief Randy Claramunt noted the DNR’s last license fee increase was in 2014, and both Cherry’s bills and VanderWall’s proposal suggests “there’s a recognition at least for fisheries this is a problem we can no longer kick down the road.”

“What I like about (HB 5093) is it’s a stakeholder-driven solution,” Claramunt said. “The best thing that can happen is the stakeholders and the constituents … get involved in creating a solution, and that’s what they’ve done here.”

Claramunt confirmed the DNR has committed to boosting walleye and muskie stocking programs with additional funds, but said the department will leave how those funds are generated up to lawmakers.

“The department is not going to come out with official position on these bills except to say there’s a huge need,” Claramunt said.

Michigan United Conservation Clubs, the state’s largest conservation organization, is neutral on HB 5093, noting it’s likely both that bill and the Senate legislation will be combined for a final solution.

“MUCC is neutral on 5093 for a simple reason: it is not a comprehensive funding plan for the entire department,” Justin Tomei, MUCC’s policy and government affairs manager, wrote in an email to Michigan Outdoor News. “With SB 27 and now HB 5093 out both chambers can move their bills, and reconcile the two creating a piece of legislation that funds the entire department.”