Catching, farming, studying, and selling the fish and shellfish that feed the world.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Commercial Fishing Vessel Captain: Runs a commercial fishing boat and its crew, from Alaska crab boats to Gulf shrimpers. Typical pay $120k.
Fisheries Economist: Studies the money side of fishing: how rules, quotas, and markets affect fishermen and coastal towns. Typical pay $115k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Fisheries Stock Assessment Scientist: Uses math and data to figure out how many fish are in the sea and how many can be caught safely. Typical pay $108k.
Lobster Fisherman: Sets and hauls traps for lobster, often as an owner-operator off New England. Typical pay $65k.
Fisheries Biologist: Studies fish populations and habitats to keep fisheries healthy. Typical pay $72k.
Aquaculture Farm Manager: Runs farms that raise fish, shrimp, oysters, or seaweed. Typical pay $75k.
Fisheries Observer: Rides along on commercial fishing boats to record what is caught for NOAA. Typical pay $60k.
Fish and Game Warden: Law enforcement officer who protects fish and wildlife, including on the water. Typical pay $66k.
Seafood Buyer: Buys seafood from boats and suppliers worldwide for restaurants, grocery chains, and distributors. Typical pay $72k.
Seafood Safety Inspector: Makes sure seafood is safe to eat, from boat to plant to plate. Typical pay $60k.
Fishing Vessel Engineer: Keeps the engines, refrigeration, and hydraulics running on a commercial fishing boat far from shore. Typical pay $90k.
Salmon Tender Operator: Runs a boat that collects fish from smaller fishing boats at sea and carries it to processors. Typical pay $60k.
Fish Auctioneer: Runs the early-morning auctions where fishermen sell their catch to seafood buyers. Typical pay $60k.
Caviar Producer: Raises sturgeon for 7 to 10 years on a fish farm, checks their eggs by ultrasound, and turns the roe into caviar. Typical pay $62k.
Tuna Grader: Judges the quality of tuna by color, fat and texture to set its price, especially for sushi markets in the U.S. and Japan. Typical pay $65k.
Starter: fastest way in
Commercial Fishing Deckhand: Works on deck hauling nets, pots, and lines on commercial fishing boats. Typical pay $38k.
Oyster Farmer: Grows oysters and clams in coastal waters and sells them to restaurants. Typical pay $45k.
Fish Hatchery Technician: Raises young fish in hatcheries to restock rivers, lakes, and oceans. Typical pay $46k.
Seafood Processing Worker: Cleans, cuts, and packages fish and shellfish in processing plants or on factory ships. Typical pay $37k.
Fishmonger: Sells and prepares fresh seafood at markets and grocery counters. Typical pay $40k.
Sushi Chef: Prepares sushi and sashimi with expert knife skills. Typical pay $45k.
Factory Trawler Processor: Works on a huge fishing ship in Alaska, cleaning, filleting, and freezing fish right at sea. Typical pay $40k.
Oyster Shucker: Opens oysters and clams by hand at seafood plants and raw bars, quickly and safely. Typical pay $38k.
Elver Fisherman: Catches baby eels, called elvers, in Maine rivers during a short spring season. They can sell for thousands of dollars a pound. Typical pay $30k.
Shellfish Harvester: Harvests wild clams, oysters, and mussels from tidal flats and bays by hand or with rakes and tongs. Typical pay $37k.
Bluefin Tuna Harpooner: Stands on a long pulpit at the front of a boat and throws a hand harpoon at giant bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine. Typical pay $50k.
Crawfish Farmer: Raises crawfish in flooded rice fields in Louisiana, running hundreds of traps from a small boat each morning. Typical pay $45k.
Fish Smokehouse Operator: Brines and smokes salmon, whitefish and other fish over wood, following strict safety steps to make lox and smoked fish. Typical pay $42k.
Set-Net Salmon Fisher: Holds a permit for a beach site in Alaska and anchors nets from shore to catch salmon during a short, intense summer season. Typical pay $40k.
Fisheries Electronic Monitoring Reviewer: Watches camera footage from fishing boats to log every fish caught and thrown back, replacing human observers on board. Typical pay $45k.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.