Charter fishing

[Curiousity]

Are there any limited entry restrictions in the charter boat business yet? That meaning there are only a limited number of licenses available.

[Warren_Brantley]

Sea School and the U.S. Coast Guard seem both to be doing brisk business. This rumor started about six years ago. It appears to be unfounded. You can call your local Coast Guard Regional office or one of the Sea School numbers to confirm. Various telephone numbers probably can be found online. (This would put Sea School out of business if it were a reality.) Regards, Capt. Warren Brantley
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[Linwood]

My question was not based on any rumor I heard but just an intuition that a government agency may have decided to limit the size of the sportfishing fleet as they have done in several areas of the commercial fishing sector. That could very well be what has triggered that rumor in the first place.Personally,I hope that never happens.It has a tendency to severely weaken a maritime heritage and would open the door for major abuse of the resource,and eventual collapse of the ability to enforce laws that protect our fish and the habitat.Sneak a few to the restaurants for me so at least a few people that do not fish will know what fresh seafood really tastes like.

[Linwood]

Actually I am more interested to know if there are a limited number of permits issued to boat owners in particular.That turned out to be a very effective way to sweep the ocean on the West Coast.Lucrative for a short period of time to boot.Permits could be sold often for many times the value of the vessel they were issued to.Thank you for your time Captain.LHH.

[Warren_Brantley]

Hey, just noted two Sea School type sites on this web page with online addresses and everything. Guess they thought we were stirring a little "shi----p". Already got mine a few years back. (Personally I'd rather be riding aft of amidships in the cockpit, where the poles be dragging baits, than up at the helm.)WGB

[CAPT. JOHN]

In New Jersey they are making everyone take a boating safety course. As far as I know there is not going to be any cut backs as far as getting a captain's license. All the sea schools are doing a booming business & most classes are booked solid far in advance. From my point of view, I feel the more you know about the rules of the road, the safer it's going to be for everyone that's on the water.
Capt. John

[MakoMike]

The Feds are looking at limted entry for fisheries that require a federal permit. I think they have already limited entry for new charter boats to fish for Gulf of Mexico snapper and grouper (I'm not from that area so I am not sure). They have established a "control date" for charter/party permits to fish in New England for codfish, though they haven't actually gone to limited entry yet. The "conrol date" means that if they establish a limited entry system, boats that started fishing after that date are not guaranteed that they will be able to continue fishing. Hope that helps.