Why don’t the Deadliest Catch crab boats use cameras?
Ok, I’m sure I’m going to get flamed here by folks who are far more knowledgeable than I am, but I’ve had a nagging question in the back of my head for a while now, and its time I put it out there:
Why don’t the crab boats use underwater cameras to actually look for crab, instead of just blindly dropping pots where they think they’ll be?
First off, yes, I know they’re fishing in the middle of the Bering Sea, but my understanding is that they’re not in actual “deep” water but rather on a kind of extended shelf that’s actually relatively shallow. So it stands to reason that a reasonably-tough underwater camera should be able to manage the depths along their usual fishing grounds. Heck, if memory serves, I seem to remember the film crew for Deadliest Catch actually dropping a camera along with a crab pot and watching the little suckers climb on in. So from a technical standpoint, it doesn’t seem like it would be all that difficult. Ok, maybe its a little difficult, but surely not impossible? And considering the millions of dollars at stake, surely a $15,000 camera might be worth the investment?
So am I crazy, or does this make sense to anyone else? I’m sure I can’t be the first to think this up, so I imagine there must be a good reason why crabbers don’t do this. But it seems to me that they could just sink a camera with its own light on a sounding string in areas where they believe they will find biomass, and within just a few minutes they’ll know whether or not its worth dropping a pot on that spot.
Is it a technical issue?
Is it a license issue? (i.e. is it considered an unfair advantage to use it?)
Do the crab just move too fast for it to matter where they are at any given moment? (I’d find this hard to believe!)
Is it just a matter of the crabbers being too cheap or too set in their ways to invest in high-tech equipment?
Or is it something else??
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
May 30th, 2008 at 11:13 pm
I am positively THRILLED to see something written about this; don’t apologize for asking (well to ME at least
I, myself, have no clue what the answer is, but every time I watch the show, I wonder similar things.
Mostly things like “geez…we can put a man on the moon but that guy could DIE unless someone has a knife handy”
I wonder why they don’t use larger pots, or pots made out of lighter weight material. I can poke holes in my own theories, but I have an overall feeling of “why does it have to be THIS difficult, can’t they do something different…” I think about it a lot actually.
I also wonder if it isn’t related to tradition, (this is the way we DO it!) and saving jobs. Like maybe there is an easier way, but it would put people out of work? I don’t know.
I’ve never forgotten something I heard when I was MUCH younger…I was with my grandpa, we were driving up to the cabin on Lake Mille Lac, Minnesota, listening to the radio. Some expert on the radio said if we switched from asphalt to crumb rubber, for our roads & highways, we would not only be recycling used tires, but making stronger roads that lasted longer with fewer maintenance problems, especially in harsh climates. I immediately thought of the pothole we’d just hit.
But my grandpa said, right away, “it’ll never happen…too many jobs to lose repairing those roads”.
I don’t know the facts or the science behind this, but as far as crab fishing, there has just GOT to be an easier way. Or at least, a safer way. When you think about how dangerous the job is, 900 pound pots, a hook flying around, rope to tangle around your feet…and then you COMBINE that with working 18 hours STRAIGHT? 24 hours? I think Sig & Edgar were stubbornly keeping their crew up something like 48 hours?!? It’s a recipe for disaster.
Are you going to do any research on your idea to use a camera? I think it’d be interesting to know.
May 31st, 2008 at 11:03 pm
I think the rough water is the real problem - to guide an underwater camera on a tether would be almost impossible in the rough water tat is most commonly present. Also the cameras are expensive and require trained technician to run them - I do not think many of the deckhands would qualify.
June 1st, 2008 at 7:45 pm
I think the men on deck (captians too) are doing just fine. Especially Sig Hansen. He is not only super smart but georgeous as well. Wish I could get in touch with him. Julie
June 2nd, 2008 at 1:22 am
Loggers routinely use hydraulic-powered articulated booms (mounted on “skidders”), to firmly grasp a tree, cut it from it’s stump, and either lay it down for manual trimming, or, power the tree through a device on the felling boom that trims and cuts to length. At all times the tree is under positive control by the operator.
My question is, why hasn’t similar technology been adapted to the handling of crab pots? It would entail mounting a “siezing-flange” or adaptor on the trap to connect with the articulated crane, operated by a single crewman, and eliminating the need for others to manhandle a dangerously swinging crabpot. That same crane/manipulator would also “pick and stack” the pots. Also, the cage door could use some improvement, and, bait-loading should be done via a trap-door in the top of the cage.
Were I to build a crab boat I would definitely have the above features, possibly two cranes (port and starboard) to handle more pots, faster. Robotics might be the answer, using the above system. A reduced crew equals savings.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:22 am
I have to say that my father and I, who watch the show regularly, have wondered the same thing. The only reason that we could logically and definitely come up with would be that they’re just so used to the way things have been that they don’t really have the time to relearn how to fish. Another reason would be that if you were to have a camera on the bottom of the boat, especially during Ophie season, the ice would build up way too fast and no one would be able to get under the boat to clean it. I guess you could have the camera on a chain that you can lower and raise, but that would take too much time to keep pulling up to clean wouldn’t it?
