Fisheries
CAREERS
Fishing Charter Operator
Fishing charter operators run daily excursions or few days fishing trips with clients. They manage vessels under 24 m with a maximum of 12 passengers. The captain often operates the boat alone and sometimes has the help of a first mate or deckhand.
Average yearly salary
- 25,000-45,000 Euro
Work Schedule
- Depending on bookings
- One or two 4-hour trips daily or one 8-hour trip
- Sometimes fishing trips over several days
What you’ll do
- Begins their day by getting fuel, bait and ice
- While getting these supplies, captains often discuss the current weather and fishing conditions with other fishing charter captains and the marina owner
- Manage specialized fishing vessels in and out of the marina
- Drive the boat to the specific fishing location depending on the species they are trying to fish
- Take care of passengers and security onboard.
Education, training, and qualification
- Professional skipper license for recreational boats (this license includes Basic and Advanced safety, Radio, Rescue boats, etc.)
- Depending on the country and the flag of the vessel
- (Higher VET in Maritime Transport and Deep Sea Fishing)
- (Intermediate VET Coastal Navigation and Fishing)
Experience
Fishing charter operators will need a minimum of a professional skipper qualification, depending on the number of passenger and the flag of the boat. They will also need a charter license for the fishing boat and a sport boat fishing license. Charter operators have to be experienced boaters who can easily manage small to medium sized boats with a number of passengers. Personal Qualities and Skills
- Leadership
- Ability to supervise and instruct crew and passenger
- Communicate clearly
- Stay calm and confident
- Promote fairness and listen to your crew (treat them with respect)
- Ability to work in teams
- Act decisively
- Problem solving
- Time management in a working day
Career path and progression
Fishing charter operators are professional skippers for recreational motorboats. This also allows them to professionally manage recreational boats up to 24 m in other sectors, e.g., as skippers for motor yachts or boat excursions. Often, these professionals are professional fisherman or fishing captains and manage the fishing charter as a second career. If they are qualified fishing captains they can drive large boats in ocean energy, marine extraction, or maritime transport. Another career option will be in aquaculture with similar jobs and characteristics as in fisheries. Where could you work
Fishing charters will operate in marinas and leisure boat ports with important tourist activity. This type of ports can be found at the coast of the Mediterranean countries, the Atlantic coast, and the black sea in Europe. The required skipper qualifications depend on the flag of the registered charter vessel. Because of this, professional skippers may encounter problems for the recognition of their qualification if they work on boats from different countries than the one where they qualified.