How to Get Into Commercial Fishing

Commercial fishing isn’t for the faint of heart; it’s harder work than you may think and sometimes requires long hours spent in severe circumstances. You won’t become wealthy doing commercial fishing. Therefore, it’s not a good option for individuals who can’t see beyond the poor wage; most commercial fishermen have other occupations or are retired.

Furthermore, it is not a simple task to enter this field. However, commercial fishing may be quite profitable if you have a genuine interest in the industry and some experience with it already.

People from many walks of life, including veterans, pensioners, and college grads, make up the commercial fishing industry. Given the breadth of the discipline, there is no one entry point. In coastal communities around the United States, fishermen operate various vessels and fisheries (from squid boats to tuna boats to crab boats). Still, they all have one requirement: applicants must be experienced and enthusiastic about fishing. The question then becomes, “How do you join their ranks?”

Get a Commercial Fishing License
The Commercial Fishing Permits Center makes applying for a commercial fishing license simple. We have several different types of grants available to you. We provide you with all the resources you need to enter one of the most sought-after fields in the United States: the fishing business.

Finding the appropriate license for your professional aspirations and applying online are simple tasks. Your application for commercial fishing employment will be accepted whenever you are ready to begin working. We’re experts at ensuring folks in your position have everything they need to hit the ground running at their new employment. If you’re starting out in your new field, our website is packed with information and guidance from industry professionals to help you prepare for anything.

Get Your Boat and Fishing Gear

Get your boat and fishing equipment ready. While the upfront costs may seem high, be assured that you will eventually recoup your investment. Whether you want to go into commercial fishing, you should see whether somebody close by is already in the business, and if so, acquire their old boat from them. If you encounter someone like them, you should inquire whether they would be interested in selling you their new boat.

If you cannot locate such a person, your next best option is to use the internet to find a boat dealer in your area. Ask whether they have anything suitable for commercial fishing in your pricing range and the kind of boat you’re looking for.

Find the Right Job for Your Skills
You’ll need to brush up on the fundamentals of commercial fishing before you start searching for jobs. To connect with other fishermen and your clients, you’ll likely need to know how to operate a boat, read charts and maps, and utilize basic electronics. You’ll also need to understand how to properly and effectively draw nets and deal with fish.

Due to the hazardous nature of the job, anglers must be resourceful and able to think quickly on their feet. They’ll need to be familiar with the neighborhood they’re working in to get about without getting lost. If you already possess these talents, you’ll have a leg up on the competition for jobs. If not, now is the time to educate yourself!

Know Your Place in the World of Commercial Fishing
To begin, you must decide where you want to work and what kinds of jobs are available. Alaska, Florida, and Seattle are the top three destinations for commercial fishermen. Jobs in the fishing industry might be either on land or at sea. Land jobs are easier to get and pay less than aboard boats, but they do not need as much expertise.

Learn How to Handle Yourself on the Water
People frequently romanticize commercial fishing because they anticipate being at sea with nothing but the wind, waves, and salt in their hair for hours. Unsurprisingly, plenty of kids see themselves as sailors or fishers when they grow up. However, commercial fishing entails much more than the average person may think. Commercial fishing is a great option if you’re searching for a profession that keeps you active and engaged daily.

A commercial fisherman’s skill set must include a firm grasp of maritime and terrestrial environments. They need to be able to use navigational aids like GPS and radar and read and interpret maps and charts. They need to be able to operate boats and engines since water survival skills alone are not always sufficient.

The Commercial Fishing Permits Center is the place to go if you want a commercial fishing license or permit. Want to know how to get into commercial fishing? Call us today!

A Guide on Regulations for Commercial Fishing in the United States

Is your professional life in desperate need of a shake-up? Are you growing tired of the 9 to 5 rat race and wasting away your days in a cubicle? If you match this description, and you have a passion for angling, commercial fishing might offer you an exciting–if challenging–new career path. If you have ever watched an episode of “Deadliest Catch”, you know that the world of commercial and industrial fishing is a far cry from staring at a computer screen all day. While you get to work outside on a boat doing what you love, fishing commercially can also net you a sizable livelihood. On a global level, industrial fishing is a multi-billion dollar industry and in the United States, this line of work creates hundreds of thousands of jobs every year. Before you start gearing up your boat to cast your lines, however, you may want to acquaint yourself a bit with the regulations surrounding the commercial angling industry.

With so much money changing hands, and industry centered around the extraction of a natural resource from state and federal waters, it is really no wonder that industrial fishing is rather tightly regulated. This is the case for a couple of different, though equally important reasons. For one, commercial fishing is a dangerous enterprise. As you need to brave difficult conditions for long periods of time, often handling heavy, unwieldy equipment, it makes sense that there are permit requirements involved. An additional consideration to think about pertains to the conservation of our environment. Permits, quotas, and licenses can greatly aid in the reduction of overfishing practices, ensuring that future generations of commercial fishermen are able to earn a living on United States waters.

