Commercial Water-Based Charter Boat and Tour Operator Permits

Sarasota County is soliciting bids under IFB 272921FB for commercial water-based charter boat and tour operator permits across designated County parks, with bids due November 12, 2026. Awards are allocated by location within geographic zones based on highest annual permit bid, with a three-year initial contract term and no local or American business preferences due to grant funding constraints.

Bidders must hold a minimum of two references from separate entities demonstrating commercial water-based charter fishing or guided excursion tour experience within the past five years. Required credentials include valid Florida Vessel Registration, USCG Uninspected Passenger Vessel Safety Examination Decal, valid FWC Saltwater Charter License, valid USCG Operator of Uninspected Passenger Vessel license, active Florida Division of Corporations registration, and enrollment in a USCG-compliant Drug Consortium or Third Party Administrator program. Permitted vessels are limited to USCG-certified gross tonnage of 25 GRT or less, with one active vessel per permit.

The minimum annual permit fee is $1,200 per permit. Permits are awarded sequentially within each zone by location, ranked from highest to lowest bid, until maximum permit capacity is reached per location and zone. Individual bidders may submit bids for multiple park locations within a zone but are limited to a maximum of two permit awards per zone. Permit fees must be paid in full prior to issuance or renewal.

All permit holders must maintain Marine Protection and Indemnity Liability Insurance with limits not less than $1,000,000 per occurrence and Marine Dockside Liability coverage (or equivalent Commercial General Liability) with $1,000,000 per occurrence limits, with Sarasota County named as Additional Insured. Bids are submitted electronically through OpenGov Procurement at https://procurement.opengov.com/portal/scgov. Pre-bid meetings and site visits will be scheduled with timelines and locations posted in OpenGov.