The short version
- There is no US medical fitness certificate for a commercial fisherman. Medical certificates attach to Coast Guard credentials, and fishing crew are not a category in Table 1 to 46 CFR 10.302.
- ENG1 and ML5 are UK certificates with no standing in US law, and the AI Overview on this query recommends them anyway.
- 46 CFR part 28 creates six medical obligations: casualty report, seven-day injury notification, injury placard, chest and manual, certification tiers, and monthly drills.
- First aid is not one of the ten named monthly drill subjects in 28.270.
- The United States has ratified neither ILO C188 nor MLC 2006, so neither binds a US-flagged fishing vessel directly.
Search this exact phrase and Google will tell an American fishing operator that the crew needs a medical fitness certificate, that it lasts two years, that it drops to one year over the age of 65, and that vision and colour standards apply. Every one of those statements describes UK law.
There is no US medical fitness certificate for a commercial fisherman. The obligations that do exist are narrow, specific and completely different in shape, and they sit in 46 CFR part 28[1].
Page one of this query is answering with the wrong country
Captured live on 19 August 2026. Nine results: two international conventions, one classification society circular, one academic paper, and five UK or Isle of Man sources. The AI Overview cites GOV.UK five times and a Taiwanese classification society. Not one US federal source appears anywhere on the page.
| What the AI Overview tells you | What US law actually says |
|---|---|
| Crew must hold a medical fitness certificate, an ENG1 or ML5 equivalent | No such requirement. US medical certificates attach to Coast Guard credentials, and fishing crew are not a category in Table 1 to 46 CFR 10.302[5] |
| Certificates last two years, one year if under 18 or over 65 | A UK and STCW pattern. Part 28 sets no examination and therefore no validity period at all[1] |
| Strict vision, colour vision and hearing standards apply | Those live in 46 CFR 10.305 and 10.306 and reach credential holders, not fishermen as such[5] |
| Vessels carry Category A, B or C medical kits | EU Directive 92/29/EEC. It binds EU-flag vessels. A US fishing vessel answers to 28.210(a) instead[1] |
| Grandfather rights allow restricted certificates | A UK national provision with no US analogue in part 28 |
This is not a small drafting quibble. An operator who builds a compliance file from that summary buys medical examinations nobody requires and misses the six things that are actually enforceable. For the EU categories specifically, see what 92/29/EEC actually requires and who it binds.
Why there is no US medical certificate for a fisherman
The US medical certificate regime is credential-based, not job-based. Table 1 to 46 CFR 10.302(a) lists the categories that must meet the vision, hearing, general medical and physical ability standards[5].
| Category in Table 1 to 10.302(a) | Does it capture a fishing crew member? |
|---|---|
| Deck officer or pilot, engineering officer, radio officer | Only if that person holds the credential. The endorsement carries the requirement |
| Able seafarer, QMED | Same. Credential first, medical certificate second |
| Food handler on STCW vessels, vessel security officer | Narrow and vessel-specific, not a fishing category |
| Commercial fishing crew as such | Absent from the table entirely |
The distinction that matters
A credentialed mariner who happens to work on a fishing vessel keeps the obligations of the credential. A deckhand with no credential has none. The requirement follows the document, not the deck. Confusing the two is how operators end up paying for examinations they do not need while leaving 28.210 unmet.
The international instruments do not close the gap either. The United States has not ratified ILO Convention No. 188, Work in Fishing, and has not ratified MLC 2006[8]. Neither binds a US-flagged fishing vessel directly, which is precisely why the top two results on this query are the wrong law for the reader.
The six things 46 CFR part 28 does require
Strip out the UK material and the real list is short enough to put on one page. Three obligations reach every commercial fishing industry vessel, and three more attach once 28.200 pulls the vessel into Subpart C[6].
| Obligation | Section | The specific test |
|---|---|---|
| Report a casualty | 28.80 | Death, serious injury, vessel loss or significant damage |
| Crew notifies illness or injury | 28.90 | Not later than seven days after the condition arose, to the master, individual in charge or other agent of the employer[2] |
| Post the injury placard | 28.165 | At least 5 by 7 inches, headed “Notice” and “Report All Injuries”, posted in a highly visible location accessible to the crew[3] |
| Carry the chest and manual | 28.210(a) | A complete first aid manual and a medicine chest sized to the individuals on board, readily accessible[1] |
| Certify enough people | 28.210(c) to (e) | More than 2 on board needs 1 and 1, more than 16 needs 2 and 2, more than 49 needs 4 and 4[1] |
| Run drills and instruction | 28.270 | At least once each month, across ten named subjects[4] |
Six obligations, no examinations, no certificates of fitness, no age thresholds. That is the whole federal medical footprint of a US commercial fishing operation, alongside the controlled substance regime covered below.
