Harrisburg – When the COVID-19 pandemic surfaced in early March, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission implemented a number of changes to adhere with protect public safety shortly before the start of trout season.
One of those changes, which was made to reduce unnesary travel and social contact, was an executive order that allowed anglers to digitially display their licenses to suffice as proof of possession.
The order expires at the end of the year, but the digital display option will stick around for the foreseeable future.
House Bill 1185, which was sponsored by state Rep. Steven Mentzer, R-Lancaster, was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf on July 1. The legislation includes language that removes the requirement for the signature written in ink on a fishing license. The change allows the PFBC to recognize the digital display of a fishing license, as the agency had been since early March. The measure also includes boat registrations and launch permits, according to agency spokesman Mike Parker.
“It’s meant for convenience,” said Parker, who added that online sales of fishing licenses increased dramatically this year during the pandemic. Overall sales of fishing licenses increased by more than 21 percent as of June 10 of this year, and it marked the first time many purchasers bought their licenses online, according to Parker.
Having the digital display option along with online purchasing makes sense, especially for spur of the moment purchases, he said.
“While digital display was enacted under the executive order, in order to change it permanently we had to go through the legislature because our code said it had to be signed in ink,” Parker said. “Now, anglers can hop on a phone, buy their license and have that electronic proof.”
While anglers can still carry or display a paper version of their license, the digital alternative was well-received.
Angler Bernie Okuniewski of Larksville, Luzerne County, said the digital display option will eliminate the problem of lost licenses.
“I like it, considering how many times I lose things,” he said. “I’d say 99 percent of people have their cell phone on them all the time, so I think the option to use your phone to carry a display of your license makes sense.”
Duke Dalley runs a weekly bass tournament at Harveys Lake and he thinks his anglers will like the idea. As a fisherman himself, Dalley is a fan of digital display.
“I know too many guys that were on boats and had their hats with a license pinned to it blow off their heads. Even just keeping a paper license on your person all the time is a pain,” Dalley said. “The digital option is such a convenience and I don’t’ see anything wrong with it.”
Neither did the legislators.
The bill passed the House and Senate unanimously in late June before it was presented to the governor.
In addition to using phones to display their licenses, Parker heard examples of anglers utilizing other means to meet the digital display option.
“There were instances of people who didn’t have a phone so they took a picture of their license with a digital camera and used the photo,” he said. “Digital by any means was popular.”
In addition to digital display, Mentzer’s legislation also increases penalties for damage caused to PFBC property, littering and boating under the influence.
- This story originally appeared in PA Outdoor News
