Physical Danger
Now it's time to discuss the big question―is fishermanorwomaning a dangerous profession? The answer all depends on how far out to sea you are. If your days and nights are spent sitting on a beach or a boardwalk with a beverage in one hand and a cell phone in the other (because your pole is in a holder), the most likely injuries you'll suffer are sun burns. As long as that cell phone is occasionally checking the tide or weather conditions, surf fishing isn't hazardous.
If you're a bit more serious about your craft, it means you're probably fishing somewhere on a boat. That condition alone ups the danger by at least a few levels. From rolling waves to those sudden unfriendly lightning storms, you're very much at the mercy (or lack thereof) of King Poseidon and his "moods." While certainly a caution for all boating fisherpeoples, the salty waters of the world's oceans are deadliest to the deep sea variety.
According to some calculations, for the money, deep sea fishing is the most dangerous job in the world, with an average of 116 out of every 100,000 fishers dying in a job-related accident. For a comparison, about sixty four out of every 100,000 people who work with explosives will die on the job.
We're not trying to scare you here, only making sure you're aware of the risks, which, as you can see are pretty big. But people have been braving the oceans since we learned we could float on top of it, and we've picked up a thing or two doing so. As long as you pay attention to nature, your crewmates, and the deep waters themselves, there's no reason you can't enjoy a long life making a living off of the sea.
Oh yeah, and you should probably learn how to swim. Just saying―you're surrounded on all sides by water. If you fall in, sinking straight to the bottom isn't going to help your case.