With the slightly different mindest of Floridians -v- New Englanders
, I doubt we'll actually see the laws change to allow B&Ts to sell Beer & Wine. Talk of liquor store drive thrus were quickly squashed when they came around.
I am worried that the family on vacation (whether out of state or a resident) would not rent a rod and fish if it needed to pay 25 bucks per head for a weekly license on top of renting and clams or worms or whatever...
I am worried that area tackle shops that get high out of state traffic would really suffer. Shops like Weekapaug that get a high percentage of visitors from MA, CT & NY. I really can't see them asking if you want to supersize your fries with those eels too
. Remember, some shops in that area have already closed doors - like Covedge near Watch Hill...
But what also worries me is that this money wouldn't go back into fishing but to be used for something entirely unrelated, like a legal defense fund or anything not relavent to the source of the money.
We've always had the right to go down to the water and wet a line. Now becuase of all the problems these days with the fisheries and everyone wetting a line, the ONLY reason I could conceivably support a SW license would be if the funds went directly back into fighting a lot of the existing problems we face on the water today...