The Rescue Co-ordination Centre received an emergency call at 11.15am on Thursday after a 25-year-old Kiribati man's fingers were crushed in an accident earlier that morning.
The trawler, Tomi Maru 87, was then 700km southeast of Dunedin and outside the range of emergency aircraft.
The rescue centre organised a pick-up point closer to shore.
The man was winched aboard the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter about 9.30am yesterday.
Cover was provided by a helicopter from Southern Lakes Helicopters, of Te Anau.
Rescue helicopter pilot Graeme Gale said the pick-up, which took about two and a-half hours to complete, was straightforward and timed well to be finished before a weather front crossed the area.
The paramedic on board the helicopter said the patient was stable and comfortable, a rescue centre spokeswoman said.
He had suffered moderate injuries to his hand.
The crewman was understood to have undergone surgery at Dunedin Hospital yesterday.
