Fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c.: average salary and pay in the UK
Full-time fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c. in the UK earned a median £26,737 in the year to 5 April 2025, according to the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE): 32% less than the £39,039 median for all full-time jobs.
What the figures show
It is in the lowest-paid third of the 382 occupations (41st from the bottom).
Median full-time pay: women £21,316 a year, men £27,703 a year.
Paid hours are long: a full-time median of 40 a week including overtime, against 37.5 across all jobs.
About 72% of the roughly 18,000 employee jobs are full-time.
From £21,351 in 2021, the median is up 25.2%, close to the 25.0% for all jobs.
The Annual Population Survey counts 23,800 people in this line of work across the UK.
Pay distribution, 2025 provisional
| Gross pay | Full-time, annual | Full-time, weekly | Full-time, hourly | All, weekly | All, hourly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th percentile | – | £474.50 | £12.21 | – | – |
| 20th percentile | £21,116 | £497.60 | £12.28 | – | £12.21 |
| 25th percentile | £22,544 | £499.80 | £12.44 | – | £12.24 |
| 30th percentile | £23,815 | £512.40 | £12.45 | £439.00* | £12.44 |
| 40th percentile | £25,535 | £536.50 | £12.90 | £489.50 | £12.60 |
| Median (50th percentile) | £26,737 | £571.50 | £13.49 | £510.60 | £13.00 |
| 60th percentile | £27,854 | £616.20 | £13.92 | £546.80 | £13.58 |
| 70th percentile | £29,894* | £653.60 | £14.63 | £609.00 | £14.32 |
| 75th percentile | – | £671.00 | £15.16 | £627.50 | £14.65 |
| 80th percentile | – | – | – | £654.40* | £15.23* |
| Mean | £27,660 | £608.50 | £14.23 | £489.40 | £14.02 |
Pay since 2021
| ASHE year | Full-time, annual median | Full-time, weekly median | Full-time, hourly median | All, annual median | All, weekly median | Jobs (thousands, indicative) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 revised | £21,351 | £420.60 | £9.96 | £18,610 | £380.20 | 21 |
| 2022 revised | £22,228 | £440.60 | £10.53 | – | £395.00 | 18* |
| 2023 revised | £23,793 | £474.50 | £11.54 | £21,558 | £437.30 | 21 |
| 2024 revised | £25,684 | £519.60 | £12.62 | £23,397 | £481.30 | 16 |
| 2025 provisional | £26,737 | £571.50 | £13.49 | – | £510.60 | 18* |
Fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c. by region
UK: 23,800 (± 6,000), April 2025 to March 2026.
Annual Population Survey (Nomis)
What fishing and other elementary agriculture occupations n.e.c. do
Job holders in this unit group perform a variety of tasks in relation to the breeding and rearing of animals and fish, catch fish at sea and from inland waterways, assist in the picking and lifting of crops, plant and maintain hedges, oversee the incubation and hatching of eggs and perform other fishing and elementary agricultural tasks not elsewhere classified in minor group 911: Elementary agricultural occupations. (ONS SOC 2020, 9119)
Also covers: grass cutter, hatchery worker (fishing), horticultural worker, labourer (landscape gardening), mushroom picker, nursery worker, aquarium attendant, artificial inseminator, bait digger, bird catcher, bovine technician, breeder (fish), breeder (maggot), breeder (mealworm), bulb worker, chick sexer, chicken catcher and cockle picker (137 titles in the ONS coding index).
- Assists with the shooting, hauling and repairing of nets, prepares, lays and empties baited pots at intervals, operates winches and lifting gear, and guts, sorts and stows fish
- Harvests oysters, mussels, clams and seaweed off natural or artificial beds, nets river fish and maintains them in spawning pens, assists with feeding and water treatment, and empties and cleans outdoor tanks
- Cleans animals’ quarters and renews bedding as necessary
- Extracts semen for storage, selects appropriate semen from store, injects recipient animal and issues certificate giving pedigree and date of insemination
- Incubates eggs in hatchery and supplies chicks for meat and egg production and game birds for reserves
- Plants cuttings or shrubs, maintains hedges by clipping, pruning and re-planting, and picks fruit, vegetables, hops and flowers
There are no minimum academic entry requirements. Training is typically received on-the-job, supplemented by vocational training at an agricultural college. A variety of vocational qualifications in Agriculture and Fish Husbandry are available at levels 2 and 3 and in Maritime Studies: Sea Fishing at level2. Apprenticeships are available in some areas. Fishermen/women are required to undertake safety courses before and during the early stages of employment.
Related
Elementary agricultural occupations (median £28,509) · Forestry and related workers · Farm workers · salary percentile · Average weekly hours worked in the UK · Median
ASHE Table 14: 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 · coding index · notes · 15 October 2026