| tion_start --> | | | | crashed for no apparent reason. The worst slump |
| No it isn't Bill Gates. It isn't the diamond merchants | | | | in fishing history, it forced fishermen to look into |
| of South Africa or the oil barons of Saudi Arabia | | | | alternative fishing sources. Thus Alaskan |
| either. The world's highest paid job is crab fishing | | | | commercial fishing branched out either to salmon |
| in Alaska. The frigid waters off the Alaskan | | | | and halibut or bairdi and opilio, two types of tanner |
| shoreline house a veritable fishing goldmine and | | | | crabs. |
| crab fishing in Alaska has been aptly dubbed the | | | | Since then the Alaskan crab fishing trade has |
| last great gold rushes on earth. | | | | looked up a little with the year 2001 bringing in |
| Crab fishing is the most significant of the Alaskan | | | | 23.2-million pounds of fishing stock worth |
| commercial shellfish industries. The waters of | | | | US$36-million. But crab fishing in Alaska still |
| Alaska, notably the Bering Sea, Bristol Bay, Dutch | | | | continues to command the highest pay packet in |
| Harbor and the Kodiak and Aleutian Islands are | | | | the world. |
| home to rich bounties of crabs: tanner, Dungeness | | | | But this is only the rosy side to the job. Crab |
| and the famed Alaskan King crab. | | | | fishing in Alaska is one of the most perilous of all |
| The different varieties of the Alaskan crabs | | | | jobs in the world. To fish for crabs in the glacial |
| possess immense commercial value and the | | | | waters of the Arctic Ocean in sub-zero |
| Alaskan King crab in particular is a prized dish in | | | | temperatures, with pounding waves thrashing on |
| the culinary world, valued as highly as caviar or | | | | the deck and tossing the fishing boat |
| vintage French wine. US and Japanese restaurants | | | | treacherously and icy winds howling continuously, |
| are the primary importers of Alaskan King crab in | | | | needs a stout heart and an able body. |
| the world. | | | | Furthermore, your work will involve negotiating |
| An idea of the valuation of crab fishing in Alaska | | | | the enormous crab pots and coils of line along the |
| can be garnered from the fact that a seasoned | | | | slippery deck. |
| fisherman can hope to rope in US$50000 worth | | | | Each and every muscle and sinew of the body is |
| of catch in an eight-week period. | | | | stretched to the hilt and exhaustion to the point |
| The commercial crab fishing industry in Alaska had | | | | of breakdown is common. Crippled limbs, crushed |
| its beginning way back in 1950. The returns were | | | | fingers and ribs, broken legs are the staple fare in |
| promising from the very start and the region | | | | the grueling 20-21 hour daily schedules, while men |
| quickly attracted hundreds of US fishing boats. | | | | toppling overboard are not uncommon incidents |
| The 1980s were the heydays of crab fishing in | | | | either. In fact, every year there are some |
| Alaska. During this period of king crab boom, the | | | | casualties in these fishing trips. |
| fishing boat captains regularly earned US$150000 | | | | However, in spite of all the hardships, there is no |
| in a season and the crab fishing boats boasted of | | | | dearth of men seeking employment in this fishing |
| saunas, music systems and microwaves. | | | | trade. |
| But by 1983, the Alaskan King crab industry | | | | |