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What Should a Captain’s Salary Be? A Survey by InTheBite

Average Salary by Boat Size

It a question that comes up quite often, whether by telephone or email: what a typical captain’s salary? The rule of thumb for many years was that a captain salary averaged around a thousand dollars a foot, but how true is that rule today? We wanted to find out.

Conducting the Survey

The following survey results were obtained exclusively by InTheBite staff in person while attending tournaments in the Bahamas this year. We intended to provide a snapshot of a typical captain pay in relation to boat size and length of employment. The survey was exclusive to boat owners who employ full-time sportfishing captains and thus did not include charter captains. The sample size was 25 boat owners. The survey asked straightforward questions regarding the captain salary, not taking into account additional benefits such as insurance, vacation time, tournament winnings, cars or bonuses. As a result, we received excellent feedback from the boat owners and will be pursuing more in-depth surveys with both a larger geographic reach and a more in-depth scope in the future.

Reading the Results

Almost half of the captains in the survey attained their jobs as a result of the owner friends, which means that a captain reputation is of vital importance. Word gets around. Almost a quarter were recruited by a broker or the owners themselves. And with an average stint onboard lasting less than five years (and a third being less than three years), it equally important to keep those networks of communication open when it time to move on. Boats are bigger and more complicated than before, so a captain skills with maintenance and daily operation are critical. As a trade publication, we will use this as a springboard for surveying more industry data in an unbiased manner. Please contact InTheBite if you would like to join our survey committee or suggest specific questions for the next survey.
Where did owners find a capain