I am presently corresponding with the State of Alaska Department of Fish & Game statewide coordinator of data management/reporting regarding the issue of licensing and permits (for huntin but certainly applies to fishing).

As it stands right now, if a hunter has any derogatory items against his license (forgot to mail harvest report or the report got lost in the mail), that person becomes ineligible to receive permits for the next season (a penalty that I agree with). However, the issue is that there is not a way for a person to know if they are on this "black list" or not... Due to privacy laws and regulation, this information cannot be made public.

To apply for permits in Alaska, the person must pay in advance a non-refundable fee for the chance to win a random drawing lottery permit. So, if I am on this ineligible list and didn't know it, I am in essence making a donation to the State of Alaska, which I am not particularly fond of doing, by the way.

One suggestion was the issuance of permanent license numbers for proper identification to allow individuals to view their records. In other words, if a person uses different names such as Ben or Benjamin, presently the database is not able to discern...if a permenanet ID number were used, it makes identification online much easier...

So, my question to you (if you endured to this point), does your state issue a permanent fishing license ID number or allow online access through username/password?

Thanks for your responses....

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