From Sternman to Captain: The Path Up

The path from bait boy to captain runs through five rungs: bait boy/green hand, junior deckhand, senior sternman, mate, then captain (leasing or owner-operator). It’s well-worn but slower and more paperwork-heavy than people expect once they’re past the first couple of seasons.

The rungs on the ladder

The progression on most boats looks roughly like this, though titles and exact splits vary by area and captain:

• Bait boy / green hand. The entry-level spot — cutting and bagging bait, coiling rope, general deck labour, learning the boat’s routine. Almost no one starts higher than this.
• Junior deckhand. After a season or two of showing up reliably and not needing everything explained twice, a green hand usually moves into a fuller deckhand role with more responsibility on deck during hauling and setting.
• Senior sternman. Years of experience, trusted with running gear, sometimes handling the boat when the captain needs a hand elsewhere. This is usually the highest-paid crew role short of holding the licence yourself. Our pay guide breaks down how the share percentages typically move as you climb these rungs.
• Mate. On bigger boats or larger crews, an experienced hand who can run the wheelhouse and make calls when the captain isn’t aboard.
• Captain (leasing). Someone who has their own commercial fishing papers and leases a licence and often a boat from an owner who’s aged out or holds more licence than they can fish themselves. See our leasing vs. buying guide for how that arrangement usually works.
• Captain (owner-operator). Holds the licence outright, owns or finances the boat and gear, and carries all the business risk and reward that comes with it.

What it actually takes to move up

Time on deck is necessary but not sufficient. Two things gate the move from deckhand to captain, and neither is optional:

Certification. Operating a commercial fishing vessel requires Transport Canada credentials — at minimum a Marine Emergency Duties (MED) certificate and, depending on vessel size and area, a Small Vessel Operator Proficiency certificate or higher. These take real time and course fees to obtain, and captains who run bigger boats further offshore need more advanced tickets again. Confirm the exact certificate level required for a given vessel and area directly with Transport Canada before assuming your existing experience is enough. See our tickets page for the certificate ladder in more detail.

Capital or a relationship with a licence holder. A commercial fishing licence isn’t something you apply for cold — in most established fisheries, DFO licensing policy and limited-entry rules mean the practical way in is either inheriting or buying into a family boat, being brought on as a leasing captain by an owner who trusts you, or buying a licence outright when one comes up for sale. Our buying a licence guide covers what that purchase side actually costs.

Realistically, most crew who eventually run their own boat spend somewhere in the range of 8-15 years on deck first (estimate; confirm timelines with active captains in your area, since it varies a lot by family connections and how the local fishery is structured). Deckhands from fishing families sometimes move faster because a boat and licence are already effectively earmarked for them; someone starting with zero connections in the industry takes longer and often leases before they ever own.

Why the slow path is the normal path

The lag isn’t just tradition. A captain is responsible for the boat, the gear, the crew’s safety, and the business decisions that determine whether a season is profitable — when to fish, when to sit out weather, how to manage costs against a catch and shore price that can swing hard year to year. Senior sternmen who’ve spent years watching a captain make those calls in real conditions are the ones who make the transition work; someone who jumps straight from a few seasons of deck work into running a boat without that judgment is taking on real financial and safety risk. See our safety hub for why weather and gear decisions carry so much weight on this fishery.

The other reason is simply supply: licences in established areas like Southwest Nova don’t turn over often, and when they do, demand from within the existing fishing community is high. That scarcity is part of why licence values run so high — covered in detail in our guide to buying a lobster licence.

The Fishing Master certificate ladder, step by step

Added 2026-09-13. There’s no single “ship captain” certificate on a Canadian fishing vessel — Transport Canada’s Marine Personnel Regulations (SOR/2007-115) set out four separate Fishing Master certificates, each with its own minimum sea service and exam requirements, and each level generally has to be held before the next one is available:

