Saturday, June 23, 2012

Crab Fishing Jobs - Braving the Dangers

By Velma Troy-Hansen


It crosses the minds of many people to take a stab at the fishing jobs in Alaska after seeing the Discovery Channel TV show 'Deadliest Catch'. This leads to a large number of greenhorns hopping on a plane at the beginning of each new season to brave the variables in Alaska. A large majority of the seasonal workers in the fishing industries in Alaska aren't even native Alaskan residence. Many hail from Washington and Seattle, but they often come from all over the world. It is the sense of adventure and the potential for large cash incentives that motivate them to suppress their fears and ignore the obvious perils of the most hazardous careers on the planet.

On the other hand, there are career opportunities in the related field that do not pose such great risks. There exist plenty of jobs where one can keep his or her two feet planted on terra firma and even work in-doors sheltered from Alaska's harsh and unpredictable weather. Working in fish processing plants give workers a sense of security because the demand of employers is fairly consistent and the benefits are respectable. Like any manual labor employment, the workers are not immune to danger or potential health risks, but the working conditions are much more stable and predictable.

Some of the most profitable of the Alaska commercial fishing jobs involve working on the decks of fishing vessels and battling the harsh elements of the Bering Sea. The lucrative bounty of this unforgiving Alaskan sea can include blue king crab, red king crab, opilio crab, tuna, herring, cod, and others. Some of the most dangerous of these are king crab and oplio crab because of the heavy crab pots the crewmembers must wrestle on deck when struggling to maintain their balance on stormy seas and fighting to keep warm and dry.

Alaska commercial crab fishing jobs that do not involve being on deck the whole time are occupations such as the engineer or mechanic, the captain, and sometimes larger vessels have a permanent and dedicated cook or chef. This type of job isn't without risks, but it does not pose nearly as many variable threats to a person's health and safety. They also require that the individual have a certain set of unique skills that only come with proper training, education, or experience. Most of the fishing jobs in Alaska, however, do not require any experience to get started.

Since a season in the Alaskan fishing industry is usually just a few months annually, tens-of-thousands of dollars are earned in that short period of time. It is not uncommon for many, even those who just started, to earn more than a hundred thousand or more in just those few months. This is because of the extremes that one must endure when working aboard one of these fishing vessels and the deadly consequences that are very plausible each day. Although when the whole crew catches nothing, the whole crew earns nothing. The first of the earned catch goes to the expenses of maintaining the ship, but after the break-even point, the rest is pure profit for the entire crew, and each deckhand gets a quarter, half or full share.




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