Mahi Mahi caught on a Carefree Yacht Charter
aboard monohull Aloha Malolo, New Years, 2010

BVI Fishing License

The BVI Government has very strict fishing regulations. The following fishing regulations apply for each visitor to the BVI, whether on a crewed or bare-boat charter:

Each and every charter guest, 18 years of age or older, that wants to put a fishing line in BVI waters must have a fishing license in order to do so.
Charter guests under the age of 18 may fish without a fishing license.
Charter guests that will not be putting a fishing line in BVI waters do not need to obtain a license, even if aboard a yacht that will be engaging in fishing activities.

Obtain Your BVI Fishing License in Advance

It is strongly recommended that you obtain any necessary fishing licenses in advance. While you can obtain a $45 fishing license directly from the BVI Government in Road Town, Tortola, this may not be possible until several days into your charter based on your starting date and location, may cause a change to your planned itinerary, and the process can take several hours.

To simplify the process, Carefree Yacht Charters uses a local Tortola source to obtain any necessary fishing licenses in advance for their charter clients. This simple process involves the following steps per applicant:

Send us a completed fishing license application
Send us a very clear, scanned (not copied) version of the applicant’s valid passport or driver’s license.
Pay for the fishing licenses in advance.

BVI Fishing License Costs

Fishing licenses obtained in advance are at a cost of $50 per license. In addition, our local Tortola source adds a $50 processing fee for the first license plus a $25 processing fee for each additional license per charter group.

BVI Fishing Considerations

The reef fish that you may possibly catch within the protected inner waters of the BVI include Barracuda, Snapper, etc. These fish will not be edible due to the risk of ciguatera poisoning and should be caught and released. The edible game fish that you may possibly catch in the exposed, outer waters include Mahi, Tuna, etc. For most charter guests, it is typically too rough to head out to these outer waters for fishing.

Other Regulations

These additional regulations apply within the BVI:

Spear fishing is illegal in the BVI.
The use of scuba equipment to capture or remove any marine animal or coral is prohibited.
Fishing within the boundaries of any marine park is forbidden.