WASHINGTON

GROWING UP on a farm in rural Wisconsin, I would ride my bike to Lake Wissota to go fishing for walleyed pike. I later got the taste for saltwater fishing while I was a graduate student in Seattle. Although my salt-water fishing is mostly done these days in Washington State and Alaska, where there are long histories of salt-water licenses, I have a deep appreciation for the proud tradition of unrestricted access to salt-water fishing in the Northeast.

However, I also have an equally deep understanding that the greatest threat to recreational salt-water fishing comes from below the surface of the ocean.

Fish don’t recognize state boundaries. Scientists are beginning to fully understand the interconnected ecosystem web. This means that all decisions should be made on the best information we can gather.

That’s the thinking behind a proposed new federal rule intended to better capture the contributions that sport fishermen make to the health of ocean fisheries. This information will also give fishermen and the public a clearer picture of how much fishermen contribute to the economy. Before the rule is finalized, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to hear from every salt-water angler who has an opinion about the rule.

Developed by NOAA in response to a law passed by Congress aimed at better protecting our shared ocean resources, the rule creates a national list of anglers who fish either in salt water or for species, such as striped bass, that spend part of their lives in the ocean.

To be known as the National Saltwater Angler Registry, the initiative is one of numerous activities that NOAA is undertaking to maintain and improve the well-being of marine ecosystems. The registry and surveys based on this list will help NOAA and anglers build a more complete picture of anglers’ catch and effort. It will help solve two issues that many anglers say they have faced for years.

The first is ensuring an accurate accounting of recreational fishing in resource-management decisions. Better information about the number of trips taken by recreational anglers, and the number of fish caught on those trips, will make it easier to compare their impact alongside commercial catches.

The second is allowing recreational fishermen to demonstrate the positive effect they have on their local economies. Many recreational fishermen have said that this information is especially important when local, state and federal governments are making policy decisions regarding access to fisheries and catch restrictions.

According to the proposed rule, people who live in states that already require salt-water fishing licenses will not need to register, with some exceptions for states that don’t collect complete information on anglers. These states and their anglers will be exempted if the states provide NOAA with the names, addresses and phone numbers of their anglers to do more complete surveys.

For fishermen in the few states that don’t require licenses, such as Rhode Island and Massachusetts, salt-water anglers fishing in federal waters or for striped bass and other anadromous species will have to register.

People who only fish from party boats on which they book a spot or charter boats that they rent will be exempted. NOAA has a system for collecting catch and effort information from these vessel owners.

Children under 16 will also be exempted.

The registry will be free for the first two years. If by that time there are still no state licensing requirements in Rhode Island or Massachusetts, the fee for recreational fishermen will be $15 to $25. Fees would be waived for indigenous people, such as members of federally recognized tribes who fish for food as part of ancient cultural traditions.

Many states, preferring to see their fishermen’s registration money funding local stewardship instead of the federal Treasury, have begun or renewed efforts to establish their own licenses before the fee is imposed in 2011. Supporters point out that fresh-water anglers and hunters already have to be licensed, and that the revenue these fees generate helps keep stocks healthy and the land and water open for use.

Registrations will include an angler’s name, address, telephone number and the regions where fishing is conducted. The information will not be made public, but will be used by NOAA to conduct telephone surveys for fisheries-management issues. The registration requirement will go into effect next Jan. 1.

We at NOAA are seeking comments because we believe the rule will let us work more effectively with recreational anglers as partners in marine conservation. Anglers’ views on the design of the registry are critical to its success.

To read the proposed rule, go to http://www.countmyfish.noaa.gov.

Comments, due by Aug. 11, can be submitted electronically at http://www.regulations.gov.

By working together, anglers and government officials can achieve the overarching goal we all have in common — ensuring the future of recreational salt-water fishing for ourselves, and for all the generations to come.

Jim Balsiger is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s acting assistant administrator of its Fisheries Service.