Writer questions need to display personal information

The spring fishing season is just around the corner. Identity theft season is with us all year long. Does it make any sense for the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife to require fishermen to carry their fishing license "conspicuously displayed on outer clothing while fishing" with their Social Security number in plain sight on their license for anyone to see?

We have all been warned not to give out personal information — especially a Social Security number — for fear of possible identity theft. Why then does the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife make it mandatory that we divulge this information, and that we display it prominently as we fish?

And it’s not an option. A fishing license will not be issued to you without this information written in.

Please don’t use a fictitious Social Security number (as I was tempted to do), because at the bottom of the license it says "the information contained on this license is correct and under penalty of the law."

What possible need would there be for the Division of Fish and Wildlife to have this information when even the much-maligned Motor Vehicle Commission doesn’t required the same information on a state driver’s license? And beyond that, why would they require us to wear our Social Security number like a billboard so the dishonest could misuse it?

John Rymas

Manalapan