How to become an inland and coastal waters fishery worker

Official title: Inland and coastal waters fishery workers

Also called: Coastal fishery skipper, Fisher (coastal waters), Fisher (inland waters)

Inland and coastal waters fishery workers, alone or as members of fishing-vessel crews, catch fish or gather other forms of aquatic life in inland or coastal waters for sale or delivery on a regular basis to wholesale buyers, marketing organizations or at markets.

Main tasks

• Preparing and repairing nets and other fishing gear and equipment
• Selecting areas for fishing, plotting courses and computing navigational positions using compass, charts and other aids
• Operating fishing vessels to, from and at fishing grounds
• Baiting, setting, operating and hauling in fishing gear by hand or using hoisting equipment
• Gathering various forms of aquatic life from shores and shallow waters
• Maintaining engine fishing gear and other on-board equipment
• Keeping records of transactions, fishing activities, weather and sea conditions, and estimating costs and budgets
• Sorting and storing catch in holds with salt and ice
• Removing catches from fishing equipment, measuring them to ensure compliance with legal size and returning undesirable or illegal catches to the water
• Directing fishing operations, and supervising fishing crew members

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• Median pay: HK$15,500 a month
• About 387,500 people in 2025, and about 403,200 projected by 2028. (+4.1%)
• Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Related jobs

• Aquaculture workers
• Deep-sea fishery workers

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Questions people ask

Do you need a degree to become an inland and coastal waters fishery worker?

Usually not. Only 6% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of an inland and coastal waters fishery worker?

Generative AI can do relatively little of this work, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

• Census and Statistics Department (2021 Population Census): 2021 Population Census, Interactive Data Dissemination Service: working population by occupation (38 groups) and sex, age, education, income; median income and field of education (9 groups) (2021 Population Census), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Census and Statistics Department (General Household Survey): Median monthly employment earnings by occupation (9 groups), excluding foreign domestic helpers (Table 210-06317A); employed persons by occupation, age and sex (210-06307A) and by industry (210-06308A) (2025 annual (series to 2026-07)), retrieved 4 October 2026
• Labour and Welfare Bureau; tables published by C&SD: Mid-term Update of Manpower Projection to 2028: supplementary statistical tables (5 occupation groups, 17 selected industries) (2025 to 2028 (published 2026-09)), 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

Updated 4 October 2026