Last updated May 23, 2026 · version 2026-05-23

Terms of Service

By using fishlert.com, our SMS service, or signing up for the Fishlert waitlist, you agree to these terms. If you don’t, please don’t use the service. Definitions used below are at §11. Our companion Privacy Policy is incorporated by reference.

1. What Fishlert is

Fishlert is an SMS-based marketplace for the seafood supply chain. We provide a hosted platform that lets a Partner (a seafood distributor, harbormaster, or fisherman) broadcast catch availability to their opted-in Buyers via SMS, collect those Buyers’ replies, and operate the surrounding admin and audit tooling. We also operate a unified marketplace feedat our main number where Buyers can subscribe once and receive offers from every Fishlert Partner seller in a single SMS thread; each offer in the feed names the selling Partner and includes their direct number so Buyers can establish a 1:1 relationship. The website also hosts a waitlist, a weekly newsletter, and product information.

2. Eligibility & accounts

• You must be 18 or older and authorised to act for the business you represent.
• Partners are onboarded by Fishlert and granted access to a Partner number. You are responsible for any activity under your number, including messages sent by anyone you designate as a Captain or other authorised sender.
• You must keep your login and admin credentials secure and notify us promptly if you suspect a compromise.

3. SMS / TCPA — Partner obligations

This is the most important section. By using Fishlert to send SMS you (the Partner) attest to and agree to the following:

• Prior express consent. You will only add Buyers to your roster who have given you prior express consent to receive automated SMS marketing from your business AND from Fishlert (the platform sending on your behalf). The act of adding a Buyer in the admin requires you to tick an attestation box; the verbatim text of that box is recorded against the Buyer row as evidence.
• Double opt-in. Unless you specifically attest that you have signed consent on file, Fishlert will send each Buyer an opt-in REQUEST message naming you and Fishlert, and no marketing message will be sent to that Buyer until they reply YES. You will not disable, work around, or pressure Buyers through this gate.
• Honour every opt-out. When a Buyer replies STOP (or any other recognised opt-out keyword) Fishlert blocks further messages from your account to that Buyer. You will not contact opted-out Buyers through any out-of-band channel using contact information obtained via Fishlert.
• Content. Your messages must be commercially honest (no misrepresentation of price, quantity, or species), must not violate any law, and must not be obscene, harassing, or otherwise abusive.
• Frequency. Send at a frequency a reasonable Buyer would expect for fresh-catch alerts. Excessive volume is a basis for suspension.
• Indemnity. You indemnify Fishlert against any TCPA, CAN-SPAM, A2P 10DLC, FCC, FTC, state UDAP, or carrier claim arising from your misuse of the platform — for example, sending without the consent you attested to.

TCPA penalties are $500 to $1,500 per message. Take the consent gate seriously.

4. SMS — Buyer terms

• By replying YES to a Fishlert opt-in request, you consent to receive automated SMS catch alerts and related conversational messages from the Partner who added you, sent via Fishlert.
• Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies with how often the Partner has fresh inventory.
• Reply STOP any time to unsubscribe; reply HELP for help. STOP works across the keyword set listed in our Privacy Policy.
• Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.

5. Acceptance & versioning

When these Terms or the Privacy Policy change in a way that affects your rights or obligations we bump the version shown at the top of each document. Partners are then required to re-record their acceptance from the admin panel before sending further broadcasts; the new acceptance is stored as an append-only history row with the version, timestamp, IP address, user agent, and the verbatim acceptance text.

6. Fees

During the MVP launch Fishlert is provided to the initial Partners at no charge. We will notify you in writing at least 30 days before introducing any fees. Twilio SMS and other usage-based third-party costs are surfaced at cost in your dashboard.

7. Suspension & termination

We may suspend or terminate access if you breach these terms, misuse the SMS gate, generate disproportionate carrier filtering, or expose us to legal risk. Either party may terminate for any reason on 30 days’ notice. On termination we will assist with an export of your Partner’s consent + opt-out records and retain only the audit data required to demonstrate compliance.

8. Warranty disclaimer

Fishlert is provided “as is” without warranty of any kind. We make no guarantee of message delivery, sale outcomes, or uptime. To the extent permitted by law we disclaim implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

9. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Fishlert and its officers, employees and contractors are not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages. Aggregate liability for any direct claim is limited to the greater of (a) fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose or (b) US$100. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

10. Governing law & disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, USA, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Disputes will be brought in the state or federal courts located in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, and you consent to that jurisdiction.

11. Definitions

• Partner. A business that uses Fishlert to send SMS — a Distributor, Harbormaster, or single Fisherman.
• Buyer. A person or business that opts in to receive a Partner’s catch alerts via Fishlert.
• Opt-In Request. The first SMS Fishlert sends a Buyer naming the Partner and asking them to reply YES.
• Catch Alert. Any marketing-shaped SMS broadcast by a Partner to their Buyers about fresh inventory.
• Captain. A sender (e.g. an individual boat on a Harbormaster account) authorised to text catches into a Partner’s number.

12. Changes

We may update these terms; when we do we bump the version label at the top. Continued use after a material change constitutes acceptance, and (for Partners) we will require an explicit re-acceptance from the admin before further blasts are sent.

13. Contact

Fishlert Inc.
hello@fishlert.com

These terms are intended to be reviewed by legal counsel before being relied upon for any production launch. Nothing here is legal advice.