About This Site

We built this IFQ site to help fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico with the latest form of regulation, the IFQ system. Under this system there will be a lot of initial confusion, which we will do our best to help everyone figure out.  As you probably know by now, you can sell your shares or allocations and, if you are involved in the fishery, you can buy more shares and allocations if you didn't get as many as you are able to fill in the course of the year.  We'd like to see all the allocated poundage be put to use, rather than have some left on the table while other fishermen don't get to make trips they would like to make.

The NMFS has sent out materials instructing you how to set up your account and use their website to do many things but their system will not help buyers find available allocation or shares nor will it help sellers find buyers. Their system will make the transfers, in fact the actual transfer must be made on their website, but it will provide no way for sellers and buyers to find each other.

Check the links in the top menu to our IFQ sales areas.  All new listings will be given their own table and will appear as a list of articles at that link with the oldest listed appearing first.  To list your allocation or shares, contact us at the "Contact" link on the main menu.  All sales will be made through a proxy, no transfer will be made until the money is in the proxy account but no seller will receive the money until the transfer is made. 

We also have a complete classified ad section ,which is online now where fishermen, particularly Gulf reef fishermen, can list any equipment, commercial tackle, commercial fishing gear or even boats and permits that they have for sale.  If you want to list something go there from the top menu and create an account then post your ad(s). The cost is $6 for 30 days and you can pay directly online or, if you really prefer, by Money Order. If your item doesn't sell in 30 days you can easily renew for another 30 days at the same rate. You can also prepay for 90 days at $15/ 90 days.

We have high hopes for the IFQ system working out for the betterment of all in our fishing industry. We've all been getting battered around by bad to worse regulation for years now and Lord knows we deserve some sort of a break.  Hopefully this new regulatory system will enable those that want to continue to fish to do so and those that want to leave the fishery to do so without walking away from a lifetime of work with little or nothing to show for it.