Nonresidents no longer have to pay a higher fee than residents for commercial fishing licenses.

The state moved to settle a federal lawsuit filed in 2014 by a commercial fisherman from Oregon by agreeing not to charge nonresidents a higher rate. A fisherman from California later joined the lawsuit.

Lawyers for the fishermen, Matthew N. Wynn and Frank Crivello, and the state told the court in October that they had reached a settlement. They filed papers to dismiss the lawsuit Wednesday. The change took effect immediately.

The state also agreed to pay the plaintiffs $9,999 for attorney fees.

The fee for an annual commercial fishing license in Hawaii is $50. The state had been charging nonresidents $200.

In 2015 the state issued 3,029 resident commercial fishing licenses and 625 nonresident licenses.

State law prohibits anybody from landing a catch in Hawaii for commercial purposes without first obtaining a commercial fishing license, whether or not the fish was caught inside state waters.

The settlement comes after a federal appeals court ruled in a class-action lawsuit in favor of fishermen who challenged California’s practice of charging nonresidents higher fees than residents for licenses, registrations and permits. The appeals court upheld a lower court’s ruling that the dual fee schedule is unconstitutional because California provided no evidence that the difference it charges nonresidents matches what residents pay in taxes to support the state’s fishing programs. California had been charging nonresident fishermen fees two to three times those for residents.