Those are some good questions though! I’ve been wondering the same thing myself…..I can understand not using more technological things though…..they’re surrounded by water and the last thing that they want to do is be completely surrounded by electronics as well. Sure they can waterproof everything, but there’s always something that goes wrong right? Atleast for me it does. Haha. That, and I’m going to say that the water and the ice would build up too much and too quickly to be able to keep it in good shape long enough to be worth using.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I’d say it’s because of expense. These guys are using equipment that is built to last and something fragile like a camera system is likely to need constant repair in conditions seen on the show. Seems like a lot of these boat owners are operating on the financial edge as well. To william above, talking about loggers, you need to realize that much of that work is done by large logging corporations that have comparatively huge budgets. For independent fishing vessel operator, it is most likely prohibitively expensive to experiment with high tech equipment.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 pm
I would imagine that they use cranes on the boats like lumberjacks is that the equipment would make the boat too top heavy. When the pots are on board they run the risk of the boat being too top heavy in a storm. I guess they wouldn;t want to double that risk with heavy cranes sitting up top
June 2nd, 2008 at 8:25 pm
theres no visibility, if you were to dive in the bering sea you couldnt see your hand in front of you its that bad so if they strapped a camera to a crab pot you would see much. and freezing is a problem too
June 3rd, 2008 at 12:16 pm
I can’t believe so many people have so many of the same questions I have. I love the show. North Western is forsure my favorite crew. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I believe the average depth of those crab pots is
right around 400 feet. The pots soak for a good amount of time, 6-12 hours, so a camera that saw one or two crab wouldn’t tell the whole story … laying down and soaking prospect pots is time consuming but I think that is the only thing that tells the real story. I don’t think any of them are old fashioned and stay away from technology, they use depth finders, and high end navigation. The idea of a under water camera is awesome, if it would work under the conditions their in, I bet they would all have under water cameras. It is all about the 80,000,000.00 purse. I wish they would have more video of the crabs getting into the pots though, they’ve only showed that once that I know of.
June 3rd, 2008 at 9:17 pm
Fact is they have a general idea where the crabs should be, they are just not always there and other areas are better fishing. Hence, they lay out the “prospector” pots and fine tune the areas.
As far as working both sides of the boat, stop dreaming.
Don’t think for a minute these guys haven’t figured every imaginable angle to make it more productive, hence profitable. Thes are million dollar operations and all the dumb fisherman went out of business long ago.
I persoanally fished stone crab in the Florida Keys. Absolutely no comparison! My buddy worked on a boat named the Baronoff out of Dutch Harbor during the same period (mid 70’s) and he claimed to have the most dangerous job. He was the Chef!
Enjoy the show!
June 4th, 2008 at 6:49 pm
[…] Read on.. […]
June 5th, 2008 at 1:13 am
Northwestern is my most disliked Boat. Sig seems heartless and runs the boat at times like a gulag. Notice on Time Bandit how Jonathan runs his ship with his crew in mind and they compete great. It’s an example of 2 managment styles. One is a demanding negative style that creates a stressful work environment (sig) and Jonathan who takes the worst working conditions and makes it somewhat bearable. Just look at the war with the deckhands that was going on the Northwestern. Sig did little to nothing to stave off that nonsense. He would be my last choice to work for. Jonathan would be my first pick for a boss if I had to do that job.
The technical aspect. I agree with most posters. There has to be an easier way. I have thought of safer, better ways. I like the Lighter pots point. 800 pounds a pot seems more than it should be. Very dangerous on a bouncing deck. Fiberglass, Graphite, Aluminum? Something lighter would do a lot of good. They make wings on fighters now out of Graphite, I bet that is tough enough for a crap pot. Also, a lighter pot makes for less wear and tear on the equipment. Could someone design a collapsing pot? Take up way less deck space.
They must have a somewhat perfected system, but there are questions about methods and safety improvements that I bet someone could come up with.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:01 pm
O.K. I crabbed for ten years before it went to quotas. I promise if underwater cameras were effective the fish and game with all of its scientists would have used them. Nothing and I mean nothing lasts in the sea for very long.. I am still baffled at the ship to ship camera shots they get without having a boat of thier own .
And for everyones information the TIME BANDIT is the baddest vessel and crew in the land. Eddie ASDSFGRTREYHG taught me how to crab.
June 5th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
TO CBREW….They are two totally different types of vessels. and I promise that every one goes full tilt from beginning til end. I have logged, roughnecked and every other job to feel the adrenaline that comes from being in the bering sea… 20 on and 4 off is still how my schedule goes. #0 foot seas is almost the max working conditions and any captain shuts it down after that., The Bandit and northwestern are very similar in ethic and concern for fish and fellow man
June 6th, 2008 at 9:22 pm
What happened to the “Maverick”? Is it fishing this season?
Thanks
June 8th, 2008 at 5:28 am
This year they went down to 21 fathoms chasing opies, and opies like it shallowest, and 1 fathom is 6 feet. So doing the math real quick that’s 126 feet. Not impossible. Difficult yes, but not impossible. But once you stop to think about it, a very very expensive way to find crab. You see the crew that shoots these episodes that we watch every week, at the beginning of the season they are sent out with.. Oh.. 50 cameras? they might make it back with 5. With each one costing 20,000 bucks that’s almost a million dollars. When your total haul equals out to 1.5 million bucks you’re not even able to pay for the gas it takes to go out there and catch ‘em.
