Fishers and Related Fishing Workers

Summary

Fishers and fishing workers catch and trap various types of marine life.

Quick Facts: Fishers and Related Fishing Workers
2010 Median Pay	$25,590 per year $12.30 per hour
Entry-Level Education	Less than high school
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	Moderate-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2010	32,000
Job Outlook, 2010-20	-6% (Decline moderately)
Employment Change, 2010-20	-2,000

What Fishers and Related Fishing Workers Do

Fishers and related fishing workers catch and trap various types of marine life. The fish they catch are for human food, animal feed, bait, and other uses.

Work Environment

Fishers and related fishing workers work under various environmental conditions, depending on the region, body of water, and kinds of fish sought. Sometimes the work environment can be unpleasant or dangerous.

How to Become a Fisher or Related Fishing Worker

Fishers and related fishing workers usually learn on the job. No formal education is required.

Pay

The median annual wage of fishers and related fishing workers was $25,590 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of fishers and related fishing workers is expected to decline moderately (by 6 percent) from 2010 to 2020.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of fishers and related fishing workers with similar occupations.

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Contacts for More Information

Learn more about fishers and related fishing workers by contacting these additional resources.

What Fishers and Related Fishing Workers Do About this section

Fishers use nets to catch fish.

Fishers and related fishing workers catch and trap various types of marine life. The fish they catch are for human food, animal feed, bait, and other uses.

Duties

Fishers and related fishing workers typically do the following:

• Locate fish using fish-finding equipment
• Direct fishing operations and supervise crew
• Steer vessels and operate navigational instruments
• Maintain engines, fishing gear, and other onboard equipment by doing minor repairs
• Sort, pack, and store catch in holds with salt and ice
• Measure fish to ensure they comply with legal size
• Return undesirable or illegal catches to the water
• Guide nets, traps, and lines onto vessels by hand or using hoisting equipment
• Signal other workers to move, hoist, and position loads

To plot the ship's course, fishing boat captains use compasses, charts, and electronic navigational equipment, including global positioning systems (GPS). They also use radar and sonar to avoid obstacles above and below the water and to find fish.

Some fishers work in deep water on large fishing boats that are equipped for long stays at sea. Some process the fish they catch on board and prepare them for sale.

Other fishers work in shallow water on small boats that often have a crew of only one or two members. They might put nets across the mouths of rivers or inlets or pots and traps for fish or shellfish, such as lobsters and crabs, or use dredges to gather other shellfish, such as oysters and scallops.

A small portion of commercial fishing requires diving with diving suits or scuba gear. These divers use spears to catch fish and nets to gather shellfish, sea urchins, abalone, and sponges.

Some fishers harvest marine vegetation rather than fish. They use rakes and hoes to gather Irish moss and kelp.

Although most fishers work in commercial fishing, some in this occupation use their expertise in sport or recreational fishing.

Aquaculture—raising and harvesting fish and other aquatic life under controlled conditions in ponds or confined bodies of water—is a different occupation. For more information, see the profile for farmers, ranchers, and agricultural managers.

The following are examples of types of fishers and related fishing workers:

The fishing boat captain plans and oversees the fishing operation, fish to be sought, location of the best fishing grounds, method of capture, duration of the trip, and sale of the catch. Captains direct the fishing operation and record daily activities in the ship’s log. Increasingly, they use the Internet to bypass processors and sell fish directly to consumers, grocery stores, and restaurants.

Fishers that specialize in catching certain species include crabbers and lobster catchers.

Work Environment About this section

Fishers and fishing workers work under various environmental conditions, depending on the region, body of water, and the kind of species sought.

Fishers and related fishing workers held about 32,000 jobs in 2010. About 58 percent were self-employed. Fishing operations are conducted under various environmental conditions, depending on the region, body of water, and kinds of fish sought. Storms, fog, and wind may hamper fishing vessels or cause them to suspend fishing operations and return to port.

Although fishing gear has improved and operations have become more mechanized, netting and processing fish are strenuous activities. Newer vessels have improved living quarters and amenities, such as television and shower stalls, but crews still experience the aggravations of confined quarters and the absence of family.

Injuries

Fishers and related fishing workers often work under hazardous conditions, and transportation to a hospital or doctor often is not readily available when injuries do occur. The crew must guard against the danger of injury from malfunctioning fishing gear, entanglement in fishing nets and gear, slippery decks, ice formation, or large waves washing over the deck. Malfunctioning navigation or communication equipment may lead to collisions or shipwrecks.

Work Schedules

Fishers and related fishing workers endure strenuous outdoor work and long hours. Commercial fishing trips may require a stay of weeks or months away from the home port. Lookout watches are a regular responsibility, and crewmembers stand watch at prearranged times of the day or night.

Many fishers are seasonal workers, and those jobs are usually filled by students and by people from other occupations, such as teachers. For example, salmon season in Alaska makes employment of fishers in that state more than double in the summer.

