TRENTON - An Assembly committee signed off on a bill Thursday that would create a free saltwater fishermen's registry in New Jersey.

Bill sponsor Assemblyman Nelson Albano, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic, pledged he would work on keeping the registry from being a burden on the state Division of Fish, Game and Wildlife, despite an estimated cost of as much as $1 million.

The bill comes as the federal 2006 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to create a National Saltwater Angler Registry by Jan. 1. The goal is better wildlife data.

The federal legislation also allows NOAA to collect an unspecified fee by 2011.