How to become a Fishing Vessel Crew Member
Official Chinese title (2022 occupational classification): 渔业船员
Also called: Fishing Vessel Skipper, Fishing Vessel Electrician, Fishing Vessel Radio Operator, Fishing Vessel Engine Driver, Deckhand, Fishing Vessel Engineer, Fisheries Observer
Operates fishing vessels, catches fish with the gear on board and handles the catch.
Main tasks
- Choosing fishing areas and times to suit the season and the catch
- Operating navigation and steering equipment to control departure, berthing, course and speed
- Operating engines and electrical equipment to power the vessel and its work
- Operating radio equipment to send and receive navigation and fishing information
- Operating winches and line haulers to set and haul nets or lines
- Operating washing, cutting and freezing equipment to sort, cut, prepare and freeze the catch
- Checking, cleaning and maintaining facilities, equipment and tools on board
Ways in
- National qualification: Licence to practise: Seafarer Qualification (including fishing vessel crew). You need this qualification to work in the job. Listed in the national vocational qualifications catalogue (国家职业资格目录, 2021) as Seafarer Qualification (including fishing vessel crew) (船员资格（含船员、渔业船员）), run by Ministry of Transport; Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. Peernovo links it to this occupation.
AI and this job
- Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- The census group Fishery Production Workers holds 0.37% of everyone employed in China; 26% of its workers are women (2020 Census).
- 15.7% are under 35, 53.5% are 35 to 54 and 30.8% are 55 or older. The middle age band is 45 to 49.
- Census figures for the whole mid group (2020 long-form sample), not for this job alone.
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Questions people ask
Will AI change the work of a Fishing Vessel Crew Member?
Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- National Bureau of Statistics of China: China Population Census Yearbook 2020, long-form tables 4-6 and 4-7 (employed by occupation mid group, sex, age) (2020 Census long form (10% sample)), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
Sources: Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition, public consultation draft), Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, State Administration for Market Regulation and National Bureau of Statistics; Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, 2025 enterprise pay survey information; Guangzhou Human Resources and Social Security Bureau, 2025 labour market wage prices; National Bureau of Statistics of China (www.stats.gov.cn), 2020 Population Census yearbook; Ministry of Education, vocational education major profiles (2022 revision) and undergraduate major catalogue (2025); Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security, national vocational qualifications catalogue (2021); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Figures processed by Peernovo. English text, translations and the matching of occupations to ISCO-08, majors, degree fields and qualifications by Peernovo.
Descriptions and tasks are Peernovo's own words, written from the facts in the Occupational Classification of the People's Republic of China (2022 edition). Job titles and work types are the classification's own.
Updated 4 October 2026