Trout tag prices could increase in 2020
June 5, 2019
Charlea Estes-Jones
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is proposing an increase in cost that will affect local anglers fishing the waters at Roaring River. According to a MDC press release, an initial proposal to increase trout permits and daily tags was approved and is set to begin in 2020. MDC is accepting public comments on the proposal from July 2 through July 31, and an informational meeting at Roaring River State Park is slated for June 19.
The proposal, if implemented, will go into effect on February 29, 2020. The cost will go from $7 to $10 for annual trout permits for anglers aged 16 and up and from $2.50 to $5 for anglers 15 and under. Trout permits do not apply to trout parks within Missouri State Parks. Daily tags at Roaring River, Meramec Spring Park, Bennett Spring State Park and Montauk State Park are proposed to go from $3 to $4 for a daily tag for adults and from $2 to $3 for children 15 years and younger.
MDC stated the increase in price is to better cover the costs of operating the five trout hatcheries across the state. Each year, Missouri’s trout hatcheries in Roaring River, Bennett Spring, Meramac, Shepherd of the Hills and Montauk raise approximately $1.7 million trout to release to the public for fishing.
MDC director Sara Parker Pauley said, “The Conservation Department has not increased theses permit prices in nearly two decades. We are adjusting these permit prices - which were set in 1999 - to make them more in line with today’s real costs of the work we do. The price increases will help MDC meet the pressures of increased management costs at our hatcheries and help meet the increased demand of trout fishing around the state.”
MDC released information that the cost to raise a trout has doubled in price since 2003. In 2003, it cost approximately $1 per trout for food and labor. In 2017, the cost was evaluated at approximately twice the amount in 2003.
Currently, to fish in a state park, a daily tag and standard fishing license is required unless the angler qualifies for an exemption. Annual permits apply to waters outside of those dedicated trout parks.
Roaring River’s hatchery raises between 150,000 to 400,000 fry each year and releases 265,000 fish into the park. The information meeting at Roaring River State Park will be held at the Emory Melton Inn and Conference Center on June 19 at 6 p.m. MDC will hold a brief explanation of the proposed changes and will then move into a public comment period.
Public comments can also be made at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z49.
Charlea Estes-Jones
The Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) is proposing an increase in cost that will affect local anglers fishing the waters at Roaring River. According to a MDC press release, an initial proposal to increase trout permits and daily tags was approved and is set to begin in 2020. MDC is accepting public comments on the proposal from July 2 through July 31, and an informational meeting at Roaring River State Park is slated for June 19.
The proposal, if implemented, will go into effect on February 29, 2020. The cost will go from $7 to $10 for annual trout permits for anglers aged 16 and up and from $2.50 to $5 for anglers 15 and under. Trout permits do not apply to trout parks within Missouri State Parks. Daily tags at Roaring River, Meramec Spring Park, Bennett Spring State Park and Montauk State Park are proposed to go from $3 to $4 for a daily tag for adults and from $2 to $3 for children 15 years and younger.
MDC stated the increase in price is to better cover the costs of operating the five trout hatcheries across the state. Each year, Missouri’s trout hatcheries in Roaring River, Bennett Spring, Meramac, Shepherd of the Hills and Montauk raise approximately $1.7 million trout to release to the public for fishing.
MDC director Sara Parker Pauley said, “The Conservation Department has not increased theses permit prices in nearly two decades. We are adjusting these permit prices - which were set in 1999 - to make them more in line with today’s real costs of the work we do. The price increases will help MDC meet the pressures of increased management costs at our hatcheries and help meet the increased demand of trout fishing around the state.”
MDC released information that the cost to raise a trout has doubled in price since 2003. In 2003, it cost approximately $1 per trout for food and labor. In 2017, the cost was evaluated at approximately twice the amount in 2003.
Currently, to fish in a state park, a daily tag and standard fishing license is required unless the angler qualifies for an exemption. Annual permits apply to waters outside of those dedicated trout parks.
Roaring River’s hatchery raises between 150,000 to 400,000 fry each year and releases 265,000 fish into the park. The information meeting at Roaring River State Park will be held at the Emory Melton Inn and Conference Center on June 19 at 6 p.m. MDC will hold a brief explanation of the proposed changes and will then move into a public comment period.
Public comments can also be made at http://short.mdc.mo.gov/Z49.
