Fishing Not Allowed?

We have a charter coming up next month. We are avid fisherman and are going to be bringing our own gear and have been looking forward to this for the last year.

Just yesterday we received a message from our charter company that we can no longer fish from the boat. When I called them to ask WTF was going on, I was told the government of the BVI is cracking down on charter yacht fishing and they are the reason we are no longer allowed to fish from the boat.

Has anyone else here heard anything like that? They tell me the the boats we have chartered are registered.

Thanks.

Steve

It's been my understanding that now the boat must be licensed to fish as well as whom ever wishes to fish. Some charter companies license their boats but many boats aren't licensed for fishing. If caught fishing without a license, there are VERY heavy fines.

This is just a case of the charter company and/or owner not wanting to pay the fees or make the effort to register the boat for fishing. I don't think it's a trivial process or fee but many boats are registered so it's definitely possible.

Thank you for this.

To be clear, this is probably not a BVI government change but more likely the charter company?

As I mentioned, they did say the boats are registered. I think I would like to ask them for proof. Something seems odd about this whole situation.

My son is the primary fisherman. He works at one of the primer tackle shops in our area and has been looking forward to this for over a year. Now, 4 weeks out we are told we can't fish. I would like to try and figure out what is really going on but don't want to go off half cocked and accuse anyone without the facts.

Sven, I PM’d you my number. I can discuss the fishing issues with you. If you are on a monohull with the Moorings the boats are not licensed. If they told you it’s the government they are not being honest. There is no crackdown on charterboat fishing. I would add that boat availability is good with the latest covid wave. If they are simply going to refuse to allow fishing you might ask for a refund and switch companies.
G

I wonder if you are perhaps confusing the term "registered" with "licensed". Boats based in the BVI's have to be registered with the BVI government. If the boat owner/operator wants to fish it has to get a separate "fishing license".

Sven, George's idea is a good one: see if another company has a boat available during that time slot. Then contact your company and tell them your primary reason for coming was to fish and you'd like to cancel if you can't do that. It's not unusual for people to see how much they can get away with. Maybe they will find a way to make it possible.

I went through this in November. I sent my application for a fishing license to the BVI government, and they informed me that our boat from Dream Yacht was not registered. It was hard to get a straight answer from Dream Yacht, but they made it sound like the BVI government had changed the registration process and they hadn't been able to re-register all of their boats. It was not a BVI problem, it was a charter company problem. I even worked with the US based office for the charter company and they were not able to get the BVI base to respond in a timely manner to have our boat registered, so we ended up having to cancel our fishing gear rental.

Our boat is in a charter fleet and properly registered. We get a new fishing license each time we sail. Never an issue.

I believe ALL the boats in TMM Charters are licensed for fishing (Then you must apply for individual license).

TMM Charters: Fishing, Free WiFi , and Great Staff/ Great Boats.

All boats at BVI Yacht Charters are licensed for fishing, both monos and cats.

I would recommend giving BVISUP a call about fishing license.

Fiona (Fiona d'Ancona <fiona@bvisupco.com>) did all the foot work for just a $15 fee.

She contacted the charter company, verified the boats fishing registration number,
sent me all the forms needed for the personal fishing license and submitted to the govt Fishing office.

They also can arrange bait, pole holders, etc.

Great service.

BVISUPCO

Second the recommendation for Fiona and BVISUP. She coordinates all our fishing needs as well (with TMM).

Highly unlikely the Moorings is going to change their policy of not registering boats because one customer is unhappy. An overwhelming number of customers do not fish. They are not going to register one boat as they often make last minute changes due to maintenance, etc. Go with one of the smaller companies in the future if fishing is a priority. The Moorings has their place in the charter business but customization is not in their business model.

The Moorings registers all the power and sailing cats for fishing. They were not last year registering monohulls to fish. I believe they may be changing that policy. I don’t think the OP mentioned which company he is with.

Navigare.

I
This is my understanding as well regarding Moorings boats. I believe each angler needs a fishing license in addition to the boat being registered.