Ten drill subjects, and the one that is missing
Section 28.270 requires the master or individual in charge to ensure drills are conducted and instruction given to each individual on board at least once each month[4]. The named subjects run: abandoning the vessel, fighting a fire in different locations, recovering an individual from the water, minimising the effects of unintentional flooding, launching survival craft, donning immersion suits, donning a fireman’s outfit and breathing apparatus where fitted, making a voice radio distress call and using visual distress signals, activating the general alarm, and reporting inoperative alarm and fire detection systems.
Read that list again
Medical response is not on it. You drill recovering a person from the water every month, and the regulation never asks you to drill what happens in the following ten minutes. The competence it does require sits in the 28.210 certification tiers, which are a headcount test, not a practice test[1].
That is an argument for adding a medical scenario to the monthly cycle voluntarily. It costs nothing, it uses a drill you already run, and it produces the one thing a regulation with no interval never gives you: dated evidence.
The genuinely prescriptive rule nobody on page one mentions
If the fishing side of federal law is thin, the drug side is not. 21 CFR 1301.25 governs how any vessel may hold controlled substances, and it is detailed where part 28 is silent[7].
The medical officer test is conjunctive: state-licensed physician, employed by the owner or operator, and DEA-registered. Employment is the trap, because a consultant is not employed. Where no officer is accessible the master requisition route applies, with the record of sale in triplicate and copy 2 retained aboard[7]. The routes are compared in medical officer or master requisition.
Two annual reports follow on different clocks. See the two DEA annual reports, the recordkeeping rules, what changes by schedule, how stock leaves the vessel under disposal, and the file an inspector opens in the DEA inspection checklist.
Five things to do this month
- Delete every foreign requirement from your file. ENG1, ML5, Category A kits and C188 clauses are not US obligations. Keeping them buries the six that are.
- Confirm which trigger catches you. Beyond the Boundary Lines, more than 16 individuals, or a fish tender in the Aleutian trade[6].
- Measure the placard. 5 by 7 inches minimum, posted where the crew can actually see it[3]. It is the cheapest finding to close and one of the most commonly missed.
- Count your certificates against headcount, not against habit. The tiers step at 2, 16 and 49 individuals on board[1].
- Write the chest standard down. The regulation names no contents, so your documented method becomes the standard you are judged against. How to stock a ship medicine chest covers the build, and the flag state comparison covers mixed fleets.
Items one and three take an afternoon and remove most of the exposure. That is the 80/20 here. If you would rather have a physician own it, MedChest builds and maintains the chest, and consulting reviews the whole program before an inspection. The rest of the library sits on the blog, the full list on services, and the physicians behind it on the about page.
Common questions
Do US commercial fishermen need a medical fitness certificate?
Not as fishermen. The US medical certificate regime in 46 CFR 10.302 attaches to Coast Guard credentials, and Table 1 lists deck officers, engineering officers, radio officers, able seafarers, QMEDs, food handlers on STCW vessels and vessel security officers[5]. Commercial fishing crew are not a category in that table. If a person holds a credential for another reason, the credential carries the requirement, not the fishing job. Ask us to map your crew.
Is an ENG1 or ML5 required on a US fishing vessel?
No. ENG1 and ML5 are UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency certificates and have no standing in US law. They appear at the top of this search because six of the nine page-one results are UK or Isle of Man sources. What binds a US vessel is 46 CFR part 28[1]. See the 46 CFR 28.210 rules.
Does ILO Convention 188 apply to a US fishing vessel?
No. The United States has not ratified ILO Convention No. 188, Work in Fishing[8], and it has not ratified MLC 2006 either. Neither instrument binds a US-flagged fishing vessel directly. Our consulting service separates what binds you from what merely ranks well.
What medical obligations does 46 CFR part 28 actually create?
Six, and they are narrow: a first aid manual and medicine chest under 28.210(a), certified first aiders and CPR providers tiered by headcount, monthly drills under 28.270, a casualty report under 28.80, an injury notification within seven days under 28.90, and a 5 by 7 inch injury placard under 28.165[1][2][3][4]. See how a program gets audited.
How quickly must an injured crew member report it?
Not later than seven days after the date the illness, disability or injury arose, to the master, individual in charge or other agent of the employer, under 46 CFR 28.90[2]. The placard required by 28.165 exists to tell the crew that[3]. Consulting covers the paperwork trail.
Is first aid one of the monthly drill subjects?
No, and that surprises most operators. Section 28.270 lists ten drill subjects including abandoning the vessel, fighting fire, recovering an individual from the water and donning immersion suits[4]. Medical response is not among them. It sits in the certification requirement in 28.210 instead[1]. Read the 28.210 breakdown.
Can a fishing vessel carry controlled drugs?
Only under 21 CFR 1301.25, which is the most prescriptive medical rule that touches a US fishing vessel[7]. It sets a three-part employment test on the medical officer and a master requisition route where no officer is accessible. See 21 CFR 1301.25 explained and our Controlled Substances service.