Now as for making the pots lighter. I’m sure the guys would all be for that, only problem is what do you make them out of? Keep in mind it’s got to be made out of a material that can hold anywhere from 300 to 1200 pounds of crab after being soaked in seawater that’s actually colder then freezing for up to 72 hours then hauled out of the water and slammed agasint the side of the boat a couple of times without shattering. Then you have to weather to contend with. It’s just not practical.
June 8th, 2008 at 7:58 pm
I happened to see a bunch of the Deadliest Catch crew at the airport! Jonathon walked in front of me towards his driver, and I said, “I love your show.” He stopped, turned around, came back, shook my hand with a powerful grip! Smiled, looked me in the eye, and said something like, “Thank you. That means a lot.”
Phil and his youngest son and two bleached blondes walked by, I said, “I like your show.” and they completely ignored me and kept walking.
Phil, BTW does not look sickly or ill at all…
June 11th, 2008 at 2:54 pm
LM, I am glad to hear you say that Phil didn’t look ill. I am surprised to hear this after hearing about his punctured lung and blood clot. I am not sure though that he was ignoring you. It could have been that he did not hear you. It could be that his hearing is not what it should be.
Cbrew, As for Sig. I think he has shown compassion for his crew. He made sure to get to a safe harbor during the storm to protect his crew, even though they voted to stay out and fish. As far as the disagreement between the crew, I feel it is better to let them hash it out. They are not children, and to break it up would not have helped. This is not the only boat where the crew have not gotten along at times. This is a stressful job and I would imagine that tempers do flare at times.
June 15th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
IS IT RELLY THE DEADLEAST JOB IN THE WORLD?
June 17th, 2008 at 3:45 pm
I have been a fan of the show for ages, but to answer ‘the question why don’y they use cameras’, Well I watched the behind the scenes show recently and they showed how many cameras that the film crews got through because of breakages and water damage, and these were used by profesionals. I can’t imagine a camera lasting that long in the hands of the crews, no matter how well built. I’m sure they couldn’t build a camera that is strong enough for the task in question, but this is my opinion and I could be wrong.
June 17th, 2008 at 4:00 pm
I think the reason behind the type of material on the pot is the weight. Think about it a second. Compare the pot to a nice heavy anchors. Anchors are heavy so they stay in one place. They are in rough water. The crabs are at the bottom. Heavy pots mean the pots are more likely to stay down where they set them. A light weight pot would bash around all over the place and the crabs wouldn’t go in.
Also I think I read the Time Bandit Boys tried sticking a camera down in the water to find the crabs before the show started up. I thought I remember reading they found a glove/arm float by. That would stop me from throwing a camera down there. Salt water is extremely corrosive. Cameras don’t last long in that.
June 17th, 2008 at 7:57 pm
When did Phil get sick? What happened? I remember seeing preview alluding to that but don’t remember seeing it? Did I somehow miss an episode? By the way this show rocks! Best show on TV
June 17th, 2008 at 11:42 pm
TiffinMn
You are right about the Time bandit boys, it is in their book “Time Bandit: Two Brothers, the Bering Sea, and One of the World’s Deadliest Jobs” Actually it is in an excerpt posted on Barnes & Nobles website (here: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/Time-Bandit/Johnathan-Hillstrand/e/9780345503725#TABS ) I pasted the section below:
The last thing I remember, I was telling my buddies about the time my brother Andy and I were fishing for red king crabs in Bristol Bay. We were trying an experiment with a TV camera that we had contained in a watertight box that we were towing underwater to help us locate crabs, which roll along the sea floor in balls fifteen feet high. Sometimes they migrate as many as four miles in a day. Andy and I were staring into the TV monitor when suddenly a human arm floated by wearing the orange sleeve of a seaman’s rain slicker, with a blue rubber glove on its hand. Where the rest of the body went, who could say?
“Did you see that?” I asked Andy.
He said, “I saw it. Did you see it?”
We started to laugh—a psychotic, not a funny, laugh. Just then, at that exact moment, we felt a bump against the hull. We told each other it might be the rest of the guy looking for his arm. But we had only bumped into a humpback whale, and he was mad as hell. On the surface, he glared at us with a huge eyeball that seemed to be telling us, “Next time watch where you’re going, Bub.”