How to Become a Fisher or Related Fishing Worker About this section

Fishers and related fishing workers usually acquire their occupational skills on the job.

Fishers and related fishing workers usually learn on the job. No formal education is required.

Training

Most fishers learn on the job. They start by finding work through family or friends, or simply by walking around the docks and asking for employment. Some larger trawlers and processing ships are run by larger companies, in which new workers can apply through the companies’ human resources department. Operators of large commercial fishing vessels must complete a Coast Guard-approved training course.

Education

Formal education is not required to be a fisher. However, by enrolling in 2-year vocational-technical programs offered by some high schools, fishers can improve their chances of getting a job. In addition, some community colleges and universities offer fishery technology and related programs that include courses in seamanship, vessel operations, marine safety, navigation, vessel repair, and fishing gear technology. Secondary and postsecondary programs are typically near coastal areas and include hands-on experience.

Experienced fishers may find short-term workshops especially useful. These workshops generally are offered through postsecondary institutions and provide a good working knowledge of electronic equipment used in navigation and communication.

Important Qualities

Analytical skills. Fishers and related fishing workers must measure the quality of their catch, which requires precision and accuracy.

Critical-thinking skills. Fishers and related fishing workers reach conclusions through sound reasoning and judgment. They determine how to improve the catch and must react appropriately to weather conditions.

Listening skills. Fishers and related fishing workers need to work well with others—they take instructions from captains and others—so effective listening is critical.

Machine operation skills. Fishers and related fishing workers must be able to operate complex fishing machinery competently and occasionally do routine maintenance.

Physical fitness. Fishers and related fishing workers must have hand dexterity, physical strength, and coordination to perform difficult tasks repeatedly.

Physical stamina. Fishers and related fishing workers must be able to work long hours, often in strenuous conditions.

Licenses

Captains of fishing boats must be licensed.

Crewmembers on certain fish-processing vessels may need a merchant mariner’s document. The U.S. Coast Guard issues these documents and licenses to people who meet the specific health, physical, and academic requirements.

States set licensing requirements for boats operating in state waters, defined as inland waters and waters within 3 miles of the coast.

Fishers need a permit to fish in almost any water. Permits are distributed by states for state waters and by regional fishing councils for federal waters. The permits specify the fishing season, the type and amount of fish that may be caught, as well as sometimes the type of permissible fishing gear.

Advancement

Experienced, reliable fishing boat deckhands can become boatswains, then second mates, first mates, and, finally, captains.  Those who are interested in ship engineering may get experience with maintaining and repairing ship engines to become licensed chief engineers on large commercial boats. That requires meeting the Coast Guard's licensing requirements. For more information, see the profile for water transportation occupations.

Almost all captains are self-employed, and most eventually own, or partially own, one or more fishing boats.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of fishers and related fishing workers was $25,590 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $17,300, and the top 10 percent earned more than $40,200.

Fishers and related fishing workers endure strenuous outdoor work and long hours. Commercial fishing trips may require a stay of weeks or months away from the home port. Lookout watches are a regular responsibility, and crewmembers stand watch at prearranged times of the day or night.

Many fishers are seasonal workers, and those jobs are usually filled by students and by people from other occupations, such as teachers. For example, salmon season in Alaska makes employment of fishers in that state more than double in the summer.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of fishers and related fishing workers is expected to decline moderately (by 6 percent) from 2010 to 2020.

Fishers and related fishing workers depend on the natural ability of fish stocks to replenish themselves through growth and reproduction. They also depend on governmental regulation to promote replenishment of fisheries. Because the use of sophisticated equipment has raised the efficiency of finding fish stocks, the need for setting limits to catches also has risen. Additionally, improvements in fishing gear and highly automated floating processors have increased fish hauls.

Fisheries councils issue various restrictions to prevent overharvesting and to allow stocks of fish and shellfish to replenish naturally. Fishing councils are shifting to an individual quota system that tends to reduce employment. Nonetheless, such a system benefits workers who remain in the industry because it lengthens the fishing seasons and steadies employment.

Rising seafood imports and increasing competition from farm-raised fish are adversely affecting fishing income and also are causing some fishers to leave the industry. However, because competition from farm-raised and imported seafood tends to be concentrated in specific species, some regions are more affected than others.

Governmental efforts to replenish stocks are having some positive results, which should increase fish stocks in the future. Efforts by private fishers’ associations on the West Coast to increase government monitoring of fisheries may help prevent the type of decline in fish stocks found in waters off the East Coast. Nevertheless, pollution is now recognized as a new factor affecting the reproduction of fish, and it may take many years to improve that situation.

Job Prospects

Most job openings will result from the need to replace fishers and related fishing workers who leave the occupation because of the strenuous and hazardous nature of the job and the lack of a steady year-round income. The best prospects should be with large fishing operations; opportunities with small independent fishers are expected to be limited.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For more information about licensing of fishing boat captains and about requirements for merchant mariner documentation, visit

National Maritime Center, Coast Guard Headquarters