All the NOAA Permits You Need on One Site

If you own and operate a commercial fishing business, you may not have a lot of free time on your hands. In fact, the odds are good that your days are packed when you are on land, as you have to navigate payroll, boat maintenance, and other obligations. With that in mind, it makes sense that you would want to do whatever you can to spend less time working on paperwork and more time out on the water catching fish. After all, you probably did not get into commercial fishing so you could sit at a desk all day. As a fisherman, you likely know that you need to have an assortment of permits from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) as well as your local state wildlife agency. Well, the good news is that by working with us, you can apply for all the NOAA permits you need on one, easy-to-navigate website. This can do wonders to save you time putting ink to paper and making trips to the post office.

Make no mistake about it, commercial fishing is big business. On a global scale, billions of dollars change hands every year in the fresh seafood trade. In the United States, thousands of jobs are created annually in the commercial fishing industry, netting livelihoods for yourself and many others. With money and safety at stake–not to mention the preservation of our fisheries for future use–it makes sense that commercial fishing would be subject to regulations. Most commonly, these take the form of licenses and permits to be obtained, and occasionally quotas to be observed. Before you head out to sea to haul in your next catch, you should probably double-check your permits in addition to gearing up your boat and checking your lines. If you are missing some needed modes of documentation, working with us can help you get what you need.

Who Needs NOAA Permits?

There are a wide array of different commercial fishing permits out there. Just as you need to get an annual license to fish recreationally in most places, a similar process needs to play out for fishing commercially. A general rule of thumb to follow is that the waters between zero and three nautical miles out from the shore fall under state jurisdiction. As such, permits for these fisheries can be obtained from your local state agency. Federal waters typically fall between three and 200 nautical miles out from land, and those licenses are issued by the NOAA. The NOAA separates out its permit offerings by region, including Alaska, the Pacific Islands, the West Coast, the South, and the Atlantic. Each region also has species-specific permits for fish that are native to their waters. 

Apply Online Today!

Whether you need state or federal NOAA permits, we can help. You can see from our well-organized navigation menu that we offer permits for all states and NOAA regions. Take a few minutes to explore our website and get a sense of what your business needs. You can also visit our Frequently Asked Questions page to learn more information.