Commercial Fishing Permits at the State Level
One of the great things about fishing as a hobby is that it can be done just about anywhere there is a body of water. To a certain degree, this is also true for fishing for commercial purposes. Most states, though especially those situated on the coast, will have a series of permits and licenses available for commercial and industrial fishing. As a general rule of thumb, state waters will constitute anything inland, as well as the area from zero to three nautical miles from shore. If you are planning to operate a commercial trapping or netting business on state waters, you will want to check with your state’s appropriate agency on what is needed to do so legally.

If you need state fishing permits, there are a couple of ways in which you can go about getting them. One option is to contact your state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife agency directly, either by visiting their website or an office location and tracking down a paper application. From there, you can fill it out by hand and mail it in for processing. Of course, as a business owner and operator, you probably do not have the free time required for such a tedious, arduous process. At the Commercial Fishing Permits Center, we make it easy to get the licenses and endorsements you need online. Simply locate your state in our easy-to-read navigation and you will find a landing page containing all of your state’s available fishing permits.

Obtaining Your Federal Fishing License
Fishing commercially at the federal level will subject you to slightly different rules and regulations. As a fisherman, you understand that you will need to go where the fish are, and it is not unusual for that to mean fishing on federal waters. Everything from three to 200 nautical miles from land falls under federal jurisdiction. These waters are regulated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). As the United States is home to nearly 100,000 miles of coastline, federal waters are incredibly expansive, leaving the NOAA with a tall task.

One way in which the NOAA simplifies its considerable duties is by dividing its permit and license offerings by region. For example, you can obtain commercial angling permits for Alaska, the West Coast, the Pacific Islands, the Atlantic, and the South. Each of those aforementioned regions will have its own species-specific permits, e.g. Alaskan halibut or American lobster in New England.

By using our website, you can obtain all of the federal fishing permits you need. We offer easy-to-fill web forms for all major NOAA regions, making us a convenient, one-stop shop for your commercial fishing license needs. As a note, it is worth remembering that you will probably find yourself fishing on both federal and state glasses of water from time to time, so it is generally wise to have permits for both.

Work with Us Today!
Take a moment or two to browse our website and see how we can help you. If you have any questions, please visit our helpful Frequently Asked Questions page, or contact one of our friendly customer service agents by phone or email today.

What to Know About West Coast Commercial Fishing Permits

Has it always been your dream to make your living in commercial fishing? If so, there is no time like the present to get started. Before you can start catching and selling fish, however, you will have some practical matters to address. For starters, you should make sure you have a boat that is well-equipped for the rigors of commercial fishing, and capable of spending days out at sea. Next, you should determine where you will be conducting your fishing operations. In the U.S., there are a number of coastal fisheries which produce great bounties of seafood, and the west coast is no exception. With the right west coast commercial fishing permits, you can start reeling in fish and turning them into dollars.

The Pacific coastline is long and varied when it comes to the fisheries that are available. California, Oregon, and Washington are all home to commercial fishing hubs, and each state has its own individual permits for accessing fish within its waters. Read on to learn more about the commercial and industrial fishing permits available to west coast fishermen.

California Commercial Fishing Permits
Are you thinking about setting up your fishing business in the Golden State? If so, you will need either a resident or non-resident commercial fishing license via the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. That permit will serve as a baseline, but there are a number of stamps and endorsements that are also available. There are also species-specific permits that can be obtained for crayfish, inland fish, lobster, swordfish, and more.

Oregon Commercial Fishing Permits
Just north of California sits the state of Oregon, which is home to the bustling commercial fishing industry. In order to set up a shop in this state, you will need to apply for a commercial fishing license, which is issued by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. If you are fishing for tuna, you may want to also apply for a tuna landing license or a crab pot buoy number registration, if you will be seeking that species.

Washington Commercial Fishing Permits
The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife issues commercial fishing licenses for both open and limited entry. Sitting just below Canada, Washington does have ample stocks of shellfish and tuna, and with the right permits, you can reap the bounty offered by the Evergreen State.

Get Your West Coast Commercial Fishing Permits Online
Federal waters, which encompass the area from three to 200 nautical miles from shore, are not governed by the state, but rather by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). If you are fishing in these waters, you will want to peruse their offerings for the west coast region.

At the Commercial Fishing Permits Center, we have online applications for all of your state and federal permit needs. Using our streamlined web forms, you can submit your applications via our SSL-encrypted web portal in just minutes. If you would like to learn more, please contact us by phone or email today, or visit our FAQ page.