Breaking into the commercial fishing industry can be tough for those not from a fishing town or family. To address this, the National Future Fishermen Coalition is working to bring the next generation of deckhands and captains to the fleets from Alaska to the Gulf Coast and up to New England. The coalition is comprised of regional fishing organizations from around the United States, most of whom had already initiated deckhand training programs, but saw the necessity of joining forces, sharing knowledge, and collaborating for a unified national effort.
“The idea came together in an email chain in 2023 where people from around the U.S. realized they were all working independently to address the same problem — the greying of the fleet,” says Maité Duquela Sánchez, coordinator of the National Future Fishermen Coalition. “We officially launched in 2025 as a platform for fishermen of the next generation.”
These efforts will be presented at the first National Future Fishermen Summit on Nov. 20 at Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle. The daylong event will feature a variety of panel discussions, talks, and a chance for young fishermen from around the country to network with each other and build connections for the future.
Topics include: Navigating a long-term career in fishing and federal policy such as the Young Fishermen's Development Act passed in 2021 and reauthorized this year. The legislation, managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Sea Grant Office, provides funding for many of the regional initiatives. Yours truly will also lead a breakout panel on crew contracts based on the National Fisherman feature “Operation: Get Paid” on labor rights in the fishing industry.
A major issue for young fishermen without connections is getting on the right boat and working with the right captain to be set up for success. While most captains are upstanding individuals who run safe operations and pay fairly, we all know those barely seaworthy boats in every port with unscrupulous operators with serious character flaws and unaddressed addictions. Experienced crew know to stay away from the latter, and upstanding captains are often reluctant to hire a greenhorn with no experience. This leaves many entrants into commercial fishing to start out on boats they should probably have avoided. At least this was a part of my experience as a young deckhand trying to break into fishing.
I got into commercial fishing as a way to make a quick buck but quickly found it wasn’t that easy. I had a friend from college who worked on boats in Alaska. He said I should quit my job at a small newspaper and head down with him to Ventura, Calif., and walk the docks for a job squid fishing. He said I could expect to make $10,000 a month. The potential payout seemed worth the risk, so I headed to Southern California.
After two weeks sleeping on the beach, I landed a job on a light boat, but things didn’t go as hoped. While I was hopelessly green, the boat was also held together with duct tape, and there was a major wiring issue with the generator. Touch two pieces of steel and you'd close the circuit and receive nasty shock, which eventually led to the death of another person a few years later. I was fired three weeks in for refusing to dump diesel contaminated with water in the ocean and had to catch a ride into port with another boat. I only had a verbal agreement for pay, and while my share would have earned me a few grand, I was never paid, or at least not until I showed up to the captain’s house a year later, but that’s another story.
Leaders of regional commercial fishing organizations are working to make stories like my own things of the past by giving young and aspiring fishermen the skills needed to be competent deckhands and reputable captains, and more assurance that the greenhorn they hire will be up to the challenges.
“Our apprenticeship is important for folks who get into it but don’t have the connection,” says Shaye Rooney, co-executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island (CFCRI) and member of the NFFC steering committee. “A big issue is safety. A lot of times it can be a big risk for captains to take on someone without experience.”
The CFCRI has had a fishermen’s apprenticeship program since 2017. The program is classroom-based training on safety, seamanship, navigation, basic vessel maintenance, gear design and repair, with at least two days at sea. Rooney says the program is to give those interested in exploring a career in commercial fishing a solid foundation before they enter the workforce. Some have excelled and made commercial fishing their trade; others have gotten a taste and realized the sea life wasn’t for them — better to learn before they’re faced with demanding days on the water.
The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) has a similar crew training program, which they launched in 2015. The program receives more than 100 applicants a year from aspiring fishermen from all over the country. The program differs from CFCRI in that rather than work in the classroom, ALFA interviews and vets applicants and provides captains with a list of potential greenhorns who they can confidently hire, says Natalie Sattler, ALFA program director. Sattler points to a former trainee who now owns a boat in Bristol Bay. ALFA also works on financing opportunities to help fishermen secure access as older participants prepare to retire.
One participant in the ALFA program also went through another Gulf of America Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance’s young fishermen program. The Gulf Coast program launched in 2018. “Our program is a high-level introduction,” says Ashford Rosenburg, the Shareholders’ Alliance regional policy director. “Our goal is for people to figure out if they want to go down this road or not. A little taste of it, if you want to learn more, here are captains and hit the grindstone.”
The upcoming National Future Fishermen’s Summit will give both regional organizations and young fishermen alike the chance to network, share information on what works and what doesn’t, and find new allies.
“We want to help young fishermen to be successful and be attached to one another and in a community bigger than their fishing town,” Rosenburg says.