• Fishing Master, Fourth Class. At least 12 months of sea service performing deck duties on a fishing vessel 6 metres or more in length (up to 6 months of that can come from an approved training program), plus MED basic safety, ROC-MC, a limited SEN, and marine advanced first aid, and passing exams on chartwork/pilotage, navigation safety, ship construction and stability, and seamanship.
• Fishing Master, Third Class. Either 24 months of deck duties on a fishing vessel of at least 25 gross tonnage, or as little as 12 months if the applicant already holds Fourth Class — plus exams covering communications, chartwork, navigation safety, meteorology, ship construction, general ship knowledge, and seamanship.
• Fishing Master, Second Class. Requires already holding Third Class (or an equivalent Near Coastal or Watchkeeping Mate certificate), plus at least 12 months of sea service on a fishing vessel of at least 25 gross tonnage on voyages beyond sheltered waters, STCW basic safety, survival craft and advanced firefighting training, senior officer training, and further exams.
• Fishing Master, First Class. Requires already holding Second Class (or an equivalent Watchkeeping Mate or Near Coastal certificate), plus at least 12 months of sea service on a fishing vessel of at least 25 gross tonnage on unlimited or near coastal voyages, the same STCW/firefighting/senior-officer training as Second Class, and exams that add celestial navigation and ship management.

(Justice Laws, Marine Personnel Regulations SOR/2007-115, accessed 2026-09-13.) Every level also requires a valid marine medical certificate, which isn’t detailed here — confirm current medical standards directly with Transport Canada. This ladder is specific to fishing vessels. A general “ship captain” or “Merchant Ship Captain” role on a cargo, passenger, or other non-fishing vessel runs through Transport Canada’s separate Master Mariner certification track, which uses different tonnage classes and sea-time rules and isn’t covered on this fishing-focused site. See our tickets page for course lengths and bundled certificates at each Fishing Master level, and the FAQ below for how an entry-level deckhand’s sea time actually counts toward this ladder.

FAQ

How long does it take to go from deckhand to captain? There’s no fixed timeline, but many crew spend roughly 8-15 years on deck before running their own boat (estimate; confirm with captains fishing your area), and that’s often faster for people with family boats or slower for those starting with no industry connections.

Do I need a special licence to captain a fishing boat? Yes — Transport Canada requires marine safety credentials (at minimum Marine Emergency Duties, often more depending on vessel size and where you fish) separate from the DFO commercial fishing licence that lets the boat legally fish a species and area. Confirm the exact certificate level needed for a specific vessel with Transport Canada directly.

Can I skip crewing and just buy a licence right away? Technically in some cases, but it’s rare and risky in practice — running a boat safely and profitably depends on judgment usually built up over years on deck, and lenders and licence sellers in tight-knit fishing communities tend to favour buyers with a proven track record on the water. See our crews hub for how deckhand roles work as the realistic starting point.

How long does it take to become a ship captain, by the actual sea-time rules? Transport Canada’s Marine Personnel Regulations set specific minimum sea service for each Fishing Master certificate, on top of any exam and course requirements. A Fishing Master, Third Class needs at least 24 months of sea service performing deck duties on a fishing vessel of at least 25 gross tonnage (or as little as 12 months if the applicant already holds a Fishing Master, Fourth Class certificate), and a Fishing Master, First Class needs a further 12 months of sea service at the officer-in-charge-of-the-watch level after holding a lower certificate (Justice Laws, Marine Personnel Regulations SOR/2007-115, accessed 2026-09-13). Stacked together with the deck time most people put in before starting the paperwork, that’s consistent with the 8-15 year estimate above rather than a shortcut around it — see “The Fishing Master certificate ladder” above for all four levels.

How do I become a ship captain in Canada, or a “Merchant Ship Captain”? On this site, “captain” means running a fishing vessel, which goes through the Fishing Master certificate ladder above — Fourth Class through First Class, each gated by sea time and exams. A general Merchant Ship Captain role (cargo ships, ferries, and other non-fishing vessels) is a different Transport Canada certification track entirely, with its own tonnage classes and sea-time rules, and isn’t something this fishing-focused site covers — confirm that path directly with Transport Canada if it’s what you’re after.

How does an ordinary seaman become a ship master? Canadian fishing vessels don’t use the title “ordinary seaman” — the equivalent entry-level role is a bait boy or green hand deckhand (see “The rungs on the ladder” above). From there, becoming a “ship master” on a fishing vessel means working up the Fishing Master ladder: enough sea time performing deck duties to qualify for Fourth Class, then further sea time and exams at each level up to First Class, exactly as laid out above — there’s no separate “ordinary seaman” track that skips the ladder.