Under 16.5m Fishing Vessel Skipper
Job role and responsibility - you will be in command of a small fishing vessel (under current regulations - up to a maximum of 16.5m registered length) and responsible for its safe and efficient operation. You will also, most probably, be responsible for a crew even though, as skipper, you will still share some of the deckhand duties
Once a fisherman has completed all of his mandatory courses, including Safety Awareness and can prove sea time of at least a year he or she will be able to take the following courses
- 2 Day or Five Day Navigation
- 2 Day Engine Maintenance
- 1 Day Intermediate Fishing Vessel Stability
- 1 Day GMDSS Short Range Radio Course (SRC)
On completion, the candidate can apply for an Under 16.5m Skippers Ticket. This comes in two categories:
- Silver - this is for those who complete the 2 Day Navigation Course and only require to fish up to 20nm from a safe haven
- Gold - this is for those who complete the 5 Day Navigation Course and wish to fish beyond 20nm from a safe haven but not further than the limited area
For those that hold the gold Skippers ticket the MCA have allowed acceptance of Under 16.5m Skippers certificates for use on small commercial operations. This basically means that a fisherman can use his vessel for other 'non-fishing' commercial activities such as carrying up to 12 passengers out to 20nm from safe haven (angling, Eco-tourism etc) and working for the offshore wind farm industry as 2 examples of many. The qualification also entitles the holder to 'take a watch' on any sized vessel. The whole idea here is that fishermen have a few more strings to their bow and can work in other maritime areas when the fishing goes slack or they have reached their quotas or days at sea.
For more information please read MGN 411 (M+F) Training and Certification Requirements for the Crew of Fishing Vessels and their Applicability to Small Commercial Vessels and Large Yachts
Section 7 gives information on other commercial uses of the Under 16.5m Skippers Ticket