The Florida Harbor Pilots Association (FHPA) rejected the outcome of a study that calls the state's pilot system a monopoly that limits pilot numbers and inflates pilots average salaries to $368,000 per year.

The study, commissioned by the Florida Alliance of Maritime Organizations (FAMO), said that harbor pilots make more than $4,000 an hour in some ports. Harbor pilots board cargo and cruise ships and help guide them through congested harbors.

FHPA spokeswoman Sarah Bascom said the organization’s concerns with the study were "numerous."

Bascom said the salary quoted in the study was "too high," but said the association doesn’t keep track of members' average paychecks because harbor pilots are paid by how much they work. So in busy ports like Miami, pilots make much more than in slower ports like Pensacola.

"We focus on the rates," Bascom said. "The rates are set and reviewed by the pilot rate review board, by tonnage and the length of ship. There is a very regimented system in place to deal with the rates. They don’t mention rates because they can’t. Our rates are among the lowest in the country and the lowest on the Eastern Seaboard."

Bascom said that the FHPA was not consulted for the study.

She said the bid was rejected because pilots are private and the state said it could not freeze rates on a position that is not state-funded.

"FAMO is a group of foreign-flagged ships that do not want to spend the money to have a state-mandated harbor pilot," Bascom said. "They make billions in profits, and they don’t think it behooves them to pay $200,000 to $300,000 per year to keep ports safe?"

Bascom said the study did not take into account harbor pilots' level of expertise, experience and training. She said the average harbor pilot has a naval or maritime degree and eight to 12 years of experience.

"They are extremely skilled, highly trained and have a very specific skill set," she said. "You don’t want somebody with the least amount of experience making the least amount of money doing this job. If there were an incident, it would shut down that port."