Fishing licensees in Georgia are required to pay a $3,000 fee to catch a tiger fish.
The Georgia Department of Fish and Wildlife said it would start issuing tiger licenses this month, but it’s unclear if the fee will be waived.
The Tiger Fishing Licensees Association, a group of fishermen who filed suit against the state, said the fees are needed to pay for licenses, but they aren’t required to collect the fish.
According to the Georgia Department, the Tiger Fishing Licenses Association has filed a lawsuit on behalf of fishing license holders who were caught by a tiger.
“We’ve never seen anything like this, and we don’t understand why they are doing it,” Jim Miller, executive director of the GDFW, told News4Jax.
Georgia’s tiger fishing license fees are among the highest in the nation, according to the National Wildlife Federation.
In 2011, Georgia paid out $5.3 million in fees to licensees, according the National Fisheries Institute.
The state’s total license fees in 2016 were $13.5 million, the GA Fish and Game Department said.
“It seems like they’re just taking the money that was supposed to be going to license fees and trying to squeeze it in,” Miller said.
Tiger fishing license fee: $3.99 per fish.