June 18th, 2008 at 2:12 am
I LOVE THE SHOW AND ALL THE GUYS BUT MY FAVORITE IS COG AND PHIL AND EDGAR AND I JUST WONDER PHIL YOU HAVE BOTH OF YOUR BOYS IS IT HARD TO BE A FATHER AND A BOSS WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR KIDS AND CIG YOU WORK WITH YOUR BROTHER IS IT ALSO HARD AND JONATHAN SAME FOR YOU BUT YOU HAVE BOTH OF YOUR BROTHERS AND AT ONE TIME YOUR SONE IS IT HARD TO SEPERATE THE 2 AS CAPTAIN AND FATHER AND BROTHER TO WHEN IT COMES TO YOUR FAMILY AND CIG YOU R ALWAYS THE ONE TO BEAT WEN IT COME TO CRAB COUNT HOW DOES THAT MAKE YOU FEEL TO BE THE ONE EVERYONE WANT TO BEAT BUT KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND BE SAFE AND I REALLY LOVE THE SHOW ND PHIL YOU NEED TO QUIT SMOKING AND DRINKING ALOT OF RED BULL
June 18th, 2008 at 3:43 am
It’s too bad they couldn’t have some kind of vacuum in the pot to “suck in”
all the crabs. Maybe they should try a different kind of bait…like steak bones.
(Blue claws love it!)
This is my favorite show. I wish all the captains and their crew a safe and
prosperous season!
June 18th, 2008 at 4:56 am
I want to say first of all that I watch the show everyday and say that these men are bad ass and should totally be given the Heart trophy for doing their chosen prfession. I like to wonder how tough it would be working for36 hours straight on that deck and still be alive. WoW! Regarding the camera question, I just think its about the hunt and morals that these fishermen have grown up with. I dont know how efficient it would be to throw a camera overboard and really know where the camera is exactly and it always seems that the boat is in a crazy ass storm. Cameras on pots would also take the fun out of bringing them up to see your catch. Thats the sport of it isn’t it? Keep the show going as I am a big fan. Keep up the hard work crabbers!
June 18th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
The water is too dark. You would not be able to see much at all even with spotlights on the camera. Also, you would have to get the cara right to the bottom of the sea floor … it would take a beating.
June 18th, 2008 at 2:08 pm
Just love this show ! Can’t get enough of it I enjoy Phils’ ordeals with youngest son. Saw him in People Magazine with his boys. He really appears to be a great Dad who cares very much about his sons. Enjoy watching Johnathans enthusiasm, was great to see him go out on deck and work with the crew, even though he got injured (but still went back out).
Why is everyone so quick to want them to use new technology i.e. cameras. If it were feesable it would be done, don’t ya think? Then we wouldn’t have such a great show to watch. Besides that its easy to sit back and try to think of easier ways for these guys, but I think they all are very smart men and if something were proven to be as effective as what they are using now, it would be in play. Nothing but respect for these men
June 18th, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Like they always say on the show, “That’s why they call it fishing and not catching”. Tradition.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:17 am
Just reading a few things on here and want to shed a little light…
1) The camera’s would have to be pretty beef to withstand the abuse that they will take in the waters. Also if you notice in some shots with a camera in a crab pot, it’s very hard to see 1 foot out in front.
2) Now for the why don’t they use robotic arms on deck. Lets say something happens to that arm, who will fix it? And how much is it going to cost to fix. With manual hydraulic arms if something does go wrong the average person can fix it. A robotic arm you are going to need to be pretty smart.
June 20th, 2008 at 2:39 am
I’m not a guru but if you used super light pots not the 800 pound pots wouldn’t they drift all over the damn ocean how could you leave it for 6-12 or more hours and come back to the same spot??? The camera would only be able to see i’m geussing 5′-10′ in font of it! what would that tell anyone with hundreds of miles of ocean to fish? That logging gear that loggers operate seems very handy but i bet its 20 times harder to operate in 40 foot seas.i operate foklitfs and such i think i would be very hard to move levers in 40= seas and grab a swinging pot. They do use two crne arms on the boat already one at the rail and one large one to stack..how many more should they put on the boat?I think and would hope they use the best technology with 80,000,000 milion dollars worth of crap to catch.. But i’m sure if any engineers could design any product that would be usefull they would give it a try! so get out your pencils and sarpen them…
just think if someone could come up with a great idea how much you could sell it to them!!!!
June 20th, 2008 at 2:58 am
by the way is i just me or does everyone eles see the use of major meth?? don’t get me wrong i love thje show. i dvr every one. but come on! coffee dont keep you up 30-40 +
hours ,chain smoking cigs. and wiggling your foot faster snakes tounge..lol
when crew member from sigs boat went to jail…drug use .. bet it wasnt pot
June 20th, 2008 at 4:46 pm
I am a crab fisherman and a longliner in Alaska. Here is one good reason you wouldn’t use a camera even it worked perfectly. What are you going to do with the information? The areas we fish for Opies and Kings are the same areas that everyone always fishes. So, you run a camera to the bottom and sure enough you find the biomass. Big deal, you knew that’s were it was when you started setting gear. I know that red’s are harder to find than opies, and this is a pretty basic statement, but we’re not fishing that big of an area when it comes to running around looking for crab.
Also, it was brought up that a different system for hauling the pots would make it faster. I too have logged and know what you’re talking about, but they’re a couple of problems with the system you’re mentioning. First, most boats, if not all, do have to cranes, a picking crane, which places the pot on the rack, and a stacking crane which positions the pot on the deck. Secondly, if you had a crane that would “pinch” the pot to put it into place, you would possibly bend the frame of the pot, but most definitely destroy the mesh of the pot that essentially keeps the crab in.
