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Career overview · SOC 45-3031

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.

Also called: Commercial Fisherman · Commercial Fishing Vessel Operator · Deckhand · Fisherman · Fur Trapper · Hunter

Outlook 2024–34
-4.6%
~2,800 openings/yr
Typical entry
No formal educational credential

What the numbers say

Refit analysis ·Employment is projected to change -4.6% from 2024 to 2034 — a projected decline, against +3% across all occupations. Even so, BLS projects about 2,800 openings a year, mostly to replace workers who retire or change careers.
Refit analysis ·O*NET rates Critical Thinking, Speaking, Monitoring as the highest-importance skills here — so a resume aimed at this role should lead with evidence of those, not a generic skills list.

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Top skills employers ask for

Ranked by O*NET importance for this occupation.

  • Critical Thinking
  • Speaking
  • Monitoring
  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Learning Strategies
  • Active Learning
  • Writing
  • Mathematics
  • Science

What they actually do

Core O*NET tasks for this role.

  • 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.
  • Harvest marine life for human or animal consumption, using diving or dredging equipment, traps, barges, rods, reels, or tackle.
  • Oversee the purchase of supplies, gear, and equipment.

Tools & technology

  • Catchlog Trading Catchlog
  • DeerDays
  • Inventory management systems
  • MaxSea Time Zero Navigator NOAA
  • MaxSea TIMEZERO
  • OLRAC Electronic Logbook Software Solution
  • P-Sea WindPlot
  • Signet Nobeltec Catch
  • Strat-Tech Deer Hunting Expert
  • Trimble MyTopo Terrain Navigator Pro
  • Winchester Ammunition Ballistics Calculator
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software

Knowledge areas

  • Geography
  • Mechanical
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Law and Government
  • Biology
  • Sales and Marketing
  • English Language
  • Education and Training