Finding Commercial Fishing Permits for Your Region

With another commercial fishing season quickly upon us, you are probably gearing up to head out to sea. Things can move quickly in the commercial fishing industry, and as you aim to meet market demands, your business may need to evolve a bit from time to time. For instance, have you outgrown your current fishing vessel? If you have expanded your team or if your boat is no longer able to handle the rigors of commercial fishing, you may want to think about upgrading. Or, maybe your boat just needs a bit of facelift? Sprucing up your galley or purchasing new gear may give your business an upper hand. Maybe you are requiring additional help? While this is generally a good problem to have, hiring seasoned fishermen to join your crew is not always easy, and it is important to find individuals who know the waters you will be operating on. Another consideration you may want to account for with your business is diversifying your catch–if you need new commercial fishing permits, we have got you covered.

When you began your career as a commercial fisherman, you probably were drawn to the prospect of working outside with your hands, spending your days at sea catching your livelihood. That is to say, you felt the appeal of a job that is far removed from the daily drudgery of office life. Baiting hooks and checking lines sure beats putting ink to paper or looking at spreadsheets. Still, as a business owner, you will need to do some paperwork from time to time, often concerning taxes, payroll, or commercial fishing permits. Fortunately, however, by working with a private service such as ours, you can save yourself a good deal of time by applying for the permits you need online. Read on to learn more.

Commercial Fishing Permits at the State Level

As the old adage would suggest, you need to go where the fish are biting. Before you take an inventory of your current commercial fishing licenses to assess which new permits you will need, you should probably think a bit about where you will be dropping your lines or traps. The reason for this is that commercial fishing licenses are often determined by region, and there are different waters that fall under state or federal jurisdiction. State waters, specifically, encompass anything that is inland or within three nautical miles from shore. Depending on your location, those waters may be abundant with desired fish, or you may need to go out onto federal territory.

State fishing permits will be issued by your local Department of Fish and Game, or another similarly named agency. It can vary depending on the state, but there are typically foundational commercial fishing licenses that are issued to residents and non-residents alike (though usually at different costs). In addition, there are often species-specific endorsements that you will need to obtain, as well as state-level quotas to observe. In some places, such as New England, some states will have reciprocity with their neighbors with regard to fishing licenses.

At the Commercial Fishing Permits Center, we have online forms for all your state-level fishing permit needs. To see for yourself, simply select your state from our navigation menu, and you will be brought to a page containing simplified web forms for a number of commercial fishing licenses.

Federal Commercial Fishing Licenses

If you are fishing on the coast anywhere in the United States, there is a good chance you will find yourself accessing fisheries in federal waters. To be more specific, federal waters are everything between three and 200 nautical miles from land. This territory is regulated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is a federal agency tasked with issuing commercial fishing licenses to business owners. As the U.S. is surrounded by a large area of water in federal jurisdiction, the NOAA simplifies things a bit by issuing their permits by region. You can obtain a federal fishing license for Alaska, the Pacific Islands, the West Coast, the South, or the Mid-Atlantic/New England. Each region features species-specific permits, such as Atlantic tuna or Alaskan halibut.

You can obtain federal fishing permits by working directly with the NOAA, though that will require downloading PDFs, printing them out, filling them out by hand, and mailing them in for processing. By working with us, however, you can apply for all the permits you need online in just minutes.

Get Your Permits Online Today

Whether you need commercial fishing licenses at the state or federal level, we can help. With our online forms and SSL-encrypted web portal, you can apply for the permits you need quickly and securely. To learn more about how we can help you, visit our Frequently Asked Questions page, or contact one of our customer service agents by phone or email today.