[beamie]

Animal,

No they are not doing anyting illegal. There is a Charter boat / headboat catagory where someone on the vessel must be a licensed captain. When you have this permit you are allowed to either fish sbft recreationally or gbt commercially but not both on the same day.

So for example is there first fish of the day is a 60" tuna from that point on you are recreational fishing. If the second is 73 or greater if kept would not be allowed to sell. In retrospect if the first first is a giant.....your done.

from the NMFS site..............

Q: Is there a description of an HMS Charter/Headboat category permit?
A: Yes, owners/operators of charter/headboat vessels fishing for and/or retaining regulated Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (Atlantic tunas, sharks, swordfish and billfish) in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, must obtain an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) permit. To be eligible for this permit category there MUST be a licensed Coast Guard Captain onboard the vessel during ALL HMS Fishing activities regardless if they are commercial, recreational, or fee based in nature. This permit allows a vessel to fish both commercially for tunas and recreationally for HMS, although not on the same day. Only the sale of tuna catch is permitted with this permit. This permit is required if fishing in Federal or State waters and because it is a commercial permit the U.S. Coast Guard Safety Gear Regulations may apply. This permit will also allow a vessel to fish in registered recreational HMS fishing tournaments.