Hi, all! I'm new to the forum. Husband and I coming down July 26th-August 6th. Renting a 343 Beneteau from Conch. We are debating on whether or not to get a fishing license and attempt to fish off the boat and possibly some beach fishing. Does anyone have experience or a comment about that? thanks so much.

Fishing off the boat on a charter has gotten a bit more complicated in the last year or so. To fish off the boat you need to make sure the boat is registered as a fishing vessel. Conch can tell you if that's the case or not. Also, anyone over the age of 18 who is going to touch a pole needs a license as well. There are big potential fines if you don't follow those rules.

As far as I know you can still fish from shore without a fishing license. I think many are finding it easier to either not fish, or just to fish from shore with a casting rod.

Matt

All Conch boats are registered.

Anyone over the age of 18 years old is required to have a fishing license to fish in the BVI! You can obtain a license by either contacting the Conservation and Fisheries Department directly or one of the many watersports companies can assist;

Last Stop Sports
Island Surf and Sail
Sail Caribbean Divers
To be able to fish from your boat, the vessel needs to be registered as a fishing vessel which all of the vessels in our fleet are- contact the sales team if you need to find out the registration number.

Please note: fishing without a license in the BVI is illegal for anyone over 18 years old!

http://conchcharters.com/faq/

Thanks. Yeah, we knew about the license and regiatering and all that but were just wondering if it was really worth the effort. I've talked to people who say they see nobody fishing. Don't want to bother with it if you really don't catch much. We would bring just a light rod and reel down.

Been also reading about Cigautera (sp?) poisoning. We would be careful about what we kept and ate! Some cruisers talk about fishing from dingys in the evening using chicken skin. If we actually wanted bait, guessing that most islands we could find some bait to buy...?

On our last trip we got a license and rented a spinning package from Last Stop Sports. The package was great because it included a rail mount rod holder. We also made a handline and took that with us. Trolled both lines while we were sailing and caught a lot of barracuda and bonito. It was a blast, and we'd do it again. We lost one bonito to a shark as we were reeling in. <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/Shocked.gif" alt="" />

There has been a recent post on MooringsBVI Facebook page that says all of their power catamarans have been registered to fish! I applied for my license last Friday, it's now Tuesday. Haven't heard back. Normal? Seems like everyone says they got theirs in 24 hrs. Sent it to cfd@gov.vg as told by conservation dept. I know many say to send to kenthomas. Same guy there? My trip isn't until end of Aug. so do they wait until closer? Just worried they didn't get my info and I need to re send.

We always fish. I think the kids (and my partner!) would mutiny if we didn't. We alway have a few meals of fresh fish. And we always have a couple of big ones get away! My favorite was the mahi-mahi (just like the one in the picture) that jumped right back in - out of our hands! - as we were all posing for pictures!

We take our own gear (only possible if you are checking luggage):
http://bvibound.com/gear-take-fishing-british-virgin-islands/

Still haven't worked out my license. Sent app last week and yesterday got an email saying I need to have specific name of vessel. Called Moorings and they say just put down 43 power cat, done it this way for years even in light of the new fishing regulations. Emailed cfd@gov.vg back asking if that is sufficient and still now word on my license. Is emailing kenthomas@gov.vg the same thing? As most of you know, very few if any charter companies tell you the name of the boat until you arrive because there could be a last minute maintenance problem requiring a boat change. When Obama said it's easier to get a gun than a book I think he meant BVI fishing license.

Just called conservation/fisheries again! Got transferred to 4 different people and was told I MUST have the name of the boat. Not sure how some of you guys are getting the license in 24 hrs. with zero hassle but it sure hasn't been my experience. They told me I have to come to the office to get it. I arrive on a Sunday for a sleep aboard so now I guess I'll have to go Monday morning in person. They were also very critical of Moorings.

The first time we chartered around 2000. We did not know this site and went in person and waited almost 3 hours for our license. I wish you much better luck <img src="http://www.traveltalkonline.com/forums/images/graemlins/toast.gif" alt="" />

I picked mine up in person more than once also and each time it was like being at the DMV. I'm thinking of asking Moorings to just give me the name of ANY boat to put on the application. If I get stopped I'll just say they switched boats out on me last minute. Wouldn't really be a false statement. Odds are vastly against being checked any way!