You couln’t use the vacuum idea, although it is used in the salmon industry to wonderful results, simply for the fact that you couldn’t sort the crab faster and you would more than likely be knocking legs off the crabs, which is a major no-no.
And the meth comment. You’ve got to be kidding me. Yeah, sadly I’ve worked with quite a few guys who have had drug problems. One of my fellow deckhands OD’ed right after kings this past year and died. I admit that they’re are boats that have drugs on board. But they’re not the kind of boats that are going to be on TV and if you were in Dutch Harbor you would spot them from a mile away. The reason is, a captain who cares that little about the well being of his crew, couldn’t give a crap what his boat looks like either. Another problem with that, we’re in Dutch Harbor. I doubt that at any time they’re is more that ten thousand people in Dutch and at that no more that a thousand fisherman. Does that make it economically sensible to smuggle drugs. Sure you can get weed and coke but the guys who use it always pay more than three times what they would back home. Sure meth can be made on the island, but Dutch is the definition of small town nosy. You’d be turned in by ever local before you even got started making it.
Hope this helps.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:09 am
The answer is a combination of items already mentioned. Fishing, in any American port, is a long tradition generally handed down through the generations of families as watchers of DC can clearly see. With these traditions come conventions and thoughts about how the job should be done, as well as strong work ethics and other elements such as strength, silence, courage, resilience, individualism and, above all, stoicism. The day is bad, you suck it up. The seas are rough, you suck it up. The take is bad, you suck it up. All part of the tradition.
Also part of this tradition is what many would term Rugged Individualism. Crabbers feature themselves and truly are, to a degree, the last of the Cowboy breed. That’s why women admire them, and men admire them though, in TRUTH, very FEW of us would want to or could live (much less THRIVE) under their conditions. Sure, some of us younger troops might survive ONE season as a deckhand. But they somehow manage to endure not simply month after month, but year after year and even some decade after decade.
These people are not technicians nor would a technician survive under these conditions. The more technical a piece of equipment, the least chance for its survival. A small cam system for examining the sea floor would require more time, more equipment and more expertise than these owners/operators not only are willing to spend but CAN spend. There is LITTLE equipment of any variety built that can constantly withstand the conditions to be experienced on the Bering Sea.
For example, someone mentioned the possibility of building pots out of other material than steel. TRADITION and EXPERIENCE have told the crabbers that steel is the best choice with the fewest problems. Please recall the incredible pounding that pots take as they are not only loaded, moved and stacked aboard the boat, but the further pounding they take as they are lifted to the loader; pots are smashed and crashed against the sides of the boats constantly. I doubt any material save steel could 1) take the pounding and 2) be as easily repairable on the boat or on land or 3) be as affordable. They simply get more “bang for their buck” with a more common material.
Things have changed over the years with crab pots, however. In the 90s, crab pots were steel-framed but consisted of a net mesh fabric, like standard woven nets. That changed. Sides are now similar to metal fencing. Again, practical, considering initial expense, maintenance expense and ease of repair.
I think one of the major aspects that casual observers of the show fail to appreciate are the MASSIVE amounts of money necessary to keep one of these boats not just running to a minimal level but to a successful and safe level. I know from personal experience that, of three fishing boats in my family, California regulations recently mandated the complete removal of each diesel engine from the hull. The upgrades necessary to comply with diesel emissions (EVERY fishing and commercial vessel runs on DIESEL) and ballast water management resulted in a $75,000+ price tag for each of our vessels to come into compliance — MANDATORY compliance. Engine upgrades wouldn’t do; each engine had to be entirely replaced. Luckily, the State supplemented some buckage as well. But that’s just one part.
There are licenses. There are permits. There are regulations. There is OSHA. For me there is also CAL-OSHA. ANY time you start making money as an individual, EVERY governmental agency, from local to state to federal, wants “their” CUT. From the grease from your fryer if you have a fryer onboard, to your fuel tanks, your engines, your safety equipment, EPIRBS, propane tank, running water and catch tank, you name it, it is REGULATED and has to be INSPECTED and each and every inspection takes TIME and costs MONEY on a monthly, semi-annual or annual basis. Then, on top of that, try paying your QUARTERLY TAXES to the fed.
I’ve always said, if EVERY citizen of this country got to keep every cent they make in their paycheck but, instead, had to pay QUARTERLY taxes on that income, there would be a REVOLUTION the likes of which the planet has never seen.
Because then and ONLY then would you come to realize how MUCH TAX you REALLY pay!
And that is why there are no cameras for crab.
BZ
June 22nd, 2008 at 2:28 am
BTW, you need to start posting more frequently or your blog is guaranteed an assured death.
BZ
June 22nd, 2008 at 7:36 am
In retrospect, my apologies, that was a stupid comment, new DC episodes don’t appear that frequently.
BZ
June 25th, 2008 at 4:10 pm
Captain Sig Hansen of the Northwestern said he tried it… It couldn’t see for such a range that you could actually tell where they were though.
June 25th, 2008 at 5:25 pm
Using a camera would take away the spirit of the hunt. Why break tradition, it seems to be that their grandfathers, fathers and now the sons all follow suit very willingly.
