Money · 1 of 4
What commercial fishers make
Median for the group
$36,630
Bottom tenth
$31,760
Top tenth
$58,220
The federal wage survey publishes no national pay figures for fishers on their own, because most are self employed or paid a share of the catch instead of a wage. The closest official figures are for the wider group they are counted in, Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Occupations: a 2025 median of $36,630 a year, with the bottom tenth earning $31,760 or less and the top tenth $58,220 or more. Most of that group work on farms, so treat these as a rough guide, not a measurement of what a season at sea pays.