Fish and Seafood Plant Workers

National Occupational Classification (NOC): 94142

Fast Facts

  • Average Pay: N/A
  • Future Growth: N/A
  • Skill Level: N/A
  • Employment Size: N/A
  • Unemployment: N/A
  • Full-time Share: N/A

Sample Job Titles

  • Fish cake maker
  • Fish canning machine operator
  • Fish cleaner and cutter
  • Fish cutting machine operator – fish processing
  • Fish plant worker
  • Seafood preparer – fish and seafood processing
  • Shellfish processor
  • Shellfish shucker
  • Trimmer – fish processing


What do fish and seafood plant workers do?

Fish and seafood plant workers include fish and seafood plant machine operators who set up and operate machinery to process and package fish and seafood products, and fish and seafood plant cutters and cleaners who cut, trim and clean fish or seafood by hand.

Fish and seafood plant machine operators perform some or all of the following duties:

  • Set up and operate machines to clean, cut, cook, smoke, brine, dehydrate or otherwise process fish or seafood products
  • Set up and operate machines to can, bag, box or otherwise package fish and seafood products
  • Check products and packaging for defects and to ensure conformance to company standards and perform corrective machine adjustments as required
  • Record production information such as quantity, weight, date and type of products packaged.

Fish and seafood plant cutters and cleaners perform, some or all of the following duties:

  • Cut, clean and trim fish or seafood prior to marketing or further processing
  • Scrape away scales, cut fish, separate fillets and remove scrap parts using knife
  • Check fish fillets to determine optimal number and size of fillet sections, cut sections according to specifications and place in container for weighing
  • Disjoint and remove meat from lobsters or other crustaceans preparatory to canning or further processing.

Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada

 

Fish and seafood plant workers primarily work in the following subsectors (NAICS) in Newfoundland and Labrador:

  • 311   Food manufacturing
  • 114   Fishing, hunting and trapping

Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada

 

Short and Long Term Occupational Projections

Short Term Projections for 2023-2025

The employment outlook will be moderate for fish and seafood plant workers in Newfoundland and Labrador (rating of 3 out of 5) for the 2023-2025 period.

Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada

 

Long Term Projections for 2023-2032

The outlook for fish and seafood plant workers is forecast to be tightening (rating of 3.1 out of 4) over the next several years, meaning new labour supply will be required to meet anticipated job openings.

Source: Department of Finance, Occupation Projections (Summer 2023)

 

Number of Job Postings in 2023

During 2023, there were 20 public job postings for this occupation, with the following distribution:

Avalon: 25% Western: 15%
Eastern: 10% Labrador: 0%
Central: 5% NL-unspecified: 45%

Source: Lightcast (note: data used in this analysis reflects new unique monthly postings which are totaled for the calendar year)



Who works as fish and seafood plant workers in Newfoundland and Labrador?

During the reference week of May 2021, there were approximately 1,245 people working in this occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador. 53% of those employed were Male+ and 47% of those employed were Female+.

Here is the age group breakdown for this group of workers:

15 to 24 25 to 54 55 to 64 65+
12% 43% 37% 8%

Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada

 

How much do fish and seafood plant workers make?

Annual Earnings

The median employment income for all fish and seafood plant workers  in the reference year 2020 (1,645 workers in total, including those working part-time and full-time, as well as part-year and full-year) was $13,500.

Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada

 

Hourly Earnings

Salary information for fish and seafood plant workers in Newfoundland and Labrador is as follows:

Low ($/hour) Median ($/hour) High ($/hour)
Newfoundland and Labrador $15.00 $16.60 $17.85

 

The following low, median, and high wages are for Canada:

Low ($/hour) Median ($/hour) High ($/hour)
$14.00 $16.00 $18.65

Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada

 

Most Frequently Sought Skills from Job Postings (2023)

  • Filleting
  • Seafood Preparation
  • Machine Operation
  • Machine Setup
  • Forklift Truck
  • Seafood Processing
  • Hand Tools
  • Product Inspection
  • Hoppers

Source: Lightcast



What training is required?

  • Some secondary school education may be required.
  • On-the-job training is required.

Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada

* Find public and private education, training and skills development opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador here.

 

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