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We all have strengths and weaknesses, and my weakness is math. Back in grade school, when the word "math" popped up, sweat would start popping from every pore on my body. And it seemed that I had the weirdest math teachers from the get-go, so I was pretty much doomed.

To this day, every once in a while I can't avoid math -- and this is one of those times. It started out when I was discussing the current $10 saltwater license fee with a friend last week and again when I went online to purchase a non-resident license so I could do a little trout fishing next week in the cool mountains of North Carolina. Their 10-day license was over twice as much as our annual saltwater license so that got me looking at the states around us and finding out that we are definitely the "bargain state" when it comes to licenses. Ten dollars, heck that's less than two Whoppers with cheese, fries and super-sized drinks.

I was Beaufort County's representative for the state recreational licensing committee for four years and it took my entire term to get our saltwater fees increased. Talk about politics, oh my Lord it was incredible. Inland counties felt like their constituents were going to head to the poor house, or worse, not be able to eat a Whopper (with cheese) if we raised the license fee. Having been to many of these counties, a few less Whoppers might be just what they needed ... but my point is what we get for that $10. That is where math comes in. Or, rather, my calculator.

As a result of my brain-taxing work, here are some of my calculations (hopefully I pressed the correct buttons on my calculator). Assuming you went fishing every day of the year and caught your limit, you'd be amazed at what my "beautiful mind" discovered. Starting with redfish at 365 days a year, you could keep 1,095 fish. Flounder? A whopping 7,300. Also 3,650 trout, 730 cobia, 7,300 sheepshead, 5,475 Spanish mackerel, and 3,650 mahi-mahi.

Do you see where I am going? Need more numbers to be convinced of the $10 bargain? If you aren't baiting, in one year you could legally catch and keep 17,520 quarts of shrimp, and with bait, in a 60-day period, you could keep 2,880 quarts!

Now look at all those astounding numbers and multiple that by the thousands upon thousands of recreational fishermen here, and that should open your eyes. I actually tried to do the math but once I see a number with more than four or five digits, I just start sweating and getting all nervous and have to stop. The point is simply that these limits and what you get for the money isn't just a bargain, it's a privilege that each and every one of us needs to respect.

Would I like to see the license fees go up? Yes. Why? Because if, and I emphasize the word "if" we were more in line with the surrounding states, that money could be used to educate and keep our fisheries healthy and productive. One area that I feel would benefit most is our very own Waddell Mariculture Center, which in my opinion is the best deal we have going for us. Every year budget cuts slash into their operating expenses yet they are clearly responsible for the phenomenal redfish populations we enjoy, as well as cobia, and their research alone has helped to keep our pristine waters just that -- pristine.

As the population explodes along the entire coast of South Carolina, instead of having the foresight to see the pressures this will put on our fisheries, it seems we go in the opposite direction with these budget cuts. Would you be willing to scrape up $5 or $10 more a year if you knew that it was going toward preserving our waters, our fish and other aquatic goodies? Think of it as skipping a Whopper lunch for two for just one day.

I feel like if I put it that way it probably makes it easier to understand. Hey, I like Whoppers as much as the next person but I guarantee that I would gladly skip the trans fats if I knew a nice flounder or trout filet sandwich would always be there when I wanted it.

In conclusion, I have to say this has been the only math lesson I ever enjoyed. But at the same time, I am not making a habit out of it.