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Alaskan King Crab Fishing - A Tough Job, But Somebody's Gotta Do It
By Wendy Pan

If you're a fan of Discovery Channel's "The Deadliest Catch," then you know a little bit about Alaskan king crab fishing. It's extremely dangerous, the season is exceedingly short, and good crabbers can catch a heck of a lot of crabs in a short time. It's also tremendously exciting to watch, but most people don't get the chance.

The King Crab Varieties

About 250 boats currently fish for crab off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in the Bering Sea. There are three kinds of crab the fishermen fish, Red King Crab, Blue King Crab, and Golden King Crab, with Red King the most popular and highly valued. You can't just fish for any king crab, however, they have to be a certain size before you can keep them, and females are always thrown back.

It's All About the Money

Yes, Alaskan king crab is exciting and dangerous, but it's also extremely lucrative, if it's done right. The season lasts about two to four weeks, but there are a lot of variables, including how many boats are out fishing, what they caught the previous season, and so on. Crabbers that find the most crabs can make a million dollars or more in a season, but that doesn't count operating costs, payroll, and fuel costs, which continue to rise.

A Tough Job, But Somebody's Gotta do It

There's a reason this job is featured on "America's Toughest Jobs," too. Crab is dangerous because of the weather during the season (winter, when storms are plentiful), but because of the fast-paced environment on deck, too. Crewmen can slip and fall overboard, can be injured or killed by flying equipment like the crab pots, and if the boat suffers an accident, they can be swept away to sea and drown. Alaskan

king crab is one of the most dangerous occupations around, and each year, fishermen are killed and maimed at a higher rate than just about any other job in the country.

More Crab, Please

Most crab fishermen don't just hunt the elusive king crab. They fish for other varieties of crab, too, like brown, opilio, and snow crab. This lengthens out the season and adds to the income, but it adds to the stress of crab fishing, as well. These boats are out to sea for weeks at a time, and the living quarters are Spartan, at best. These men (there are VERY few women), have to live, work, and sleep in close quarters, and they often work unheard of hours, as much as 24 to 36 hours in a row.

Because it's such a hard job, it takes a special person to be a crab fishermen, and a lot of the beginners ("greenhorns") just don't cut it. So, the next time you enjoy a fine plate of king crab legs, a crab cake, or a crab cocktail, think about where it came from. You just may have an Alaska king crab fisherman to thank for your meal, so before you dig in, remember the men who fish for your food, and the dangers they face every time they hit the crab lines on the Bering Sea.

Wendy Pan is an accomplished niche website developer and author.

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