Do You Need a NOAA Federal Fisheries Permit Application?

As a short answer to your question let me say that, if you are planning to set up your own commercial fishing business you will need one, yes. There are, however, a series of considerations you need to address if you are new to the fishing industry. Stay with us while we shed some light on the matter and reveal in which scenarios you need to process the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Federal Fisheries Permit Application and how to do it.

What is the NOAA?

Let’s begin by defining what the NOAA is. Also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service, it is an office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration within the Department of Commerce. They have five regional offices that we will be mentioning later. The governmental agency is responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s ocean resources and their habitat. We will focus, however, on one of their objectives: To maintain productive and sustainable fisheries.

The NOAA oversees the fishing activities on the federal waters, the area compounded from 3 nautical miles from shore up to 200 nautical miles. They do so by issuing different permits if you want to fish in the area. To manage the federal waters, they divide them into five different regions (the offices we mentioned before). The West and South coasts, Alaska, the Atlantic, and the Pacific islands. Diverse species can be found in each area, so the NOAA Federal Fisheries Permit Application you can get varies from region to region.

You Will Also Need USCG Documentation and State Permits

The common way to go, when setting up your own fishing business, is to make sure first that you have the appropriate United States Coast Guard (USCG) documentation. This is because if your commercial vessel operates in federal waters and it has a net weight of over 5 tons, then it needs to be registered with the US Coast Guard. Your initial certificate of documentation (or simply CoD if this is not the first time you get it) will prove the nationality of your vessels, making the process of passing through customs in foreign ports (which sometimes can be needed) much easier.

Now that your USCG documentation has been taken care of, and you’ve done the research to see what NOAA Federal Fisheries Permit Applications you will need, there is one more kind of permit you may need to get: those that allow you to fish in state waters. When you want to fish in the area that goes from the coastline up to 3 nautical miles from shore, it is the Department of Natural Resources from each state that has authority over the zone.

Get Your Paperwork With our Help

It is now the time to do the research and check what fish species you will be willing to catch. Once that has been sorted, you will have to deal with the three different government agencies that grant the licenses: USCG, NOAA, and the Department of natural resources.

Of course, if you are a busy person, nobody likes to have to deal with that many government authorities. Luckily for you, the Commercial Fishing Permits Center is here to help with those processes. We are a third-party agency that helps you get all of your documentation in the same place and, even better, fully online. Furthermore, our experienced staff can help you clear any doubts you may have. Regardless of the NOAA Federal Fisheries Permit Application, you are looking for, you can get it here!