Fishing vessel worker

Fishing vessel workers go to sea to catch and bring back fish. Fishing crews are made up of people who have different tasks and responsibilities. The work can involve operating equipment, navigation, grading fish by size, gutting them and stowing them in ice or tanks.

Work activities

Fishing vessel workers hunt for fish, collect and sort the catch and return it to shore for sale. On a typical 20 metre fishing vessel, there will be a crew of five or six people, spending several days at sea. The crew is made up of people with different tasks. Most people start out as deckhands. They have a range of responsibilities, including operating the equipment (gear) that shoots fishing nets into the water and then hauls them back in.

Other tasks are:

Grading the fish by size.
Gutting the fish and storing them in ice or sea water tanks.
Maintaining and repairing nets and equipment.
Helping with watch-keeping duties.
Preparing meals for crew members.
Keeping the vessel clean and tidy, for example, washing decks.

The mate is a more experienced member of the crew. The mate is usually out on deck but is qualified to keep watch. Mates are often responsible for making sure equipment works properly and that the catch is stored properly. On some vessels, there is an engineer, who has special responsibility for maintaining the engine, and the fishing and communications equipment.

Skippers have full responsibility for all aspects of the vessel, including safety and managing the crew. They ensure the safety of the vessel by taking account of its stability and seaworthiness. The skipper is responsible for good working relationships onboard. They make sure everyone is able to do their job properly and safely. Skippers decide where to go to find the fish and which fishing methods to use when they get there.

Skippers also manage the vessel’s business arrangements with merchants onshore and keep accurate ship records and logs of their catches. As well as their knowledge of where to find fish, Skippers monitor electronic navigation equipment, such as global positioning system (GPS) units, and fish-finding equipment such as echo sounders. Most of the work of a fishing vessel takes place up on deck, so the crew can be exposed to extreme weather. All members of the crew must follow safety procedures and be able to act quickly in an emergency. Fishing boats operate not only close to UK coastlines but also on distant fishing grounds, for example, around Norway and Greenland, so trawlers can be out at sea for weeks at a time.

Personal qualities and skills

To be a fishing vessel worker, you’ll need:

To enjoy working at sea in all types of weather.
Physical fitness; the job involves hard physical work.
Good vision; your colour vision may be tested.
Excellent teamwork skills.
The ability to use initiative and act quickly in emergencies.
A responsible attitude with the ability to follow safety and hygiene procedures.

Skippers need to have knowledge of where to find the fish and the best fishing methods to catch them. They need strong crew management and communication skills. Increasingly, even smaller boats have sophisticated technology such as electronic position finding equipment and echo sounders to find fish. Skippers must be able to monitor and control onboard technology.

Pay and opportunities

Pay rates for fishing vessel workers vary widely, depending on the sector of the industry they are employed in, the region of the UK in which they work, and their role and responsibilities. The pay rates given are approximate. Fishing crew are normally paid a share of the catch, after the owner’s share (usually around 50%) is deducted. The amount depends on your role. For example, a mate receives a greater share than a deckhand. A deckhand can expect to earn £17,400 to £26,000 per year.

Fishing vessel workers work irregular hours. They spend long hours at sea, often including shift work.

Fishing vessel workers are employed aboard a range of vessels, ranging from large processing ships, trawlers and other fishing boats to small boats inshore. Opportunities for fishing vessel workers occur in coastal ports throughout the UK. However, the deep-sea trawlers and large, 49-metre factory fishing vessels now sail only from a limited number of ports in Scotland and the North East of England.

What’s happening in this work area?

Demand for fishing vessel workers is falling. It is becoming more difficult for the industry to recruit and keep seagoing crew, in competition with safer, better paid and more sociable working conditions onshore. Around 10,000 regular crew are directly employed in the fleet, with a further 2,000 working part-time. Numbers of vessels and crew have been falling for some years.

Where are vacancies advertised?

Vacancies are advertised in local newspapers, and on the Government’s Find a Job service.

Entry routes and training

You can enter without qualifications by applying directly for a trainee job. However, before you go to sea you must, by law, complete Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) approved training in four areas, each lasting a day. These are: sea survival, first aid, fire-fighting and health and safety. Seafish Training provides these courses through a number of training providers, located around the UK.

You could apply via a level 2 (intermediate) apprenticeship in the role of fisher. Deckhands can progress to mate and then skipper positions once they have achieved the relevant qualifications. You will also need to complete a minimum period of sea service – contact Seafish Training for more information.

Most engineers start out by gaining deckhand experience and then progress through the engineering route.

With the right qualifications and, for some posts, specified periods of experience at sea, you can progress from a being a deckhand to become a mate and then a skipper (or second engineer and then chief engineer, if you follow the engineering pathway).

Qualifications

You don’t usually need any qualifications to enter relevant training, which is provided by Seafish Training.

Adult opportunities

Age limits: It is illegal for any organisation to set age limits for entry to employment, education or training, unless they can show there is a real need to have these limits.

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