Where abouts do you live?If its near Freo or one of the main marinas where the pro boats work out of get to know some of the boats and crews and take a ride out on weekends.That way you are going to find out that it can be and is bloody hard work, long hours, working in sometimes shit conditions and if its a bad season piss poor pay.

Its getting that way that you can't just walk up to a skipper and ask for a job without experience and all the essential tickets you will need. Not too sure now but "Elements of ship board safety" "Safety at sea" are a couple that spring to mind.

My advice would be to stay at school and get those tickets through Tafe then think about doing it full time. Freo Tafe does all the ones that you will need and more plus aquaculture which is looking to be the main seafood supplier in the distant future.

I am currently studying at Challenger Tafe in fremantle. Elements of shipboard safety, seamanship skills and the most important is STCW95 im pretty sure you cant work on a commercial vessel worldwide without one.

Have a look at some of the courses that Challenger tafe offers. You will probably be restricted for some qualifications because of your age, but I have some 15/16 year olds in my class who are doing their tickets.

Here is the Tafe website, and some courses I recommend.

http://www.challenger.wa.edu.au/Workingwithindustry/wamaritimetrainingcentrefremantle/Pages/WAMaritimeTrainingCentreFremantle.aspx

http://www.challenger.wa.edu.au/Workingwithindustry/wamaritimetrainingcentrefremantle/Pages/FishingandMarineStudies.aspx

I am studying the Outdoor Recreation - Cert 2(Marine Tourism SS38)until thurs. But am going back next year for the cert 3, which gives me STCW95, Restricted Coxswains vessels under 8 metres, a vhf radio cert and I will hopefully be a qualified dive master.

You can do all these courses through tafe on their own, but the way tafe is subsidised it is far better to do your qualifications through a certificate course on a money front. Case in point next year, tuition fees = $570 no concession, resource fees = $727, dive master = $800, STCW95 = $800, Coxswains = $200.

If you do the STCW95 standalone = ~$2200.

Also fishing addiction if you want any help or advice let me know. If you want to go down and have a look around tafe we have open days where you can come along and see for yourself what our students do in their courses.

professional fishing isnt all that it seems to be. i did it when i was 17 and it is bloody hard work. long hours in sometimes very rough conditions, unless it has changed you work on a % of the catch and it can be very physically draining. as the others have said , stay at school and get your qualifications through tafe. in the end you will be much better off. but if you want to get a first hand idea of what it is like , go down to one of the boats and offer yourself as a free decky for a day , you never know it may lead to something down the track

nellys bro is a pro fisherman and i was speaking to him the other day and he loves the job and says he wouldnt trade it for the world but then again hes a pretty tuff bloke.

Thanks guys for your help, i might go down and see one of the charter boats and offer myself as a free deckie just like what Faulkner Family said. Then i will see how i go later on thanks again guys.