At the Intersection of Culture, Training, and History
The South Atlantic Regional Commercial Fishing Academy and Apprenticeship Program
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The diminishing number of commercial fishers threatens the resilience of the nation’s seafood industry — but apprenticeship programs offer a solution.
North Carolina’s seafood is a key industry, providing over $300 million in economic impact across the state. However, commercial fishers are aging and shrinking in number as younger people explore careers outside the industry. This “graying of the fleet” threatens the resilience of the nation’s seafood industry.
“Conversations with industry professionals in recent years have indicated there’s a lack of reliable, competent, and consistent help, which threatens the viability of their seafood operations,” says Sara Mirabilio, fisheries extension specialist with North Carolina Sea Grant.
To address this concern, Mirabilio partnered last year with Sea Grant extension professionals in South Carolina and Georgia, as well as with Carteret Community College’s Marine Trades program and the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) to offer a unique program designed to prepare new recruits for the South Atlantic commercial seafood industry. This program — the Commercial Fishing Academy — provided the kind of training necessary to excel.
“Fisheries stakeholders have indicated that field-based, hands-on learning alongside established industry mentors is essential to individuals aspiring to work in the commercial seafood sector,” Mirabilio explains. This suggests “apprenticeships as a pathway to cultivate the necessary skillset.”
While several commercial fishing apprenticeship programs exist in other parts of the country, no such programs exist in the South Atlantic Region.
In the inaugural program, 13 participants completed 48 hours of classroom instruction, and 11 of these graduates each experienced 100 hours of industry apprenticeship. Course topics ranged from navigation and seamanship to maintenance of marine diesel and outboard engines, along with fish identification and the basics of fisheries management and regulations.
In addition to identified safety skills, other topics included liability, financial literacy, and business management. The partnership with AMSEA also provided each enrollee with over 10 hours of U.S. Coast Guard-approved marine safety training.
“The notion of just being a ‘good fisherman’ is not enough to remain successful in the industry anymore,” says Mirabilio. “Demonstrating sound business practices and being financially literate, along with possessing a mix of relevant technical skills, is essential to prosper in the industry these days.”
While training is key, career development is also an important aspect of supporting the next generation of people who make their living off the water.
“The apprenticeship opened up several opportunities in seafood, including part-time work,” says one participant, “and it helped me establish a good relationship with a large seafood buyer in my area.”
Of the 11 program graduates, four now work as full-time crew on a commercial fishing boat. Two graduates are working the water for supplemental income, with one acquiring a North Carolina Standard Commercial Fishing License (SCFL) and starting a seafood business. Two are in between crew contracts and searching for steady, full-time industry employment, and one graduate has pursued shellfish farming for supplemental income.
“This program has definitely helped me realize that the seafood industry is something that I really want to be part of,” says another participant. “I’m excited to apply the things I learned while in the program,” which provided “people and resources to help me find a place where I fit.”
The Academy benefited not only participants, but also participating businesses. “I was blessed to be connected with good men who have become friends,” says one host seafood business owner. “These people have a long-term goal, and I will be able to help them achieve it.”
He adds that “the academy gave the students the tools to venture out into the commercial fishing world. But without the apprenticeship, there would be no nuts and bolts on how, where, or when to try to catch fish.”
North Carolina Sea Grant funded this program through NOAA’s career development projects for young fishers.
Participating industry hosts
- Endurance Seafood in Oriental, NC
- Captain Jim’s Seafood Market in Morehead City, NC
- Miss Gina’s Fresh Shrimp in Beaufort, NC
- Family Tithes, LLC in Sneads Ferry, NC
- Seaview Crab Company in Wilmington, NC
- Seven Seas Seafood Market in Murrells Inlet, SC
- PWY II Seafood, LLC in Mount Pleasant, SC
- Abundant Seafood in Mount Pleasant, SC
More
sustainable fisheries and aquaculture
the future of NC’s seafood industry
NOAA’s career development projects for young fishers
North Carolina Standard Commercial Fishing License
Carrie Clower is a contributing editor for Coastwatch and a science communicator for North Carolina Sea Grant. She holds an M.A. in communication studies from The University of Alabama.
