Article by Capt. Mark Sampson
Just like most local anglers, each week when the latest issue of the Coastal Fisherman hits the streets, at first opportunity I grab a copy and start reviewing the pages. But probably unlike most folks I’m not interested in checking out the pictures of big fish or reading the columns – that’ll all come later. The goal of my first peruse is to check out the ads from other charter boats and guides to see what the other guys are up to. As with every business - it’s important to know what others are doing even if they aren’t direct competitors. Seeing who’s promoting “what” and “how” provides a snapshot of our local charter industry and helps me to better understand where my own business is positioned within it.
During this early part of the season what really catches my eye is what captains are running what boats and what boats are at what marinas. Each winter there’s always a little reshuffling of the deck as captains come and go, boats are sold or replaced, new guys get their captain’s license and get into the business while others retire. And last week, while doing my homework, I was struck by how few charter boats were listed in the ads of some of the local marinas. Going through some back issues of the paper I came to realize that over the past three years the number of boats listed in the charter fleets of the larger marinas is down by about 40%. As evidenced by the number of boats tied up to the docks rather than out fishing each day it’s been obvious for the last few years that a lot of captains have been struggling for charters, but to think that the fleet may have dropped by almost half is a sobering testimony to the state of things.
I’ve heard from a number of captains who claim that since they’re not getting the bookings they need they can’t justify paying the high slip fees here in Ocean City and, therefore, they’ll be keeping their boats in places like Florida, North Carolina, Virginia, or on the Chesapeake Bay this season. Other boats will still be here but not running charters because the owners figure they won’t recover the additional advertising, insurance, licensing, maintenance and other expenses they’d have to pay to keep their boat in service. Like any other business, you can only lose money for so long before you’ve got to pull the plug and move on.
Certainly a lot of the trouble in the charter industry can be blamed on the economy. For most, recreational fishing is a “luxury” and during times like this, when so many families are forced to tighten their belts, it can be tough to justify paying the expense of a charter fishing trip. Compounding the problem is the high price of fuel which is a major factor in determining how charter prices are set. Captains know that if they could charge less for their trips they’d get more business but they have to take into account the price of the fuel they burn, and that price just went up “again” last week!
But the economy and the price of fuel aren’t the only villains working against the charter industry these days, Mother Nature has had her hand in it too. For the last couple of decades the tuna fishery has been the driving force behind our local charter industry. Tuna are still available to local anglers but not in the “crazy jumping-in-the-boat” kind of quantities they were in the 90’s and early 2000’s which, by the way, was a time when “everybody” seemed to be getting into the charter business and the fleet grew tremendously. Now, as catches have fallen to more realistic levels it seems the mad dash to book a boat and catch a freezer full of fish in a single trip is over. There are no longer days during the summer when the demand for charters outnumbers the supply of boats. Like everything else these days it’s become a buyers market.
This is not to say that the charter industry isn’t totally guilt-free from playing a hand in it’s own troubled times. During the “good times” a lot of boat owners elected to trade their 28 to 40-some foot vessels for much larger, fancier, and certainly faster rigs that would get them out and back in style and in plenty of time to make “Happy Hour” at the end of the day. Of course the down-side of a big boat is the baggage of a big mortgage, big maintenance bills, and big fuel consumption which all translates to big charter prices. But still, it all seemed to work until the economy dove, fuel prices soared, and the fishing moderated, which brings us to “now” when a lot of guys in this industry are realizing what the term “overcapitalization” means.
Naturally, with less charter boats in town those who are still active will have less competition for bookings. But I don’t think that’s going to mean that those of us who are still here will just be able to keep on doing business as usual. Remember, it’s a buyers market so prospective clients will likely be a lot more discretionary in who they turn their hard-earned cash over to. I think the days are over when just anyone with a boat, a captain’s license and a website will have folks lining up to go fishing with them. Now, more than ever, it’s going to be the courteous, professional crews, on clean, safe boats, that charge reasonable prices that get the bookings. The days of Easy Street are over.
Some of this will be good for the industry because it will help weed out the rip-rap and fly-by-nighters. Unfortunately there has already been collateral damage to some upstanding captains who for years have been credits to the fleet but for reasons beyond their control are now forced to look for other lines of work – that’s not good. The industry will get through this because it has certainly seen hard times before. The good news is that no matter how bad it gets, people who have the desire to go fishing will find a way to go; the question is whether or not they’ll be able to afford to do it aboard a charter boat. In the meantime I’d suggest that anyone who has definite plans to book a charter this summer to go ahead and make the reservation now instead of waiting until the last minute. You’ll have more dates to choose from and the booking might really be a moral boost for your captain.
Captain Mark Sampson is an outdoor writer and Captain of the charter boat “Fish Finder”, docked at the Ocean City Fishing Center.
