What Role Does the National Marine Fisheries Service Play?

Have you ever dreamed of spending your entire life at sea? Is it about time that you transformed your passion for fishing into a stable career? If you want to follow the commercial fishing route, then you need to complete a few steps first.

Firstly, ensure that your boat can do the job. Commercial fishing is typically a case of working long hours or even several days under harsh conditions and unpredictable waters. A correctly equipped galley with all safety equipment needed should be your vessel.

Also, work on the idea of having a crew. Qualified and seasoned fishermen by your side can make your business thrive more.

In the end, you will have to do a little bit of paperwork. Most probably, you didn’t opt for this job to be buried under forms, but you’ll still have to cooperate with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to get your permits and licenses. The bright side is that with the aid of the Commercial Fishing Permits Center, you can complete every license form wherever you want using just one website which is very easy.

At its core, commercial fishing—catching fish and selling them—has been around for centuries. Generations of people have earned their living by taking their catch to market. Because of that history, you might not immediately think of commercial fishing as an industry tied up with regulations and red tape. The truth, though, is that it has to be. When you’re pulling a natural resource out of the water—sometimes from federally managed areas—and selling it for profit, there needs to be oversight. Commercial fishing is a massive, multi-billion-dollar business in the United States, and to protect both fair competition and the future of our fisheries, the NMFS issues permits, sets quotas, and enforces important rules. These steps make sure that today’s fishermen can thrive while preserving fish populations for the generations of tomorrow.

What is the National Marine Fisheries Service?

The United States has coastlines that are thousands of miles apart and therefore it touches both the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans. Hence, from the rugged coast of Maine to the tropical sea of California, and even the frozen waters of Alaska, fishermen have been dependent on the country’s rich and diverse fish resources for a long time. Nonetheless, most of this water is beyond the jurisdiction of states. As soon as you are outside the three-mile marker from the shore, you can only find federal waters. This area is defined to be within 200 nautical miles and is known as the United States Exclusive Economic Zone.

In general, the management of the water within three miles of shore, as well as lakes, and rivers, is done at the state level.

Federal waters belong to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is more commonly called NOAA. There is a certain section in NOAA called the National Marine Fisheries Service loc., or NMFS—that is the same as NOAA Fisheries by and large. Their job is simple yet very important: they make the US fisheries last. Through research, data gathering, and science-based yardstick management, NMFS attempts to meet the needs of the fishing industry while maintaining the vitality of marine environments in the long term.

What If your commercial fishing activities consist of offshore work in federal waters? In that case, of course, you will not be allowed to fish unless you have all your documents in place and legally in order. This simply means that you must apply for and be issued the required permits directly through NOAA and the NMFS. On the one hand, doing this will make your enterprise compliant but on the other it will also help retain the nation’s fisheries for tomorrow.

Obtaining the NMFS Fishing Permits You Need

When you are in the initial stage of a commercial fishing business, you will have to manage plenty of details. The center of it all should be a reliable business plan that outlines your operating costs, potential revenue, and overall financial standing. However, a significant aspect of that plan is the determination of the exact species the targeted marine fishing area. Any experienced fisherman might say it: you must follow where the fish are. The same logic is valid in commercial and industrial fishing.

In the case that your operation leads you to the federal waters, the next step for you would be to get the right permits from NOAA. To simplify the work, this organization divides its permits into several regions—Alaska, the Pacific Islands, the West Coast, the South, and the Atlantic. Within each of those regions, there are different licenses linked to the certain species. For example, you can submit an application for an American lobster permit in the Atlantic area or the Sablefish license in Alaska.

Historically, the process of acquiring NMFS permits has been the process of locating the proper paper applications, filling them out by hand, and mailing them off to the correct office. It is a time-intensive process that does not always go well with a fisherman’s busy schedule. This is the reason why many of them prefer to work with the Commercial Fishing Permits Center. Our website offers you the convenience of using online forms for state and federal commercial fishing licenses that shortens the process of application and makes it more accessible.

Use Our Online Forms Today!

If you want any kind of commercial fishing license, we have simplified the process. We encourage you to spend a few minutes on our website where everything is visually presented so that you can immediately take the first step. Furthermore, if you have any queries during your journey, our amiable customer service team is just a phone call or email away and ready to help you.