West Virginia Wildlife from Eyewitness News

Fishing Excise Tax

Your taxes improve fishing in West Virginia

June 24, 2009
Reporter: Patrick McMurtry
Videographer: Brad Rice

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We're lucky enough to live in an area where folks put a lot of value on great fishing. That's good, because with all the rivers, streams and lakes in West Virginia, it would be shame not to make sure there are plenty of fish to catch.

Thanks to a working partnership between the DNR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife professionals, a decades long sport fish restoration project is pumping a lot of fish into our waters.

"In West Virginia, the sport fish restoration amounts to a little more than four million dollars and that money comes from an excise tax, ten percent Federal excise tax on rods, reels and fishing tackle." says Vaughn Douglas of the US Fish and Wildlife Service

That money goes to help pay for hatcheries and stocking programs responsible for putting thousands of trout, bass, catfish, bluegill, musky and walley into our waters.

It's pretty easy to see where there money goes, just look down in this river and you'll see plenty of fish. But there are also a lot of projects that entail a lot more than just fish.

"The things you can really see are the access facilities, that really demonstrates the benefit to the anglers paying the excise tax. You can actually see a fishing pier, boat access really means something to them. Research is a little harder to see until you start looking at quality fish, large fish, healthy fish." says Douglas

And that's just what you'll see most times you decide to go fishing in West Virginia.

"A lot more fish in the waters, healthier fish population, water quality improvement, mainly better fish management." says Douglas.

All thanks to a partnership working for all of us. For West Virginia Wildlife, I'm Patrick McMurtry, Eyewitness News.