Fishing boat deckhand
Deckhands maintain fishing gear and nets, process catches and keep work areas clean on fishing vessels.
Typical Salary
£21,000 – £30,000
per year
Working Hours
43–45
hours per week
Day-to-day tasks
As a fishing boat deckhand, you'll:
- load supplies and unload catches at harbourside
- operate fishing gear that sends out and brings in the nets
- sort, process and store the catch
- repair damaged nets and maintain equipment
- wash down the decks and keep the vessel tidy
- cook for crew members (on some vessels)
Skills needed
- knowledge of food production methods
- the ability to use, repair and maintain machines and tools
- to be thorough and pay attention to detail
- the ability to use your initiative
- patience and the ability to remain calm in stressful situations
- ambition and a desire to succeed
- excellent verbal communication skills
- physical skills like movement, coordination, dexterity and grace
- to be able to carry out basic tasks on a computer or hand-held device
How to get into this role
You can get into this job through:
- a college course
- an apprenticeship
- applying directly
- training through a professional body
Career progression
With experience, you could work towards becoming a skipper. Inshore skippers can operate their own small boat up to 16.5m. Further training is needed for larger vessels.
You could also use your experience to move into related areas like the Merchant Navy or harbour tug work.
If you do training in mechanical, electrical or marine engineering, you could become a trainee engineer on a fishing vessel.