Fishing Licensing Exams?

[MuskieBait]

Parental guidance and mentoring is key and I agree. However, when the parents don't know better and cannot guide or mentor, or even worse, misguide and mislead, then you spawn a new generation of mislead children.

In a Utopian world, maybe everyone will follow laws and be ethical. In a utopian world, "big brother" is not necessary. Unfortunately, we are far from Utopia...if we're there already, wake me up...All I read is death and destruction in the news...

These tests that I firmly believe in are meant for license requiring anglers of 16 and over to pass and to obtain licenses. If parental guidance and mentoring is key as you say, parents who took these course will have the right knowledge to pass on to the kids. So even when the kids are not required to have licenses to fish, that ideology is passed on from parents to kids anyways...so when they are old enough to graduate to a fishing license holder, they should pass that test easily and with flying colours.

In fact, this system is to ensure that the "leaders" of the sport (the adults) are well qualified to teach the "future" of the sport (the kids). Similar to the driving.

As Michael and I are Toronto Urban Fishing Ambassadors, we are well aware that children are the future and education and awareness programs are needed to reach the public. However, our efforts are just small grass root movements. We need a province wide (dare I say country wide) movement. The best way is for the "big brother" such as Ministry of Natural Resource to get involved.

I never say that compliance will be 100%. We can't even expect that. However, this is a way to ensure that those who are interested in fishing will have the required knowledge of regulations and ethics. Those who chose to fish without license will be prosecuted without question. Those who break laws even following the course will have no excuse of ignorance. That's the basic premise of it.

Right now, anyone can get a license and fish without EVER picking up a set of fishing regulations. A lot of people don't even know what Zone 16 is...and then you have those who know about seasons and limits from hearsay (my friend said this and that)...

All my friend obey fishing laws and many are obsessed with fishing...but we are really a tiny percentage of anglers represented here. Most anglers I met do not even know there are fishing forums or they do not participate on forums. I would dare say that over 90% of the people I met are not on forums.