Commercial Fishing in Hawaii: A Complete Guide

Commercial Fishing Hawaii

If we speak about Hawaii you will probably be thinking about the famous volcanoes along the coastline, the ancient culture of the state that traces back for thousands of years and includes the hula dance, and even the rich cuisine that gave us the poke bowl… The famous islands, however, are an important part of the fishing industry in the United States. Stay with us and learn everything there is to know about Commercial Fishing in Hawaii in the following lines.

Commercial Fishing Permits you Should Get in Hawaii

Commercial fishing in Hawaii is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Natural Resources, particularly the division of Aquatic Resources. It is they who administer the issuing of permits for freshwater all over the state and along the coastline, particularly on the area compounded between zero and three nautical miles from shore along the coast.

According to them, individuals or vessels engaged in taking, selling, or offering for sale any marine life for commercial purposes (including charter fishing services) must obtain a Commercial Marine License. “Commercial purposes” means “the taking of marine life for profit or gain, or as a means of livelihood, when the marine life is taken in or outside of the State, and when the marine life is sold, offered for sale, landed, or transported for sale anywhere in the State”.

Some of the main permits that can be obtained at the state are the following:

  • Commercial Marine License, and its corresponding renewal.
  • Bait License, and its corresponding renewal.
  • Bottomfish Vessel ID Registration, and its corresponding renewal. Any vessel used to take or possess any of the Deep 7 bottom fishes (hapu’upu’u – Onaga – ehu – opakapaka – kalekale – gindai – Lehi) for commercial or non-commercial purposes must be registered and assigned an identification number.
  • Aquaculture dealer or facility license. Any dealer, retailer, wholesaler, or restaurant to resell regulated marine life raised in a licensed aquaculture facility.

Commercial Fishing Permits for the Pacific Island

On some occasions, it may happen that you need to get further into the ocean to get the species you are looking for. Keep in mind then, that the authority that issues the Commercial fishing permits for the Hawaii region is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. They control the area compounded between 3 up to 200 nautical miles from shore. Hawaii, particularly, is part of the Pacific Islands region.

To conclude, if you think there is a slight chance that your business won’t get all the catch it is looking for down the coast, then you might as well get the correspondent permits from the NOAA fisheries department as well.

Commercial Fishing Hawaii

Your Documentation Can Easily be Obtained at Our Site

Apart from dealing with the NOAA and the department of resources, vessels used for commercial purposes with a net weight of over five tons need to be registered within the USCG. We won’t judge you if you think it can be inconvenient to deal with three different governmental agencies. But that is when the Commercial Fishing Permits Center comes into place.

We are a third-party agency that allows you to get not only commercial Fishing Permits in Hawaii but in the rest of the states as well. Furthermore, your federal fishing permits and USCG documentation can also be obtained at our site. Our experienced staff will be happy to assist you. Don’t lose time scrolling through the different websites and printing the forms out, just choose the permits you need, fill them out on our SSL-encrypted fully online platform and let us do the rest!

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