Hey Dan. There's lots of confusion on this issue because, as you point out, the license says one thing and the regulations say another.
According to my NY fishing friends the 2009 license expires on 12/31/09. Furthermore, my NY friends who bought a lifetime license were also surprised when they received their "lifetime" licences which had an expiration date !!
From the NY DEC website FAQs section (
http://www.dec.ny.gov/permits/54950.html) :
"If I purchase a recreational marine fishing license for Fall 2009, do I need to purchase another one to fish in 2010?
Yes. Since the license year runs the same as a calendar year, all recreational marine fishing licenses expire on midnight December 31 of a given year."
I don't know about the format the NY DEC uses for the rest of their licenses, but I hope this info helps those who may be unaware of the ambiguity.
If a NJ party or charter boat is fishing NY waters, they'd better be NYSDEC- licensed. I'd hate to think of the maelstrom it would cause if NJ boats are boarded by NY DEC enforcers and confiscate equipment
BTW - I understand that it's already being enforced. Even though the regs were just put in force on 10/1/2009, there's NO grace period. I lifted this from quote from a NY fishing site:
". . . NYC Park Police were confiscating people's fishing equipment who didnt have licenses & were fishing off the FDR drive . . . . "
