Crab fisherman salary: what commercial fishing really pays
The television version says $50,000 in a season. The federal data says the top 10% of the occupation earn $48,170 a year. Both are misleading, and the gap between them is the most useful thing on this page.
Highest paying outdoor jobs → Crab fisherman
- 10th percentile
- $18,710
- 90th percentile
- $48,170
- Median
- Not currently published
- Entry
- No formal credential
- Jobs
- 21,900
- Growth to 2034
- −5%
Why there is no median
BLS does not currently publish an annual median wage for fishing and hunting workers. The Occupational Outlook Handbook page still carries a median from May 2017 ($28,530) in its text, while the current quick-facts figure is blank.
That is not an oversight so much as a reflection of the occupation. When most of the workforce is self-employed or paid on crew shares that vary with the catch, the price and the season, an annual median is hard to produce and would not describe many people's year anyway.
What BLS does publish for May 2024 are percentiles for wage-and-salary workers: the lowest 10% earn less than $18,710 and the highest 10% more than $48,170. Read those as describing employed crew, not skippers, not quota holders, and not the good years.
So what about the six-figure season?
The famous figures come from Bering Sea crab — a short, extremely intense, extremely dangerous fishery where a good crew share on a good boat in a good season genuinely can be very large. Those seasons are real. They are also:
- A tiny fraction of commercial fishing. Most of the 21,900 people in this occupation are not on Bering Sea crab boats.
- Dependent on quota and stock. Alaska crab fisheries have been closed or severely restricted in recent years when stock assessments required it. A fishery that does not open pays nothing at all.
- Not a salary. A crew share is a percentage of the boat's revenue after expenses. A bad season can mean very little for the same weeks of work and the same risk.
- Earned in a few brutal weeks, not spread across a year — which is why comparing it to an annual median is meaningless in both directions.
The danger is not a storyline
BLS notes plainly that fishing and hunting workers "often work under hazardous conditions that can lead to injuries or fatalities." Commercial fishing has for many years been among the most dangerous occupations in the United States by fatal injury rate — cold water, heavy gear under tension, unstable decks, fatigue, and distance from rescue.
This is the one job on this site where the hazard is not a footnote to the pay discussion but the central fact of it. The money in the best fisheries exists partly because of what is being risked to earn it.
How to get in
The formal barrier is nil. BLS records that fishing and hunting workers "usually learn on the job" and that no formal education is required, with moderate-term on-the-job training.
- Deckhand is the entry role. Crews are hired through the docks, through people who already fish, and through regional job boards in fishing ports.
- Safety training is required for commercial vessels, and drills are mandatory. Take it seriously; the people who have done this a long time do.
- Ask exactly how you are paid before you sail — share percentage, what is deducted before shares are calculated, and who pays for what. This is the single most important question and it is not always volunteered.
- Employment is declining — 21,900 workers, projected down 5% to 2034 — driven by stock management, consolidation and quota systems.
Common questions
How much do crab fishermen make?
There is no reliable national figure. BLS does not currently publish a median for fishing and hunting workers, and reports 10th and 90th percentiles of $18,710 and $48,170 for wage-and-salary workers in May 2024. Bering Sea crab crew shares can far exceed that in a strong season, but crew shares vary with catch, price and whether the fishery opens at all.
Why does BLS not publish a median for this job?
Because most of the workforce is self-employed or paid a share of the catch rather than a wage, and wage surveys capture employees. The OOH page still carries a median from May 2017 in its text while the current figure is blank.
Is commercial fishing really that dangerous?
Yes. BLS states that fishing and hunting workers often work under hazardous conditions that can lead to injuries or fatalities, and commercial fishing has long been among the most dangerous occupations in the United States by fatal injury rate.
Do you need qualifications to work on a fishing boat?
No formal education is required — workers usually learn on the job with moderate-term training. Vessel safety training and drills are mandatory. The practical barrier is getting hired onto a boat, which happens through the docks and through people who already fish.
Sources
- Wage data
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Outlook Handbook — Fishing and Hunting Workers, national. 10th percentile $18,710 and 90th percentile $48,170, May 2024. Retrieved 11 August 2026.
- The missing median
- Not published. The OOH quick-facts median for this occupation is blank, and the page text still carries a May 2017 figure of $28,530. We have not used the 2017 number as if it were current, and we have not substituted an estimate.
- Employment
- 21,900 in 2024, projected −5% to 2034. Entry: no formal educational credential, moderate-term on-the-job training.
- What we did not publish
- Any crew-share figure, season earnings, or "average Bering Sea crab" number. These circulate widely and none of them has a rigorous national source. Share arrangements vary by boat, fishery, year and contract.
- Corrections
- If a figure here is wrong or out of date, tell us and we will fix it and note the change.