AI exposure by occupation, O*NET 45-3031.00

Will AI replace Fishing and Hunting Workers?

Fishing and Hunting Workers: AI can already handle 2 of 29 tasks; most of the work is hands-on, and the part AI can address mostly needs an efficient-tier model.

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Every task, scored

The 29 tasks O*NET 30.3 lists for Fishing and Hunting Workers, from most to least exposed. 2 reach 60 or more, the level at which AI already handles a task.

Task AI exposure Evidence Model tier Importance
Sort, pack, and store catch in holds with salt and ice. 90 Estimated Efficient 4.2
Interpret weather and vessel conditions to determine appropriate responses. 65 Estimated Efficient 4.5
Transport fish to processing plants or to buyers. 50 Estimated Efficient 4.1
Teach or guide individuals or groups unfamiliar with specific hunting methods or types of prey. 35 Estimated Efficient 3.7
Patrol trap lines or nets to inspect settings, remove catch, and reset or relocate traps. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.6
Maintain and repair trapping equipment. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.4
Maintain engines, fishing gear, and other on-board equipment and perform minor repairs. 20 Estimated Efficient 4.3
Steer vessels and operate navigational instruments. 15 Estimated No tier 4.8
Scrape fat, blubber, or flesh from skin sides of pelts with knives or hand scrapers. 15 Estimated No tier 4.7
Remove catches from fishing equipment and measure them to ensure compliance with legal size. 15 Estimated No tier 4.6
Direct fishing or hunting operations, and supervise crew members. 15 Estimated No tier 4.6
Locate fish, using fish-finding equipment. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Kill or stun trapped quarry, using clubs, poisons, guns, or drowning methods. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Travel on foot, by vehicle, or by equipment such as boats, snowmobiles, helicopters, snowshoes, or skis to reach hunting areas. 15 Estimated No tier 4.5
Obtain permission from landowners to hunt or trap on their land. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Select, bait, and set traps, and lay poison along trails, according to species, size, habits, and environs of birds or animals and reasons for trapping them. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Put fishing equipment into the water and anchor or tow equipment, according to the fishing method used. 15 Estimated No tier 4.3
Compute positions and plot courses on charts to navigate vessels, using instruments such as compasses, sextants, and charts. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Obtain required approvals for using poisons or traps, and notify persons in areas where traps and poison are set. 15 Estimated No tier 4.2
Skin quarry, using knives, and stretch pelts on frames to be cured. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Track animals by checking for signs such as droppings or destruction of vegetation. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Connect accessories such as floats, weights, flags, lights, or markers to nets, lines, or traps. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Wash decks, conveyors, knives, and other equipment, using brushes, detergents, and water. 15 Estimated No tier 4.1
Harvest marine life for human or animal consumption, using diving or dredging equipment, traps, barges, rods, reels, or tackle. 15 Estimated No tier 3.9
Release quarry from traps or nets and transfer to cages. 15 Estimated No tier 3.7
Oversee the purchase of supplies, gear, and equipment. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Participate in animal damage control, wildlife management, disease control, and research activities. 15 Estimated No tier 3.6
Load and unload vessel equipment and supplies, by hand or using hoisting equipment. 12 Estimated No tier 3.4
Attach nets, slings, hooks, blades, or lifting devices to cables, booms, hoists, or dredges. 8 Estimated No tier 3.8

Observed: scored from AI use recorded in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), 0 of 29 tasks. Estimated: scored from the task's O*NET 30.3 work activity, 29 of 29. Importance is O*NET's 1 to 5 rating of how central the task is. Model tier is the lowest tier that can do the task under the published rubric; "No tier" marks hands-on work.

The model tier this role needs

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 25% of the role's importance-weighted task work. 25% of the work is something AI can address at some tier, and 76% is hands-on.

Efficient, standard and frontier tiers come from the JobRoute model tier reference. The recommended tier is the lowest one that covers 80% of the work AI can address. How the method works.

Wages, employment and outlook

BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025) publishes no national employment or wage figure for this O*NET occupation. BLS Employment Projections expect a change of -4.6% from 2024 to 2034.

Adjacent roles

The occupations that reuse the most of this role's skills, with the usual time to move. These are the first places to look when you plan to redeploy or retrain people in this role.

Skill overlap and transition time from the JobRoute role adjacency graph on O*NET 30.3 skills.

Questions about Fishing and Hunting Workers and AI

Will AI replace Fishing and Hunting Workers?

AI already handles 2 of the 29 tasks O*NET lists for this occupation, at a task exposure of 60 or more, and the role's importance-weighted exposure is 22 out of 100. JobRoute scores tasks, not whole jobs, so the score shows how much of the work changes rather than whether the job disappears. BLS projects employment to change by -4.6% from 2024 to 2034.

What is the AI exposure of Fishing and Hunting Workers?

22 out of 100 on JobRoute's task exposure measure, the importance-weighted average of the role's O*NET task scores. Higher means more of the work is AI-doable today. 0 of the 29 task scores are observed in the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026 release), and the other 29 are estimated from each task's O*NET work activity.

Which Fishing and Hunting Workers tasks can AI already do?

The tasks with the highest exposure are: Sort, pack, and store catch in holds with salt and ice; Interpret weather and vessel conditions to determine appropriate responses. They are the tasks that reach 60 or more.

What AI model tier does this role need?

An efficient-tier model or lower covers 25% of the role's importance-weighted task work, and 76% is hands-on work that no model tier covers. JobRoute assigns each task the lowest tier that can do it under a published rubric and recommends the lowest tier that covers 80% of the work AI can address.

How to cite

Data version 2026-11-02, JobRoute method v1.0.0. Download all occupations or this occupation as JSON. Methodology.

JobRoute (2026). AI exposure: Fishing and Hunting Workers. Data version 2026-11-02, method v1.0.0. Built on O*NET 30.3, BLS OEWS May 2025 and the Anthropic Economic Index (June 2026). CC BY 4.0. https://www.jobroute.ai/jobs/fishing-and-hunting-workers

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