To change the subject, what happend to Phil (Cornelia Marie?) after he was spewing up blood ??
June 30th, 2008 at 6:01 pm
Hey folks, Great questions and great answers and theories.
1. We need the weight of the pots to stay firm on the floor. Crags can get crushed and spoil the pot and hold.
2. Cameras are taboo and dont hold up anyway. Crab pots soak extended periods and the long soaks draw them in vs finding the bio mass and dropping pots on their heads.
3. Cranes are top heavy. Two cranes on deck would be a disaster waiting to happen adding 10 tons of unstability with 150 pots already on deck. Single crain sits center of gravity and, two would change this. Ist worse if you are at quota because nwo teh hold is full and you have all pots on deck and an additional crane. I would just as soon catch a ride back on another boat back to Dutch. Case in point about weight. Far West added 30 additional pots to haul out for buds, but was overloaded and illegal by Coast Guard standards, but we all do it for smaller boats that have to meet quotas but havent the deck space for all the pots. This made it very top heavy in rough seas. They just got bit.
4. Bottom line, that is why we call it “fishing” vs “catching”
June 30th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
UMMMM are you dumb the real reason is that you can’t see any thing with just a plane camera in the watter it reflect the light and it will be to dark any how so really there is no point you will really need a fish finder or a sonic reader to really find them in a better way.
July 1st, 2008 at 4:20 pm
you couldnt see anything
a thermal scan would be more productive and they probably do that in addition to the one the Department of the Interior does so it can tell how much crab is out there
July 2nd, 2008 at 11:59 am
Wanted to comment about the great entertainment factor the show provides, talk about reality TV. The different crews and their personalities are what keeps me coming back. After reading all the blogs about the under water cameras, additional cranes, lighter pots, easier, more efficient ways to fish, etc. It will not change because of tradition, if it’s not broke don’t fix it.
This is fun to watch especially when you start getting into some of the personalities, I am hoping Phil is going to be alright, the Wizard gets the leak patched in time to off load the catch…… The entire premise is a real life soap opera.
Keep on doing what you’re doing!
Speaking of cameras, I would love to be on board with a camera.
July 2nd, 2008 at 3:38 pm
From watching I thought I saw shows about pots in 600 foot of water
July 5th, 2008 at 8:28 pm
Johnathan Hillstrandt said in an interview that they have used a camera to find crab but now that they fish by quotas, it is not worth the trouble.
July 6th, 2008 at 5:54 pm
The show is great and shows how hard Alaskan Fisherman work. I notice not to many people with comments are from Alaska. As an Alaskan I would like to say thank you for watching the show and educating yourself on the fishing industry here.
And yes it is one of the most dangerous jobs!
July 6th, 2008 at 9:36 pm
Thermal camera? What would that see? Crabs arent warm blooded.
I cant see how a camera would see anything anyways. If they had a light on it, would that end up scaring away the crab?
Lighter pots would easily float away and the icy water is crazy for most other metals. They cant be too brittle yet not too soft to deal with the abuse they’d take year in and year out.
I bet alot of the crab fishing is about tradition but at the same time its all about the all mighty buck. Do you think those guys risk their lives and losing their families for fun? I dont think so. If I had a wife and kids at home I would leave for extended periods of time to just barely make ends meet. Its hard work, its dangerous work, and if someone could get an edge with a camera believe me they would.
July 7th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
how is it that the crab are able to get into the pots but they can’t get out?
July 8th, 2008 at 8:40 pm
Probably one of the stupidest questions Ive ever heard. Are you being serious? do you think the crew is going to be in the wheelhouse watching a tv screen and when they see a group of crabs drop a net. What a stupid question.
July 9th, 2008 at 11:24 pm
Its a very logical question.
They use cameras to investigate sewer blockages, surgery, treasure hunting (Titanic). Dont foregt Radar in fish finders………..
If it were my investment - I would be all over cameras.
The bigger question is: How stupid is it NOT to use such!!
July 12th, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Hi!
I started watching the show recently & i just love it!!
I think it’s just.. amazing what these guys put themselves through to catch crab & i gotta say it takes some “BIG ONES” to do what they do!
Anyway, i look forward to watching more & getting to know each crew member & Captain a bit better. For the few episodes i have watched… i really like Phil, alot & i’m looking forward to finding out exactly whats going on with him next week. I could do without Sig though.. he seems to be just.. well, a jerk actually. Like i stated i haven’t been watching long at all but, thats my opinion as of this point.
July 15th, 2008 at 2:08 am
I don’t think the camera thing would be practicle because of the water depth, temp, and violent waves.
I am guessing that the pots are extra heavy to withstand the beating they get and if they were light they would float all over the place making them difficult to find (even with a bouy attached).
my favorite deadliest men are Edgar and Sig.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:35 pm
the thing is, if you have watched the show, they have had one that they did exclusively on the camera crew and all of their camera’s, even the underwater ones, have to be replaced every year, but the end of taping they loose all of their camera’s, because of the cold and the salt water. so for the fishing boats woul have to be equiped with new camera’s every year and that can be quite an expense.
