What you need to perform it
Primary qualification
- Spain: Fishing Captain title (RD 36/2014), the top grade of the professional fishing scale, with command without tonnage or area limit in the fishing fleet.
- International framework: skipper/master certificate under the STCW-F 1995 Convention (Reg. II/1-II/2 by length and area) for flags applying it.
- Access from fishing Deep-Sea Skipper with the sea time and course/exam set by RD 36/2014 (indicative, verify the current programme).
Basic STCW
- Basic Fishing Safety Training or basic STCW according to flag
- Advanced firefighting by role
Specific courses
- GMDSS GOC (IV/2) and fleet communications
- Advanced fishing sonar, sounder and acoustics; mark interpretation
- Fisheries management: quotas, e-logbook (ERS), VMS and RFMO rules (ICCAT/NAFO/NEAFC by grounds)
- Fishing-vessel stability with gear deployed and ice/cargo in hold
Indicative experience
Spanish scale: years of effective command as fishing Deep-Sea Skipper before stepping up (RD 36/2014 sets the required sea time — indicative, verify). In practice, standing is built on full campaigns and sustained catch results.
Observations
Full Spanish fishing scale: Local Skipper → Polyvalent Coastal Skipper → Coastal Skipper → Deep-Sea Skipper → Fishing Captain (see the explorer's Spain framework for each grade's attributions). The namesake Spain-framework card details the national route; this one covers the international seagoing billet.
What this role does
Command of distant-water fishing vessels where catch strategy weighs as much as seamanship: decides grounds, track and shooting time combining sounder, sonar, water temperature and experience; agrees the campaign with the owner and answers for quotas, closures and fisheries regulation compliance as well as the safety of ship and crew.
Typical watches
- Guards and capture windows according to area and target species
Key responsibilities
- Locate biomass and decide area, time and strategy for launching gear.
- Coordinate navigation, capture, safety and profitability of the tide.
- Make fishing objectives compatible with meteorology, quotas and regulations.
- Make tactical decisions about duration of the set, tacking and preservation of the catch.
Operational scope
- fishing bridge
- Coastal and high-altitude fishing grounds
- Long campaigns
Profile reviewed by HydroAbyss (2026). Cited rules and timeframes are indicative: the final requirement is set by the flag State, the Administration and each company.