Captain Jim Cicchitti
Captain Jim Cicchitti, owner of the Starlight Fleet- South Jersey's Deep Sea Fishing &Dolphin- Whale Watching Center began his career mating on Cape May party boats as a teenager. He next obtained his Captain's license and began running local party boats for other people. Captain Jim bought his first boat, the Starlight in 1976, and began running trips from Blake's Dock. In 1998 Blake's Dock became the Starlight Fleet- Deep Sea Fishing & Dolphin- Whale Watching Center serving South Jersey's visitors as well local residents.
Captain Jim has put together an entire crew that focuses on running a very professional and customer oriented operation. Captain Jim's "core" crew, Captain Ernie, Captain Chris, and First Mate Ricky, have been with Captain Jim for over 20 years.
Captain Jim is very knowledgeable with a geniune desire to provide quality and enjoyable experiences aboard his boats. He is constantly researching new fishing spots, new wrecks and new technology in order to increase the customer's fishing experience. By following current fishing trends and participating in Fishery and Wildlife studies, Captain Jim continues to run a cutting edge operation.
Not only has Captain Jim been able to consistently run a first class deep sea fishing operation, but over the years, he has had the foresight to diversify and expand his business in different directions in order to adapt to the changing needs of the tourism market. From, solely, a party fishing business, Captain Jim has created a multi-dimensional marine center serving South Jersey, offering fishing, dolphin-whale watching, sunset dinner cruises, student science-at-sea field trips, a fresh seafood market, a nautical gift shop, and wave runner rentals. Captain Jim has also been able to elevate his winter business by sending the Starlight to Marathon, Florida to fish from December 15- April 15 with Captain Ernie as well as offering 18 hour Giant Offshore Seabass trips on the Atlantic Star during the winter at the Starlight Fleet- Deep Sea Fishing & Dolphin-Whale Watching Center.
Captain Jim is delighted to have his son, Andrew, actively participating in the business. Andrew has been mating on the Twilight since he was 5 years old and will continue to mate as well as take on additional responsibilities. Also, Captain Jim was happy last year to welcome his step-son, Nicholas to the Starlight Fleet. While Andrew's main focus is the fishing end of the business, Nicholas' attention is directed towards the dolphin- whale watching part of the Starlight Fleet. He assists our marine biologists, Travis Davis and Nicole Sawyer, on the dolphin- whale watching tours as well as the science-at-sea field trips.
Captain Jim runs the 6 hour fishing trip daily on the Twilight from May through September. From October through April, Captain Jim runs 8 hour, 12 hour, 14 hour, or 18 hour offshore wreck fishing trips on the Altantic Star.
Do you have a question for Captain Jim?
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