Fishing crew share settlement: who gets what from the trip

Who gets what from the trip?

Enter what you landed and sold, the costs that come off the top, the boat's percentage and each crew member's shares. You get every payout, what the boat really makes after its own costs, the day rate per hand, and the gross sales a deckhand needs to hit your target.

Arithmetic on your own numbers and your own crew agreement.

1. The catch

One line per species: name, pounds, price per pound

2. Costs and the split

Commission / lumper / dock fees (% of sales)

Fuel ($)

Ice ($)

Bait ($)

Groceries / food ($)

Other shared trip costs ($)

Boat share of the net (%)

Days on the trip

Boat's own cost per day ($: insurance, maintenance, loan)

Day rate you want a full-share hand to clear ($)

3. The crew

One line per person: name, shares (1 = full hand), personal charges such as food or an advance (optional)

Questions people ask

How does a fishing lay or crew share work?

Sales of the catch come in; commission or lumper fees and the trip costs the boat and crew agree to share (fuel, ice, bait, food) come off the top; what is left is the net. The boat takes its percentage of the net and the crew splits the rest by shares, commonly 1 for a deckhand, less for a green hand and more for an engineer or captain. Every boat's agreement differs, so enter your own.

Who pays for fuel and bait under a lay?

That is set by your crew agreement. This tool treats fuel, ice, bait, food and other trip costs as shared, taken off the top before the split. If your boat pays fuel from its own share, enter 0 for fuel and put it in the boat's daily cost instead.

What happens on a trip that loses money?

In this model the crew's pool is zero and the boat absorbs the shortfall. Some agreements differ, so check yours.

Is this legal, tax or accounting advice?

No. It is arithmetic on the numbers you enter. Crew pay, self-employment tax, fishing-vessel crew rules and settlement paperwork are for you and your advisor to confirm.

Not decided

Your actual crew agreement, who pays for what, how a loss trip is treated, taxes and self-employment contributions, vessel and crew regulations, quota or permit lease costs, and any adjustments made at the dock. Shared costs are taken off the top; the boat's own daily cost is only used to judge the boat's trip profit.

Pricing charters instead? See the fishing charter trip pricing calculator.