July 16th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
I’m not sure if this was answered but, you culdn’t use a lighter material for those pots nothing mentioned would hold up to the weight of pulling a full pot up throught the water. The drag from the water weight and the crab count would crush, mangle and bend any of the other materials mentioned. It slams up against the side of a steel boat on a fairly consistent basis as well. There wouldn’t be anything left to pull up after a day of dropping and pulling those pots. As for the cameras to cold for the equipment with the kind of time that would be required to soak. They know basically were the crab are most years.
July 16th, 2008 at 7:16 pm
While the idea about the cameras seem like an a good one, the reality is it just wouldn’t work. The shot you saw of the crabs entering the pot was from a camera mounted on the pot itself and the view was only limited to a few feet. Had the camera not been attached to the pot it would be almost impossible to keep it at a position just above the ocean floor, while the vessel at the surface was being bounced around. Also the visibility is too limited at that depth to provide much of a picture of the area without adding lighting. All in all it would be expensive and the results would not be very helpful overall.
July 16th, 2008 at 8:42 pm
I HAVE ANOTHER IDEA. WHY DON’T THEY USE SCALES TO WEIGH POTS INSTEAD OF TRYING TO COUNT. I SAW AN EPISODE WHERE THE SKIPPER WAS FINED FOR TOO MUCH WEIGHT. RIG A SCALE TO THE SORTING TABLE AND WEIGH THE CRAB. SAVES EVERYONE TIME AND TROUBLE, LET ALONE FINES, WHICH BY THE WAY I THINK THOSE GOVERNMENT GUYS WERE JERKS ABOUT THAT SECOND HOLE THAT HAD TO BE EMPTIED.
July 17th, 2008 at 8:44 pm
On the ideas about tracking, I was wondering if it was legal to tag the throw backs with some sort of tracking device to pluck the next season. I would think if the crab had a gps, should be trackable, tag a % during pod dumps, would at least give better inclination as to where they are next season.
July 18th, 2008 at 12:53 am
Don’t miss the season finale of Deadliest Catch when the captains race to catch the last of their remaining quotas while battling ice and equipment issues. Also. Time Bandit’s Scottie makes a near fatal mistake working the hydraulic system, and an ominous message comes across the radio as the men head for home ports. The Deadliest Catch season finale airs Tuesday night at 9PM only on the Discovery Channel! http://dsc.discovery.com/fansites/deadliestcatch/deadliestcatch.html
July 19th, 2008 at 9:51 am
If the pots are truly 800 plus pounds I have determined there must be a better way to do it. Lugging 800 pounds on deck, a heavy expensive crane, danger to the crew, fatigue to the crew, and a danger to the boat itself. My guess is that it’s what they know. Captains don’t have to mess with the pots their deck hands do, and if it works then why bother changing things.
But there has to be a better way to do it I am convinced.
Steel is not necessarily the most durable material. There are much lighter weight components available now. Also a marginally smaller pot seems to provide more advantages than any disadvantage. Imagine a pot that is about 150 pounds made of graphite/apoxy (something of that nature). A crew member could easily manage it with far less fatigue and risk of injury. Also, more pots can be carried with less danger to the ship itself. Way way faster to move around on deck. No need for a massive crane. Pot retrieval would be much faster. More test pots and wider hunting sphere… Well, you get my point.
Also, the method of coiling the line seems obtuse too. Wouldn’t it be far better to have a spool that could rapidly and more effectively coil the line? Why have the bouys tied to the line? Use a clamp that can easily be taken off the line and stowed, a much cleaner way of maintaining all those lines. Couldn’t there possibly be a better way to toss the line overboard too? That seems intensely dangerous at times.
I am convinced if a mechanical engineer and other great minds researched the process they could come up with a much better/safer method of crabbing than what I am seeing. Those pots just seem way too heavy/cumbersome and probably leads to a few deaths a year alone. The pots are likely the biggest pain to the deck crew and the whole process in general.
One day there will be a 21st century crabbing boat that will change the way this is done. I think right now the business of crabbing is still in the hands of owners who do it the same old way because thats how they learned how to do it. And it’s the way they trust.
July 19th, 2008 at 10:25 pm
yall are crazy once the camera is in thewater underwater the surface conditions don’t matter! did you ever think others are doing it with cameras, but what good tv would that make.. Bunch of fools risking life and limb because they are to stubborn to change!
July 21st, 2008 at 6:39 am
JRYE:
For the crab to be legally taken they have to be above a certain size which is measured between two points on their backs. There are hefty fines for any ship found with undersized crab in the hold.
The show is great viewing, the ships crews are fantastic, not forgetting the camera crews either
July 22nd, 2008 at 10:46 pm
If I would have to guess, I would say becase of the rough waters. If you watch the show, you know what I mean, Pluse, IT WOULD TAKE ALL THE FUN OUT OF IT!!!!!
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 am
Cbrew, you give the guys on the boats too little credit in the brains department. Believe me, I worked salmon boats for years, if there was an easier way they would do it. Besides long hours working on deck there are also long hours sitting in the cabin or on deck thinking about fishing. If they think something will work better they give it a shot. 99% of the time things don’t work out and they say “oh well.” When a modification does work to make the work load easier they will sure adopt it.
