Estimate calories and kilojoules burned using active fishing techniques — jig or line fishing while standing, spearfishing, working a set net, or crab fishing — based on your body weight, technique, and session duration. This calculator is built around specific fishing methods rather than where or how you're positioned while fishing. If you're after calorie estimates based on fishing location or posture instead — sitting in a boat, fishing from the bank or shore, or wading in a stream — see MegaCalcOnline's Fishing Calorie Calculator, which covers those three scenarios separately from the technique-based tiers used on this page.
Calorie burn from active fishing techniques depends on which method you're using, captured here as four MET tiers from the Fishing & Hunting category of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities: jig or line fishing while standing (MET 1.8), spearfishing while standing (MET 2.3), set net fishing — setting and retrieving a net (MET 3.8), and crab fishing (MET 4.5). The formula is calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). A 75 kg angler fishing for 60 minutes burns 135 kcal (about 565 kJ) jig or line fishing, 173 kcal (about 722 kJ) spearfishing, 285 kcal (about 1,192 kJ) set net fishing, and 338 kcal (about 1,412 kJ) crab fishing — crab fishing burns roughly two and a half times more than standing jig or line fishing.
| Technique | MET | Calories | Kilojoules |
|---|
The calculation uses a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for your fishing technique, your body weight, and the length of your session. This calculator uses four MET tiers taken directly from the Fishing & Hunting category of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities — jig or line fishing, standing, general (code 04061, MET 1.8), fishing with a spear, standing (code 04065, MET 2.3), fishing, set net, setting net and retrieving fish, general (code 04063, MET 3.8), and fishing, crab fishing (code 04005, MET 4.5). All four values are literature-supported entries in the Compendium, not estimated figures. Because sessions are usually measured in minutes rather than hours, the calculator converts your minutes input to hours (hours = minutes ÷ 60) before applying the formula, and rounds only the final displayed kcal and kJ figures.
| Technique | MET | Calories (75 kg, 60 min) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jig or line fishing, standing | 1.8 | 135 kcal | 565 kJ |
| Spearfishing, standing | 2.3 | 173 kcal | 722 kJ |
| Set net fishing | 3.8 | 285 kcal | 1,192 kJ |
| Crab fishing | 4.5 | 338 kcal | 1,412 kJ |
MegaCalcOnline's general Fishing Calorie Calculator covers three tiers built around where and how you're positioned while fishing — sitting in a boat or canoe (MET 2.0), fishing from the bank or shore (MET 3.5), and wading in a stream in waders (MET 6.0) — regardless of the actual technique being used. This page takes the opposite approach: it covers four specific active techniques — jig or line fishing, spearfishing, set net fishing and crab fishing — regardless of where you happen to be doing them. The two calculators are deliberately kept separate because location/posture and technique are different variables that don't map neatly onto each other; you could, for example, jig or line fish from a boat, the bank, or while wading, and the energy cost of the jigging and casting motion itself is closer to what this page measures than what the general calculator measures. If your session is defined mainly by where and how you're positioned, use the general Fishing Calorie Calculator; if it's defined by an active technique like netting, spearfishing or crabbing, this page is the better match.
Jig or line fishing while standing is the lightest of the four techniques, with a MET of 1.8 — only modestly above resting metabolic rate. Most of the effort is small, repeated arm movement: casting, jigging the line to attract a bite, and reeling in, while your feet stay largely planted in one spot. Spearfishing while standing steps up slightly to a MET of 2.3, reflecting the more sustained arm and shoulder tension of holding and aiming a spear or speargun from a fixed standing position, such as a jetty, rocks or shallow water margin — this figure does not cover free-diving or swimming spearfishing, which involves swimming and breath-holding and burns considerably more energy. Set net fishing, at MET 3.8, involves the physical work of setting a net out and then retrieving it along with any catch, which typically means hauling, lifting and repositioning gear rather than standing still. Crab fishing is the most demanding of the four at MET 4.5, reflecting the sustained physical labour of hauling pots or traps, lifting and resetting bait, and often repeated bending, lifting and carrying along a jetty, boat or shoreline.
The table below holds technique constant at the crab fishing tier (MET 4.5) for a 60-minute session, so you can see how much body weight alone changes the total.
| Body Weight | MET | Calories (60 min) | Kilojoules |
|---|---|---|---|
| 55 kg | 4.5 | 248 kcal | 1,036 kJ |
| 65 kg | 4.5 | 293 kcal | 1,224 kJ |
| 75 kg | 4.5 | 338 kcal | 1,412 kJ |
| 85 kg | 4.5 | 383 kcal | 1,600 kJ |
| 95 kg | 4.5 | 428 kcal | 1,789 kJ |
Netting, spearfishing and crabbing sessions all run to different lengths. Here body weight is fixed at 75 kg while session length and technique both change, so you can compare how much a longer session and a more demanding technique each add to the total.
