This study collected video data on live fish unloading operations on coastal fishing vessels using video observation. The work was analyzed using a hierarchical analysis method, leading to the following conclusions. The overall objective, live fish unloading, was found to consist of four secondary objectives. The number of tasks, time, and personnel required per container water tank for live fish (CWTLF) were 147, approximately seven minutes, and 1.12 people, respectively. In particular, the task of transporting catches from fishing holds to CWTLF was estimated to pose the greatest risk of safety accidents and musculoskeletal hazards due to the repetitive movement of heavy loads. In the case of improvement to the live fish tank proposed in this study, it was estimated that the required number and time of tasks per 1 CWTLF would be reduced by 130 seconds and 88.4%, and 361 seconds and 77.8%, respectively. In the future, this study is expected to serve as basic data for improving the fishing environment necessary to decrease the workload of coastal fishing vessel crews, decrease safety accidents and factors harmful to the musculoskeletal system, and ultimately improve the labor-intensive fishing system of Korea's coastal fishing vessels.