Fisheries cost breakdown: two very different models — capture and aquaculture
Costing fisheries under its two structurally different models — capture fishing costed by fuel per trip, aquaculture costed by feed conversion ratio and stage-based loss, the same principle as livestock.
Fisheries isn't one industry but two structurally different cost models, and you need to know which one you're in before costing anything: CAPTURE (wild harvest at sea or on rivers) and AQUACULTURE (fully controlled farming). This guide covers both and flags exactly where they diverge.
The costing unit: ONE KILOGRAM OF FISH/SEAFOOD harvested or caught.
Two sequences
Capture: trip preparation (fuel, ice, provisions) - fishing at sea - on-board processing/chilling - landing at port, grading - transport to buyer/processor.
Aquaculture: pond/cage setup - stocking - feeding & monitoring by growth stage - harvest - processing/storage - transport.
Two features unique to this industry
1. Capture: fuel is the largest cost, not material
Under the capture model, the material category barely exists in the usual sense - fish come from the wild, not a supplier. The largest cost shifts to fuel for running the boat, the same way maritime freight costs its trips - get cost per kilogram by dividing a trip's total fuel by that same trip's catch.
2. Aquaculture: feed conversion ratio + stage-based loss
Under the aquaculture model, the structure resembles livestock closely - feed is costed by conversion ratio (feed per unit of weight gain), and mortality in ponds/cages is tracked separately by growth stage. It differs from land-based livestock in that the underwater environment is hard to observe directly, so loss figures are usually only accurate at scheduled harvests/counts, not day to day.
Everything else
Machinery (fishing vessels - mostly OWNED given the capital involved; aeration/pumping systems for ponds). Labor (crew per trip, or farm staff by shift). Consumables (nets, fishing gear, ice for preservation). Subcontracted work (water quality/disease testing service). Rework (essentially none). Packaging (foam boxes, ice packed for transport). Freight (refrigerated truck/vessel, with a temperature requirement for the whole trip).
Overhead - water surface/farming area lease, similar to land rent in crop farming; for the capture model, port fees and fishing license fees.
Evidence
- Trip log - fuel consumed, catch per trip.
- Feeding log and harvest/count log by pond/cage.
- Water quality/disease test results.
- Water surface lease or fishing license.
Related guides
- Livestock cost breakdown: the feed conversion ratio drives cost
Costing livestock the way the industry actually works — feed costed by conversion ratio rather than unit price, herd loss that can't be recovered unlike scrap, and waste management as a real overhead line.
- Maritime transportation cost breakdown: same frame as trucking, three differences
Maritime shipping uses the exact same vehicle-operating cost frame as road freight - only three things differ: bunker fuel, port/pilotage fees, and demurrage while waiting for a berth.
- The Ten Manufacturing Cost Categories, in Production Order
The ten cost categories Costdown uses to price a product — material, machinery, labor, tooling, scrap, rework, outsourced processing, packaging, logistics, factory overhead — with the formula and a worked example for each.
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