She may sell seashells by the seashore, but sundry surf fishers couldn’t give a sturgeon or swordfish about that.
Those men and women only have eyes for a low-digit surf fishing plate that allows them to drive on that seashore to cast their lines from the sand.
Starting Tuesday, Nov. 22 at 9 a.m., they have a chance to bid on two-, three- and four-digit plates when the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control opens its annual auction of low-digit surf ones online at usgovbid.com.
The auction — reflecting Delaware’s obsession with low-digit vehicle plates — lasts through Dec. 9. Proceeds benefit Delaware State Parks
Bidders will have the option to bid on 15 tags including Nos. 32, 58, 143, 226, 355, 488, and on eight “choice” categories, ranging from tags 51 to 9999. For the choice tags, the highest bidder in each range can choose a number, if it’s not already sold, within that category.
The minimum bid for a low-digit surf fishing plate is $250.
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By state law, surf-fishing tags numbered 1 through 200 can only be used on vehicles registered in Delaware.
The auction was authorized by the Delaware General Assembly in 2015.
A low-digit surf fishing plate is not required to drive-on surf fish in Delaware State Parks.
Annual and two-year surf fishing permits from DNREC are expected to go on sale within the next few weeks.
For more information about the auction, go to destateparks.com/LowDigitTags. It includes a list of numbers that are not available.
Once a plate is given to the highest bidder, it can be sold or given to someone else, but there will be a one-time transfer fee of $72. That’s the same amount the DMV charges for the transfer of low-digit black and white tags.
Betsy Price is a Wilmington freelance writer who has 40 years of experience, including 15 at The News Journal in Delaware.
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