PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — Records from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission show the captain at the center of a viral boat rage video in Punta Gorda hasn't been licensed to run fishing charters with FWC since 2021.
The captain, Brock Horner, is facing a burglary with assault or battery charge after his confrontation with another boater was captured on video and went viral.
Watch Fox 4's Alex Orenczuk report on how to find a licensed charter captain:
Fox 4 previously reported that Horner was cited by FWC for three violations, including not having a valid FWC charter captain’s license, but it was unclear how long he had been operating without it. Now, records show Horner's FWC charter captain's license expired in 2021, and he never renewed it.
For customers looking to book fishing charters, verifying a captain's credentials isn't straightforward. Currently, the only way to verify a charter fishing captain's license status is to submit a records request to FWC, which you can do by clicking here.
Otherwise, there's no real-time lookup system available to the public.
Captain Ed Glorioso from Wicked Hooks Fishing says legitimate captains keep their licenses on their boats at all times just in case they are stopped by FWC. He said captains could also show those licenses to customers wondering if their paperwork is in order.
"I understand from the consumer’s point of view that it's a big deal,” said Glorioso. “I carry it on my boat at all times in case I get stopped by FWC. But I can bring it right to them [the customer], it takes two seconds to show them and make them happy.”
Glorioso told Fox 4 the charter captain industry is heavily reputation based, and a large part of their clientele comes from referrals. He said the secret to finding a charter captain who is licensed, reputable and will put you on fish, is to ask for recommendations from other charter captains at marinas.
"If we're asked ‘hey we're fishing with this guy is he legit?’ We might steer them in a different direction knowing that if somebody comes down from out of state and has a bad experience with a captain - everybody just lost a customer then," Glorioso said.
To report a charter captain you believe is operating without a license, click here.
This story was reported by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
