The Sportsman’s Alliance of Maine is justifiably proud of the fact that its Maine Fishing Initiative finally has some “statutory traction.” SAM, and the individual members of its fishing initiative group, have worked hard over the years in their efforts to convince the fisheries division of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIF&W) that there is room for improvements in fisheries management and the marketing of Maine’s sport fishery. For SAM, it has been a hard sell. DIF&W’s response to SAM’s fishing-initiative overtures has ranged from defensive to downright uncooperative. To SAM’s credit, the organization has remained persistent and unswerving in its determination to have a say in how DIF&W manages our state sport fishery.

Elsewhere in this month’s Sporting Journal, SAM’s executive director, George Smith, explains the SAM accomplishment in detail. According to Smith, “The goals and principles of the Maine Fishing Initiative are: increase fishing license sales, increase the economic contribution of recreational fishing, recognize and protect the quality of Maine’s fishing experiences, increase the accessibility of recreational fishing (“make it easy to fish”), increase fishing opportunities, enhance populations of big fish (recognizing that big fish drive the fishing economy), make native and wild fisheries the highest priority for sustainable management, secure appropriate access to all waters, and establish accountability for the decisions and policies of fisheries managers.”

These are ambitious goals, especially at a time when DIF&W is scratching for dollars. But it is a good beginning. DIF&W needs to have its feet held to the fire when it comes to putting the customer first. SAM’s successful bill does not direct the Department to pursue the fishery goals, as Smith points out. It does, however, through statute, ask the Department to report on its accomplishments with respect to the aforementioned goals.

It’s a start, and it’s an accountability mechanism that can only serve as a catalyst for much-needed change.

Perhaps best of all, the Department – though it opposed SAM’s bill at the outset – has apparently begun to come around. Smith said that SAM’s legislative bill was significantly improved upon through the helpful, cooperative, working relationship that SAM forged on this project with Deputy Commissioner Paul Jacques and Resource Director Ken Elowe.

Good work by all.

Licensed to fish

As noted above, the very first goal of SAM’s Maine Fishing Initiative is to “increase fishing license sales.” Actually that goal, to be realistic, could be reworded. It might read to “stem the tide of declining fishing license sales in Maine.” That, in itself, would be worthy. According to George Smith, Maine has lost 50,000 licensed anglers since 1990! In fact, New Hampshire now sells 10,000 more fishing licenses than Maine does. This is a major reversal. Ironically, Maine has far more freshwater sport fishing opportunities than our neighboring Granite State. So what is going on here? What are the root causes of Maine’s declining number of licensed anglers?

There are the conventional theories: changing culture, video games, single parent families, television, less free time, etc. But these don’t square with the New Hampshire experience. The other possible explanations are not ones that the policymakers at the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (DIF&W) like to hear. This is because no one likes to have their work second-guessed, or their professionalism challenged, especially when the possible cause of a problem is an administrative philosophy or simply a management attitude. Over the past few years, DIF&W seems to have become fixated on its internal process to the detriment of effective customer relations. Bad decisions in the customer relations realm include everything from not mailing moose applications to asking licensed 2009 anglers to dredge up last year’s dog-eared 2008 fishing regulations booklet, and across the board license fee increases. Hopelessly complicated and confusing fish regulations no doubt contribute to fewer Maine anglers buying licenses.

MDIF&W would do well to remember a lesson in Marketing 101. Make it simple and convenient for your potential customer to acquire your product. Show them that you care. If there are hurdles or barriers, real or imagined, that hamper your customer’s access to that product, you have a problem.

Unfortunately, MDIF&W, even when it was not so pressed for funding, has too often been penny wise and pound foolish.

V. Paul Reynolds is editor of the Northwoods Sporting Journal. He is also a Maine Guide, co-host of a weekly radio program “Maine Outdoors” heard Sundays at 7 p.m. on The Voice of Maine News-Talk Network (WVOM-FM 103.9, WQVM 101.3) and former information officer for the Maine Dept. of Fish and Wildlife. His e-mail address is [email protected].