Meet Shane Cantrell of Galveston Sea Ventures

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shane Cantrell.

Shane, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I grew up in central Texas fishing all over the state with my family. We didn’t take typical family vacations to Six Flags or Disney world… We went camping and fishing! After high school graduation, I moved to the coast and started college at Texas A&M in Galveston and have been here since 2004. During summers in college, I worked as a deckhand on charter boats and loved it. Fishing nearly every day, sharing my passion for fishing with people and getting paid to do what I loved doing. After a few years, it was time to graduate and go into the “real world”. I got my B.S in Marine Fisheries, similar to Marine Biology but focused more on fisheries and fishery management.

After graduating, I spent time working for the federal government as a fishery observer down data collection on commercial shrimp and reef fish boats catching snapper and grouper. I wouldn’t trade the experience for the world, but the long hours and extended periods at sea (up to 44 days at a time) really begins to wear on people. Around that time, the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster happened and I took the opportunity to do shoreline assessments and data collection in the Environmental Consulting world as a new challenge. Throughout the whole time, I really would’ve rather been fishing and began to find ways to make that transition.

One summer, I had an extended break on consulting projects and took an offer to run a charter boat for a good friend. Just so happens, he’s the same guy that offered me my first job as a deckhand in college and I was running the same boat I once worked on. I immediately fell in love with the opportunity and slowly but surely made the switch away from Environmental Consulting and into professional charter boat fishing.

Currently, I own and operate my own boat and business (Galveston Sea Ventures) in Galveston, Texas and make my living as a professional fisherman! I also serve as the Executive Director of the Charter Fisherman’s Association, a gulf-wide charter boat organization and trade association for my industry. The fundamental goals of the organization are to ensure American public access to fishing, to represent the charter for-hire industry, and to ensure long-term sustainability of our fisheries. Galveston Sea Ventures offer a variety of fishing trips as well as commercial fishing experience trips and would love to have your group spend a day on the water!

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It hasn’t been a smooth road by any means. Making the switch from the security and comfort of full-time employment to the uncertainty and unpredictability of self-employment in the fishing business has been nerve-wracking for sure. But a lot of faith and taking things one step at a time has been critical in my success.

There have been plenty of bad weather days and cancelled trips thanks to mother nature, but things always have a way of working out in time.

Galveston Sea Ventures – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Galveston Sea Ventures offers a wide variety of fishing trips. Half-day and full day trips along the jetties and Galveston Bay, shark fishing on the beachfront and nearshore waters, and commercial fishing experience trips offshore.

We specialize in offshore fishing and offer a unique fishing experience on these trips. We offer fresh caught daily fish and a free educational experience in commercial fishing on our boat, and you get to reel in lots of fish during the day too! While the season for red snapper may be closed on a charter boat, we can go catch and keep them any day the weather allows it!!! Over the course of several years, I have been able to develop this concept with a lot of help along the way and now offer this opportunity that’s found almost nowhere else in the world.

What sets us apart is my unique understanding of the fishery and understanding of what is going on with the ocean. I focus on sharing my expertise and knowledge with guests on the boat so they can come away with a bunch of delicious fish and an appreciation of how they got them too.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
The most proud moment in my career was buying my first boat in January of last year. Since then, I’ve been able to watch a rewarding experience come together. Taking people fishing for a living, shaping and maintaining the boat into what I want it to be, and growing my business to share my passion for fishing with others.

Contact Info:

• Address: 715 N. Holiday Drive, Slip A-31
  Galveston, Texas 77550
• Website: www.galvestonseaventures.com
• Phone: 512-639-9188
• Email: info@galvestonseaventures.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/galvestonseaventures/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GalvestonSeaVentures/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/seaventurestx
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/galveston-sea-ventures-galveston
• Other: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g55879-d6537866-Reviews-Galveston_Sea_Ventures-Galveston_Galveston_Island_Texas.html

Image Credit:
Shane Cantrell, Galveston Sea Ventures LLC