| Session Length | Jig/Line (MET 1.8) | Spearfishing (MET 2.3) | Set Net (MET 3.8) | Crab Fishing (MET 4.5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15 minutes | 34 kcal / 141 kJ | 43 kcal / 180 kJ | 71 kcal / 298 kJ | 84 kcal / 353 kJ |
| 30 minutes | 68 kcal / 282 kJ | 86 kcal / 361 kJ | 143 kcal / 596 kJ | 169 kcal / 706 kJ |
| 45 minutes | 101 kcal / 424 kJ | 129 kcal / 541 kJ | 214 kcal / 894 kJ | 253 kcal / 1,059 kJ |
| 60 minutes | 135 kcal / 565 kJ | 173 kcal / 722 kJ | 285 kcal / 1,192 kJ | 338 kcal / 1,412 kJ |
Australian nutrition panels list energy in kilojoules, not calories, so it's worth converting your session total into the same unit your food packaging uses. Multiply your calorie figure by 4.184 to get kilojoules. A 75 kg angler crab fishing for 60 minutes burns about 338 kcal, which is roughly 1,412 kJ — a useful figure to weigh up against the energy value of a recovery snack or drink after a longer outing.
How many calories do active fishing techniques like netting, spearfishing or crabbing burn?
It depends on which technique you're using. Using this calculator's four tiers for a 75 kg angler over a 60-minute session: jig or line fishing while standing (MET 1.8) burns about 135 kcal (565 kJ), spearfishing while standing (MET 2.3) burns about 173 kcal (722 kJ), set net fishing (MET 3.8) burns about 285 kcal (1,192 kJ), and crab fishing (MET 4.5) burns about 338 kcal (1,412 kJ). Enter your own weight, technique and session length above for a personalised estimate.
How is calories burned using fishing techniques calculated?
The calculator multiplies a MET (Metabolic Equivalent of Task) value for your fishing technique by your body weight in kilograms and your session duration in hours: calories = MET × body weight (kg) × duration (hours). Because sessions are usually measured in minutes, the calculator converts your minutes input to hours (hours = minutes ÷ 60) before applying the formula. The four MET values used — 1.8 for jig or line fishing while standing (code 04061), 2.3 for spearfishing while standing (code 04065), 3.8 for set net fishing (code 04063), and 4.5 for crab fishing (code 04005) — come directly from the Fishing & Hunting category of the 2024 Adult Compendium of Physical Activities. The kilocalorie result is then multiplied by 4.184 to give the equivalent figure in kilojoules, the unit used on Australian food labels.
What's the difference between this calculator and MegaCalcOnline's general Fishing Calorie Calculator?
This calculator is built around specific active fishing techniques regardless of where you're fishing — jig or line fishing while standing, spearfishing, working a set net, or crab fishing. MegaCalcOnline's separate Fishing Calorie Calculator instead uses three tiers based on fishing location and posture — sitting in a boat or canoe, fishing from the bank or shore, or wading in a stream — without distinguishing which technique you're using within those settings. If your session is defined mainly by where and how you're positioned, use the general Fishing Calorie Calculator; if it's defined by an active technique like netting, spearfishing or crabbing, this page is the better match.
Why does crab fishing burn more calories than jig or line fishing?
Crab fishing carries a MET value of 4.5, more than double jig or line fishing's MET of 1.8. Jig or line fishing while standing mostly involves repeated small arm movements — casting, jigging the line, and reeling — while your feet stay largely planted in one spot. Crab fishing involves more sustained physical labour: hauling pots or traps, lifting and resetting bait, and often repeated bending, lifting and carrying along a jetty, boat or shoreline, which adds up to considerably more energy expenditure over the same amount of time.
Does body weight affect the calorie estimate?
Yes. Because calories equal MET multiplied by body weight in kilograms multiplied by duration in hours, body weight is a direct multiplier in the formula. At the crab fishing tier (MET 4.5) for a 60-minute session, a 95 kg angler burns roughly 428 kcal compared with about 248 kcal for a 55 kg angler completing the identical session.
Is spearfishing while standing a good workout?
Standing spearfishing, as used in this calculator (MET 2.3), is a light-intensity activity — it reflects spearfishing from a standing position such as a jetty, rocks or shallow water margin, rather than free-diving or swimming spearfishing, which involves swimming, breath-holding and diving and burns considerably more energy. If most of your spearfishing session involves swimming and diving rather than standing and casting, treat this calculator's estimate as a conservative lower bound.
What are the limitations of this calorie estimate?
This calculator uses published MET values multiplied by your body weight and session duration, which gives a solid population-level estimate rather than a personalised measurement. It doesn't account for water and weather conditions, how much of a session was spent in active technique versus waiting or resting, the weight of gear being carried, individual fitness or technique, or terrain underfoot. Treat the result as a reliable planning figure for time spent actively fishing with a given technique, not an exact physiological measurement.
How much would a longer netting or crabbing session burn?
It scales directly with time. A 75 kg angler crab fishing for a longer 2-hour session would burn around 675 kcal, compared with about 338 kcal for a 60-minute session at the same weight and technique. Set net fishing for 2 hours at the same weight would burn around 570 kcal, compared with about 285 kcal for 60 minutes. Use the calculator above with your own session length to estimate a specific outing.