Farming, fishing and forestry
Fishing and hunting workers
Hunt, trap, catch, or gather wild animals or aquatic animals and plants. May use nets, traps, or other equipment. May haul catch onto ship or other vessel.
Median pay
—
Growth to 2035
−4%
declining
Openings a year
3,300
Time to qualify*
6 months
* From a bachelor's degree in an unrelated field.
Pay
Fishing and hunting workers: BLS publishes hourly pay only for this job.
Getting in
- Typical entry education
- No formal educational credential
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Prior experience
- None
What the work is like
Dealing with the public
Unpleasant or angry people
Time pressure
Cost of a mistake
Freedom to make decisions
Repeating the same tasks
Time sitting
Time standing
Outdoors in all weather
Hazardous conditions
Exposure to disease
Fishing and hunting workers: 80% usually work over 40 hours a week
Core tasks
- Steer vessels and operate navigational instruments.
- Remove catches from fishing equipment and measure them to ensure compliance with legal size.
- Direct fishing or hunting operations, and supervise crew members.
- Interpret weather and vessel conditions to determine appropriate responses.
- Travel on foot, by vehicle, or by equipment such as boats, snowmobiles, helicopters, snowshoes, or skis to reach hunting areas.
- Select, bait, and set traps, and lay poison along trails, according to species, size, habits, and environs of birds or animals and reasons for trapping them.
- Maintain engines, fishing gear, and other on-board equipment and perform minor repairs.
- Connect accessories such as floats, weights, flags, lights, or markers to nets, lines, or traps.
Also called: Commercial Fisherman · Commercial Fishing Vessel Operator · Deckhand · Fisherman · Fur Trapper · Hunter · Lobster Fisherman · Nuisance Trapper
Outlook and AI
Fishing and hunting workers held 28,200 jobs in 2025. BLS projects 27,000 by 2035 (−4%, declining; all jobs: +3.5%).
Compare with
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Sailors and marine oilers
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Motorboat operator
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Captains, mates, and pilots of water vessels
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Farmworkers, farm, ranch, and aquacultural animals
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Farmworkers and laborers, crop, nursery, and greenhouse
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Forest and conservation workers
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Meat, poultry, and fish cutters and trimmers
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Agricultural equipment operator
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Fish and game wardens
- Fishing and hunting workers vs. Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand