First Mate Terms of Service

Effective date: October 2, 2026

These Terms govern access to First Mate, a daily offshore fishing intelligence service for the northern Gulf.

"You" or "Your" means the individual natural person who registers for and controls a First Mate account, meeting the eligibility requirements in Section 2.

1. Informational Use Only

First Mate provides informational fishing intelligence. It is not a safety, navigation, weather-warning, or emergency service. Offshore fishing involves real risk. You remain responsible for vessel operation, trip planning, weather decisions, and fishing decisions.

First Mate does not guarantee fish, catches, bite windows, safe passage, or any specific outcome.

2. Account Registration

You must be at least 18 years old. You agree to provide accurate account information and keep Your credentials secure. One person may not create multiple accounts to bypass access limits, payment, or moderation. You are solely responsible for all activity that occurs under Your account, whether or not authorized by You, and for immediately notifying us at captain@firstmate.fish of any unauthorized use of Your account or credentials.

3. Subscription and Pricing

First Mate is offered as a paid annual subscription at $129.99 per year, billed annually. New accounts include a 30-day free trial that does not require a payment method. After the trial, continued access requires a paid subscription unless changed with reasonable notice. First Mate does not store full payment card details.

4. License Grant

First Mate grants You a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use First Mate for fishing planning. You may not resell, redistribute, republish, scrape, reverse engineer, remove notices from, share Your account or login credentials with any other person, or use First Mate to operate a competing service.

Charter captains and tournament participants may use First Mate as one of several planning sources, but may not republish its content beyond immediate trip use without separate written permission.

The license granted under these Terms is for use by a single named individual user only. Your account and login credentials are personal to You and may not be shared, loaned, sublicensed, assigned, or otherwise made available to any other person, whether or not for compensation, and regardless of family, household, vessel crew, or business affiliation.

If First Mate determines, in its reasonable discretion, that Your login credentials or account access have been shared with or used by any other person, First Mate may immediately suspend or terminate Your license and account without prior notice. No refund, credit, or proration of any subscription fees already paid will be issued in connection with a termination for shared or unauthorized account access, in addition to any other remedies available to First Mate under these Terms or applicable law.

5. User-Submitted Content

You may submit trip reports, catch details, photographs, and notes (collectively, "User Content"), as well as feedback, suggestions, ideas, and recommendations about First Mate ("Feedback"). You retain ownership of Your User Content, subject to the license granted below. Feedback is owned exclusively by First Mate as described in Section 6.

By submitting content, You grant First Mate a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable license to use, copy, modify, display, distribute, and create derivative works from that content for operating, improving, and promoting First Mate. Public display of catch photos or catch details requires Your explicit opt-in and moderation approval.

You represent that You own or have permission to submit the content, that it does not violate law or third-party rights, and that photos include necessary permission from identifiable people.

You may request removal of submitted content by contacting captain@firstmate.fish. First Mate will process reasonable removal requests within 30 days, subject to legal retention needs and materials already distributed.

6. Intellectual Property

First Mate content, maps, briefings, analysis, software, designs, and trademarks are owned by us or our licensors. Public oceanographic data belongs to its original sources; First Mate claims ownership only in its analysis, presentation, and added work.

Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in Section 5, any Feedback You provide is and will be the sole and exclusive property of First Mate. You hereby irrevocably assign and transfer to First Mate, without additional consideration, all right, title, and interest, including all intellectual property rights, in and to any Feedback, and You waive any rights You may have in it. You agree not to assert any claim against First Mate arising from its use, modification, or commercialization of Feedback.

7. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

Offshore fishing and boating are inherently hazardous activities that can result in property damage, personal injury, or death, including from weather, sea conditions, mechanical or equipment failure, navigational hazards, and human error. You voluntarily and knowingly assume all risks associated with offshore fishing, boating, and vessel operation, whether or not informed by First Mate content, and You acknowledge that First Mate content is not a substitute for official marine forecasts, Coast Guard notices, navigational charts, vessel safety equipment, or Your own independent judgment.

You acknowledge that First Mate is one of several informational tools You may consult and that You are not relying solely on First Mate as the basis for any decision regarding trip planning, weather, navigation, vessel operation, or safety.

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED AS IS AND AS AVAILABLE WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY. WE DO NOT WARRANT ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, SAFETY, OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, OR ANY WARRANTY ARISING FROM COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, OR USAGE OF TRADE. FIRST MATE DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR FREE FROM DEFECTS, OR THAT ANY FORECAST, BRIEFING, OR ANALYSIS WILL BE ACCURATE OR SUITABLE FOR YOUR PARTICULAR TRIP.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FIRST MATE AND ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS, AND LICENSORS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, LIQUIDATED, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL INJURY, DEATH, PROPERTY OR VESSEL DAMAGE, LOST OR DAMAGED EQUIPMENT, LOST CATCH, LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, OR TRIP, CHARTER, OR TOURNAMENT CANCELLATION COSTS, REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY (WHETHER CONTRACT, TORT INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE), AND EVEN IF FIRST MATE HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES, AND ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICE, ANY RELIANCE ON ITS CONTENT, OR ANY DECISION MADE IN CONNECTION WITH OFFSHORE FISHING, BOATING, OR VESSEL OPERATION. FIRST MATE’S TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE SERVICE, IN THE AGGREGATE, WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF $100 OR THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO LIABILITY.

8. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless First Mate, its officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors from any and all claims, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses arising from Your use of the service, Your submitted content, any sharing of Your account or login credentials in violation of these Terms, Your offshore fishing or vessel operation decisions, or Your violation of these Terms.

9. Termination

You may stop using the service at any time. First Mate may suspend or terminate access at any time, including for violation of these Terms. Provisions that by their nature survive termination will survive.

10. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by Alabama law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Disputes will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules, except small claims may be brought in small claims court. You and First Mate agree to resolve disputes individually and not as part of a class, consolidated, or representative action.

11. Privacy

Use of the service is also governed by the Privacy Policy at https://firstmate.fish/privacy.

12. Changes

First Mate may update these Terms. Material changes will be communicated by email or through the service with reasonable notice. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

13. Contact

Questions may be sent to captain@firstmate.fish.