CARLISLE'S MARINE, INC.

Toll-Free Calling, Website Available for Anglers to Obtain F.I.N. Number

A website and a toll-free phone number are now available for Delaware anglers to obtain a Fisherman Information Network (F.I.N.) number as required by a new regulation that goes into effect Thursday, Jan. 1, 2009. As of that date, all prospective Delaware anglers age 16 or older, licensed or not, will be required to get a F.I.N. number on an annual basis before fishing in Delaware waters. There is no fee for the number.

To obtain a F.I.N. number or for more information, anglers may visit www.delaware-fin.com, or call 800-432-9228, any time of day, any day of the week. Those needing live operator assistance may call 866-447-4626 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. (EST).

Anglers will be asked for their name, address, phone number and whether they intend to fish in freshwater, tidal water or both. They will also be asked a couple of questions for internal Delaware purposes, such as the angler’s intention to go clamming or crabbing. Each person who obtains a F.I.N. number must keep this number on his or her person while fishing and be able to produce it for a law enforcement official. Beginning Jan. 1, Delaware fishing licenses will have a space where the number can be written.

DNREC Fisheries Section Administrator Roy Miller explained the purpose of the new F.I.N. program. “The federal National Marine Fisheries Service has been tasked to identify saltwater anglers for survey purposes. If we can provide a complete registry of Delaware’s marine recreational fishermen from our state-issued fishing license program, our anglers will be exempt from participating in the federal registry and federal license fees. Our state registry was created to allow us to meet these federal requirements with no additional cost to our anglers,” Miller said, noting the nationwide federal registry goes into effect in 2009, with fees to be charged beginning in 2011. Those fees, he added, will be deposited in the federal treasury and will not be returned to the states.

Delaware Code currently requires a general fishing license to fish in tidal and non-tidal waters, and license applications contain most of the information needed for a state registry, with one important exception. “When you request a F.I.N. number, you will be asked, ‘freshwater, saltwater or both?’ Previously we had no way to determine this,” Miller said.

Once all Delaware fishermen have obtained a F.I.N. number and the National Marine Fisheries Service has a copy of Delaware’s saltwater angler registry, Delaware will be exempt from the federal marine recreational fishing registry and future federal registry charges.

To qualify for exempt status with the National Marine Fisheries, the registry of Delaware’s saltwater anglers must also include those who are not legally required to have a recreational fishing license. Because of this requirement, resident senior citizens age 65 and older and unlicensed anglers who fish from a licensed vessel will also need to obtain a Delaware F.I.N. number.

For more information, please contact the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Fisheries Section, at 302-739-9914.

Hunters required to register deer by phone or internet systems

Beginning with the 2009-2010 hunting season, the Delaware Division of Fish & Wildlife is requiring all harvested deer to be registered via the Division’s toll free phone line, 1-866-511-DEER (3337) or internet system at www.dehip.com .

As in the past, hunters must still register their deer within 24 hours of harvest. However, hunters will not be able to take deer to a check station or butcher shop and have it registered. Deer must be registered by phone or online before butcher shop processing. 

Although the Division is sensitive to the tradition associated with hunters taking deer to check stations in Delaware, a change was needed and the decision was made to discontinue check stations and move to registration online and by phone. With both Delaware’s deer population and harvest numbers increasing, nearly 14,000 deer are being harvested annually and nearly half of those were being registered at check stations. The time required to enter the paper forms used at check stations had become overwhelming in both time and expense.

In addition to time and budget considerations, the new electronic system will allow the Division to receive its annual harvest information within days of the season ending rather than five or more months later. In the past, the Division was unable to compile harvest totals until around May because it took so long to enter the information on the forms into the computer. The change also will provide additional cost savings because the Division will no longer have to print thousands of deer harvest record forms, possession tags, and hide tags each year.

Even though hunters will not be able to take their deer to a check station to be registered, the change in the registration system will not impact the Division’s harvest data collection efforts.

The Division will continue to collect chronic wasting disease (CWD) and biological harvest data, including antler measurements, weights, and ages. During the peak deer seasons, Division personnel will be stationed at deer processors around the state collecting this information. Depending on the data collection goals for the year the Division will still be collecting as many samples, if not more, than it has in the past.

When registering a deer, hunters will need to know their hunting license numbers as well as the deer management zone in which the deer was harvested. Zone information can be found on pages 19 to 22 in the 2009-2010 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide.

After registering a deer, hunters will be given a 6-digit registration number to record and keep as proof of registration. Hunters having their deer processed by a butcher will need to give this number when dropping off the animal.

For more information on the Automated Deer Checking System and the questions you will be asked to answer, please refer to pages 3 and 24 in the hunting guide.