Fishing and Hunting Workers
Also called Deckhand, Lobster Fisherman, Nuisance Trapper, or Trapper
What Fishing and Hunting Workers do
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.
Who tends to enjoy it
Hands-on
People who like building, fixing, working with tools, machines, plants, or animals.
Organizing
People who like keeping things accurate, orderly, and running on schedule.
Curious
People who like figuring things out, research, science, and solving problems.
What you'd actually do
- 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.
A typical day involves
Skills that matter most
- Critical Thinking
- Coordination
- Judgment and Decision Making
- Speaking
- Monitoring
- Time Management
What you'll need to know
- Geography
- Mechanical
- Customer and Personal Service
- Law and Government
- Biology
Where to study for this
College programs that commonly lead to this career, and how many US colleges offer each.
- Fishing and Fisheries Sciences and Management 29 colleges
Related careers
Transportation and Material Moving
Captains, Mates, and Pilots of Water Vessels
Command or supervise operations of ships and water vessels, such as tugboats and ferryboats. Required to hold license issued by U.S. Coast Guard.
Medium preparation
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals
Attend to live farm, ranch, open range or aquacultural animals that may include cattle, sheep, swine, goats, horses and other equines, poultry, rabbits, finfish, shellfish, and bees. Attend to animals produced for animal products, such as meat, fur, skins, feathers, eggs, milk, and honey. Duties may include feeding, watering, herding, grazing, milking, castrating, branding, de-beaking, weighing, catching, and loading animals. May maintain records on animals; examine animals to detect diseases and injuries; assist in birth deliveries; and administer medications, vaccinations, or insecticides as appropriate. May clean and maintain animal housing areas. Includes workers who shear wool from sheep and collect eggs in hatcheries.
Little to some preparation
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse
Manually plant, cultivate, and harvest vegetables, fruits, nuts, horticultural specialties, and field crops. Use hand tools, such as shovels, trowels, hoes, tampers, pruning hooks, shears, and knives. Duties may include tilling soil and applying fertilizers; transplanting, weeding, thinning, or pruning crops; applying pesticides; or cleaning, grading, sorting, packing, and loading harvested products. May construct trellises, repair fences and farm buildings, or participate in irrigation activities.
Little to some preparation
Production
Meat, Poultry, and Fish Cutters and Trimmers
Use hands or hand tools to perform routine cutting and trimming of meat, poultry, and seafood.
Little to some preparation
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
Agricultural Equipment Operators
Drive and control equipment to support agricultural activities such as tilling soil; planting, cultivating, and harvesting crops; feeding and herding livestock; or removing animal waste. May perform tasks such as crop baling or hay bucking. May operate stationary equipment to perform post-harvest tasks such as husking, shelling, threshing, and ginning.
Little to some preparation
Transportation and Material Moving
Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand
Manually move freight, stock, luggage, or other materials, or perform other general labor. Includes all manual laborers not elsewhere classified.
Little to some preparation
Farming, Fishing, and Forestry
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers
Directly supervise and coordinate the activities of agricultural, forestry, aquacultural, and related workers.
Medium preparation
Transportation and Material Moving
Industrial Truck and Tractor Operators
Operate industrial trucks or tractors equipped to move materials around a warehouse, storage yard, factory, construction site, or similar location.
Little to some preparation
Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA), occupation 45-3031.00, used under CC BY 4.0 and modified by Whittle. Program links: NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. How we build these pages.