Tuna General Permit Question

[demiched]

Hi,

I'm a little confused with what is required to have a General permit over an Angling one. Can someone please clarify if there are certain criteria your boat must meet to have a General permit? Any help would be greatly appreciated since I've been unsuccessful in locating the information on the NMFS site.

D

[sokinwet]

http://www.amsea.org/pdf/CommFishSafetyDigest-2008.pdf

[Tuna Meltdown]

In short, you need the following.

Life raft (must be serviced annually).
Survival suit for each person on board the boat, marked with the vessel name or owner of the suit.
Offshore aerial flare kit.
Ring Life bouy.
Type 1 offshore PFD's for each person on board with PFD Lights and reflective tape. Must be marked with the vessel name or owner of PFD
EPIRB
The plaques "No Drugs", "Report Injuries", BLA BLA.


Those are the big $$$ items. I have been on the fence for a long time about going commercial but in the end it costs about $8000 to initially set up the boat and then you have annual cost associated with the upkeep that can cost $2000. Anyone who says otherwise is fishing illegally with out this gear. It is expensive and unless you get to fish every day it's tough to turn a profit.

[boot]

Read the safety rules in the above link carefully and you will see you may not need some of the more expensive items under certain conditions.The life raft for example
............................


"*NOTE: A vessel less than 36 feet in length that carries 3 or less persons within 12-miles of the
coastline is not required to carry survival craft; ...........................


Survival suits are only needed during cold water months,you're all set during july,august and sept. if you stay within 20 miles.................................


"Vessels operating beyond coastal waters (beyond three mile limit) when the waters are
"cold" (meaning the monthly water temperature is 59 degrees F or less, NVIC 7-91) must be
equipped with at least one CG Approved Immersion Suit for each person on board (POB)."...........................


The life ring is only for vessels bigger than 26',any smaller and all you need is a flotation cushion.............................


VESSEL 16 FEET OR MORE, BUT LESS THAN 26 FEET:
• 1 Type IV PFD, either a buoyant cushion or USCG approved ring buoy.
• A ring buoy must be equipped with a line at least 60 feet long......................


If you don't mind being restricted to 12 miles you can be legal fairly inexpensively for 3 months of the year.Plenty of fish within 12 miles.

[tightline9]

Read the safety rules in the above link carefully and you will see you may not need some of the more expensive items under certain conditions.The life raft for example
............................


"*NOTE: A vessel less than 36 feet in length that carries 3 or less persons within 12-miles of the
coastline is not required to carry survival craft; ...........................


Survival suits are only needed during cold water months,you're all set during july,august and sept. if you stay within 20 miles.................................


"Vessels operating beyond coastal waters (beyond three mile limit) when the waters are
"cold" (meaning the monthly water temperature is 59 degrees F or less, NVIC 7-91) must be
equipped with at least one CG Approved Immersion Suit for each person on board (POB)."...........................


The life ring is only for vessels bigger than 26',any smaller and all you need is a flotation cushion.............................


VESSEL 16 FEET OR MORE, BUT LESS THAN 26 FEET:
• 1 Type IV PFD, either a buoyant cushion or USCG approved ring buoy.
• A ring buoy must be equipped with a line at least 60 feet long......................


If you don't mind being restricted to 12 miles you can be legal fairly inexpensively for 3 months of the year.Plenty of fish within 12 miles.

Good info!

[amarshall]

Also the CGs interperatation (sp) of the rules differs by boat.

[demiched]

Thank you all for the information. I'll read that carefully because there are definitely fish within 12 miles that would be eligible.

[jbg108]

Remember that if you have a General Cat Permit your commercial fishing every time your tuna fishing so if your not legal to fish offshore of 12 miles you could get in trouble fishing outside of that. If you have a captains license you can get a Carter Headboat permit and fish either cat.

I'm legal for commercial but love being able to keep a 59 incher when it bites.

You also have the ability to say your fishing rec today when boarded offshore as long as you don't have a big one on board. I've done this and it makes for a shorter and less stressfull inspection.

[FullStrikeAngler]

Another restriction on the General Permit is that you cannot shark fish unless in a tournament.

[JSeas]

I had a commercial license for 3 years about 3 years ago. Switched back to recreational category since that is the type of fishing I do. I am a "sporty". I go fish when the weather is good and it fits into my schedule. I release 95% of the fish that I catch... yes, even BFT over 72 inches, yellowfin tuna, etc. Only keep what I or my crew want to bring home and eat that night.

When I had a commercial license I did sell fish.. never made ANY money and the hassle was not worth the few expenses that the money did cover. I still have all the correct safety gear on my boat, because in my opinion if you are fishing even 10-30 miles offshore in cold water (like out east in the spring and fall) you really should have survival suits, life raft, EPIRB etc etc.

Bottom line is that, let the professional commercial fisherman, including Charter Captains (who I have a lot of respect for) do there jobs and fish commercially.. It is a very hard job! Us "sporties" can go have a good time when the weather is good, keep a few fish for the table, release the rest, fish a few tournaments and be great recreational fishermen.

FYI, when I did have a commercial license, I got the General Category HMS federal permit AND a Massachusetts Commercial Fishing Permit with the correct endorsements!

Just my thoughts

JSeas