Fishing crew pay: shares explained

How the share system works

Instead of an hourly wage, a fishing crew is paid a percentage of what the boat lands and sells, after boat expenses (fuel, bait, ice) are usually deducted. The captain or licence holder takes the largest share since they carry the licence, the boat, and the business risk; deckhands are paid a smaller, experience-based percentage on top of that.

Typical shares by role (estimate, not a sourced figure)

A bait boy or junior deckhand new to a boat might work for roughly 10% of the catch; a junior sternman with a season or two of experience might see roughly 15%; a senior, trusted sternman can see roughly 20%. These percentages are an estimate, not a sourced figure -- no government or industry body publishes a typical crew-share range (checked 2026-09-08 against DFO, Nova Scotia's Labour Standards Code, the Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters, and FFAW-Unifor; none of them do). Share deals are negotiated boat by boat between the licence holder and the crew, and actual take-home pay from any of these shares depends entirely on that season's catch volume and shore price, which both vary a lot year to year -- treat the percentages above as a rough, unverified starting point for a conversation with a specific captain, not a number to plan around.

Owner-captains and licence value

An owner-captain carries the licence, the boat, and the gear, and takes home the largest share of the season's earnings -- but also absorbs every cost and risk the season brings. Leasing a licence instead of buying one lowers the upfront cost but also lowers the leaseholder's take, since the licence owner takes a cut for the lease. Licence values vary enormously by area, fishery, and licence type and are not something this page has a sourced figure for -- see our licence cost hub for that detail.

Snow crab and other fisheries

Snow crab crews work a much shorter season (roughly 2-3 months) but can see meaningfully different pay given the shorter timeline and different catch value -- the same share-based structure applies. See our seasons hub for how fishery and area affect season length.

Pay by province: Nova Scotia and PEI

The share system above applies everywhere in Canada, so there's no single "salary" for a commercial fisherman -- but Job Bank's wage report for the Fisherman/woman occupation does break out by province, which is the closest sourced comparison point available. Nova Scotia shows a low of $19.77/hour, median $30.00/hour, and high $60.00/hour; Prince Edward Island shows a low of $17.50/hour, median $25.00/hour, and high $45.00/hour (both updated November 19, 2025, accessed 2026-09-13). Job Bank doesn't break these figures down further by fishery (lobster vs. crab vs. groundfish) or by whether someone is paid a wage or a share, so read them as a general wage comparison across all of that province's fisheries -- not a lobster-specific figure, and not a substitute for the share percentages above.

Commercial fishing income is also taxed differently than a salaried job: most crew paid a share of the catch are self-employed "sharespeople" for CRA purposes, even in a year they also receive a T4 slip for EI purposes. See our crew share, EI and tax page for the full, sourced breakdown of how that works, what EI fishing benefits pay out, and what Form T2121 covers -- general information, not tax advice.

Sources

• Government of Canada Job Bank -- Fisherman/woman, Canada — accessed 2026-09-08, wages updated November 19, 2025.
• Government of Canada Job Bank -- Fisherman/woman, Nova Scotia — accessed 2026-09-13, wages updated November 19, 2025.
• Government of Canada Job Bank -- Fisherman/woman, Prince Edward Island — accessed 2026-09-13, wages updated November 19, 2025.

No source is listed for the 10/15/20% crew-share figures above because none exists -- DFO, Nova Scotia's Labour Standards Code, the Canadian Council of Professional Fish Harvesters, and FFAW-Unifor were checked (2026-09-08) and none publish a typical crew-share range.