A fisher is someone who catches and/or processes fish for a living. Fishers can work alone or in teams, with both being equally common. It’s commonly recognized that fishers who work together on large vessels are able to earn more than those who do the job on their own. Fishers may do their job from a vessel or directly from the shore, though the latter limits their abilities and is not typically employed by professionals who use fishing as a primary source of income. Additionally, a fisher may work by either using a traditional fishing rod, or by catching fish in nets – both have their advantages and disadvantages and some fishermen use both methods.
There aren’t any special educational requirements for becoming a fisher – being a trade-type job, all that’s really needed is sufficient experience and skill, which can be attained by simply practicing the activity. Some fishers inherit the profession from their family, and this is especially common in some communities around the world. Joining a team of fishers is normally accompanied by a test of one’s skills, meant to determine how much the candidate knows about the fish that inhabit their particular area.
The annual income of a fisher is highly dependent on their catch. Even though some companies pay their fishers a fixed salary, most earn proportional to the amount of fish they bring in – the annual pay can vary between $25,000 – $100,000 in some of the more extreme cases. With some fish being worth over $20,000 for a single piece, various crews are able to secure solid payments on a regular basis.