Captains License - fishing license needed?

[Dbdubb]

I’m in the process of the uscg approving my captains license application and am curious once you posses the license, do you still need to have Florida saltwater fishing licenses for anyone fishing on the boat?

I’m specifically wondering about me being on a friends boat where the captains license isn’t necessarily in use.

I appreciate any insight.

[Captain Bill]

Originally Posted by Dbdubb

I’m in the process of the uscg approving my captains license application and am curious once you posses the license, do you still need to have Florida saltwater fishing licenses for anyone fishing on the boat?

I’m specifically wondering about me being on a friends boat where the captains license isn’t necessarily in use.

I appreciate any insight.

A USCG captains license has nothing to do with fishing licenses. You do not need the former to fish, but you do need the latter, unless of course you are exempt from needing a fishing license. License regulations can be found at https://myfwc.com/license/recreation...water-fishing/

[Dbdubb]

Thank you for the information. I thought I had heard that when you’re on a fishing charter as a paying passenger, you are not required to purchase a license. If that’s true, is it because the guide holds a captains license? I guess I don’t fully understand this area. Thanks again.

[spearfish3]

Yes. The guide pays for a license for the boat. FWC needs their money and has nothing to do with the USCG.

[Dbdubb]

Got it. So it’s specific to the boat and doesn’t “follow” the captain. Do I have that correct?

[CSY Man]

A charter boat fishing license is $400, no need for the pax to keep a “private” fishing license.
If the Charter Captain keep a recreational fishing license in his pocket for fishing on days off, it has nothing to do with the USCG OUPV ticket.
Not even sure I understand the scenario..

I have a charter boat but no commercial fishing intended, only sightseeing:
www.odincharters.com

[denverd0n]

Originally Posted by Dbdubb

Got it. So it’s specific to the boat and doesn’t “follow” the captain. Do I have that correct?

Right. The fishing license is totally separate from the Captain's license. Neither, really, has anything to do with the other. You buy a separate, specific license for the boat, so that passengers on it do not need their own individual fishing licenses.

[Pete17C]

Originally Posted by Dbdubb

Got it. So it’s specific to the boat and doesn’t “follow” the captain. Do I have that correct?

I would check the specifics. I can see a situation where a licensed captain who also holds a 'boat wide' fishing license, may want use these on different boats. Not sure if the rules would prohibit that.

ie: a boat owner may want to hire the captain to run his boat for a fishing trip

[OS2Dude]

NOTE: It is my understanding that is you hold a USCG Captain's ticket, your are NEVER 'off the clock'. You will be held to a higher standard than the average non-ticketed individual in all situations, even if just out on your own vessel for your own pleasure. I've even heard of someone with a ticket who was a passenger on someone else's boat who the insurance company tried to hold responsible for an accident simply because he was present and 'should have prevented the situation'. It is one of the reasons I did not pursue a '6-pack' licence myself.

[Cadence]

I think he can skirt both licenses. Have a commercial boat not for charter, to catch and sell fish, I think that is covered under the Jones Act. :-) Come on a couple of bucks for a salt water license.

[jmschmidt]

Do you really think the State of Florida would wave the opportunity to nick you a few bucks for a fishing license just because you have some form of Coast Guard license?

OS2Dude has it right. I never carry my USCG license on me when I'm out for a pleasure cruise on my boat or someone else's. I do have the state issued boating safety card, its required if I'm driving, but I don't think it increases the exposure much.

[IslandHopper]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

NOTE: It is my understanding that is you hold a USCG Captain's ticket, your are NEVER 'off the clock'. You will be held to a higher standard than the average non-ticketed individual in all situations, even if just out on your own vessel for your own pleasure. I've even heard of someone with a ticket who was a passenger on someone else's boat who the insurance company tried to hold responsible for an accident simply because he was present and 'should have prevented the situation'. It is one of the reasons I did not pursue a '6-pack' licence myself.

Well i'm not going to claim i know the laws in the US of A but that would be a bloody fairy tale here, unless legally signed on as crew i am nothing more than a passenger......otherwise that would be like saying if i was a passenger on the Queenscliff ferry on Port Phillip Bay i can be held responsible for the vessel having an accident because i have a bigger ticket than the Captain, or that i can't go out on a mates boat as a guest and have a beer or three cause i have a ticket and he doesn't, absolute balderdash, unless i legally sign on as crew i have all the responsibility of a passenger and assume nothing.......

[ranger58sb]

Originally Posted by Dbdubb

I’m in the process of the uscg approving my captains license application and am curious once you posses the license, do you still need to have Florida saltwater fishing licenses for anyone fishing on the boat?

I’m specifically wondering about me being on a friends boat where the captains license isn’t necessarily in use.

Originally Posted by denverd0n

Right. The fishing license is totally separate from the Captain's license. Neither, really, has anything to do with the other. You buy a separate, specific license for the boat, so that passengers on it do not need their own individual fishing licenses.

Yeah, separate animals. Fishing and charging passengers are two different concepts.

Only touch slightly; here in MD, for instance, I must have a USCG credential (100-ton, 6-pack at least, etc.) in order to qualify for my MD fish guide license. Both of these are about being able to charge passengers.

But there's also a recreational boat fishing license, so individual pax don't need their own fishing license.

You can have both MD licenses; one for charging pax (USCG credential required), and one for recreational buds.

As others have said, FL sounds similar.

-Chris

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by OS2Dude

NOTE: It is my understanding that is you hold a USCG Captain's ticket, your are NEVER 'off the clock'. You will be held to a higher standard than the average non-ticketed individual in all situations, even if just out on your own vessel for your own pleasure. I've even heard of someone with a ticket who was a passenger on someone else's boat who the insurance company tried to hold responsible for an accident simply because he was present and 'should have prevented the situation'. It is one of the reasons I did not pursue a '6-pack' licence myself.

Ive heard this stated many times, but I think its just myth. I have never seen any statues or case law which clearly establish this as fact. Do you have any references?

(USCG liscenced since 1994).

[OS2Dude]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Ive heard this stated many times, but I think its just myth. I have never seen any statues or case law which clearly establish this as fact. Do you have any references?

(USCG liscenced since 1994).

No references to the insurance incident, but it was told to me by someone with a captain's licence.

As far as always being held to a higher standard at all times, this was told to me not only by the above captain but a representative of the USCG at a boat show as well.