First Mate Terms of Service

Effective date: May 19, 2026

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

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.

3. Subscription and Pricing

Qualified first-wave users receive free access through December 31, 2026. Beginning January 1, 2027, continued access is expected to require a paid annual subscription at $149 per year unless changed with reasonable notice. We do not store full payment card details.

4. License Grant

We grant 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, 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.

5. User-Submitted Content

You may submit feedback, trip reports, catch details, photographs, and notes. You retain ownership of your content.

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 captains@firstmateintel.com. We 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.

7. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED AS IS AND AS AVAILABLE WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. WE DO NOT WARRANT ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, SAFETY, OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FIRST MATE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL CUMULATIVE LIABILITY 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 and hold harmless First Mate, its officers, employees, agents, and licensors from claims, losses, liabilities, damages, and expenses arising from your use of the service, your submitted content, or your violation of these Terms.

9. Termination

You may stop using the service at any time. We 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 /privacy.

12. Changes

We 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 legal@firstmateintel.com.

Lawyer Review Status

This draft is not legally enforced until counsel review is marked approved in production. The product can record acceptance for readiness testing while FIRSTMATE_EULA_ENFORCEMENT_ENABLED remains off.