- lighter material for pots would mean that the pots would be drug all over the ocean floor, and possibly not even
sit on the floor. That’s not good of course.
- a better line coiler? Have you not seen the mechanical coilers on the show. They are a godsend.
- clamps fail, no question about that. I’ve seen it happen. A captain does not want to lose thousands of dollars
in gear and possibly thousands in crab because a twenty dollar clamp broke.
July 23rd, 2008 at 9:40 am
I apologize, I did not mean to single one person out. It’s just that the crews spend time thinking about and discussing ways to work on the boats. If something better comes along they will do it. In this day and age of technology and automation there are still some things left that are best done with good old fashioned hard work.
As for crabs getting in and not getting out of the pots, there’s a couple of reasons. First, the “tunnels,” or the sort of ramps that lead into the pots, it is much easier for the crab to walk up the ramp and in than get out. Second, the bait, once the crab find a source of food they will not leave it until it is gone. If a pot was to soak for say a week, there would be zero crab in it. They would invite themselves in, eat up, and then leave to find more food.
July 23rd, 2008 at 8:32 pm
i think it would be illegal to fish with underwater cameras
July 24th, 2008 at 1:23 pm
I have fished opillio or “snow crab” as we call it, and have to tell you that it’s not just blind luck and there’s very little guess work involved. Crabs move in a mass… sometimes 10 feet thick or more. It’s easy to spot where they may be but difficult to know for sure where they are going. That being said… a camera would not help any more than it would hinder. Hope this makes sense to you folks.
July 25th, 2008 at 4:32 pm
Why don’t the Deadliest Catch crab boats use cameras?
1) Ever tried to scrape a barnacle off a camera lens? You would need to constantly replace camera lenses or lens covers because of all the sea junk that attaches to surfaces. The cameras would require constant maintenance and in many cases replacement due to harsh conditions.
2) The time and fuel spent roaming the seas scanning the murky depths is not practical when you can just toss your pots in the area and let them soak awhile. Most of the time you catch something. Looking is not fishing!
3) Using a camera in such a vast area in low visibility would be like riding in a biplane leaning over the side peeping through a straw trying to find wood chips on the ground. It would take hours to scan just a square mile of area. 200+ square miles? You are talking days of searching, and even if you were right on top of the crab you may not spot them if you are tired, there is zero visibility, or human error causes one to miss spotting the crab.
4) Once the crab is found the captains let each other know about it thus no need for a camera.
5) Space on a boat is very limited, especially storage space. The cameras would be taking up valuable space while providing questionable utility.
6) Crab fisherman have been making a living for centuries without the need for cameras. Therefore, cameras are not a necessity.
July 29th, 2008 at 2:00 am
Zap this was exactly what I was thinking. You’ve got the camera crew drop a waterproof camera for crying out loud! LOL!
August 5th, 2008 at 6:48 am
haha! Thast easy to answer… Its becorse the craps is scattered over a large area. They don’t move in groups. but one by one… It would not be possible too see more than one or two crabs.
The crabs are walking big distance.
Sorry for my miserable english…
August 5th, 2008 at 9:58 pm
I understand what is being said here about making crabbing more efficient/technological and up to the 21st century. In my opinion, that would be taking all the mystique, adventure and essence of crabbing away. It would be like having a robot have sex with your husband if you weren’t up to the task. Well, maybe not the best analogy but sometimes I think it’s just nice to leave something “untouched” by technology. Maybe that’s a stupid attitude, but just how I feel.
I absolutely love this show, btw!
August 9th, 2008 at 5:31 pm
I am new here, but as for the use of Under water Cameras, this is not the Underwater world of Jaque Crustou, But Sonar is the best way to find anything living or dead.. The beeps would bounce off the object and send it back to the receiver… Submarines use it all the time, why can’t the Crabbers? Because a lot of them aren’t trained in the use of the equipment. But I know for a fact that given a chance the NORTHWESTERN, which is my very favorite boat on the entire show would find the crab a lot faster than that show off JOHN HILLSTRAND…. :p And I also know that Phil Harris will recover and return to the Cornelia Marie soon, hey, he won’t let Sig Hansen get the best of him, and John Hillstrand will pay for Punking Phil Harris last season with that JUNK HEAP of a truck…. Hey I would go aboard the Time Bandit and pull one hell of a PRANK on then Hillstrands….. Also, just for the RECORD I own the Northwestern Alaskan Crab Boat group on several social Networks… So don’t try anything funny people….
August 9th, 2008 at 5:40 pm
hi my name is robert and i have worked on a crab boat 1year and i am looking to maybe work on your boat please call 321 5054952
August 10th, 2008 at 8:51 am
I don’t think sonar will help catch crabs. Sonar is used for depth sounding or finding objects in the water. However it is of little value finding objects actually on the bottom of the ocean, unless that object is of a significant size.
What many people have missed when they ask, why don’t they do this or do that, is the practical side of crab catching. You have a very short time to make allot of money, which is vital to cover your expenses and make a profit so you keep your business. There could be all sorts of complex expensive equipment used to make life easier and more efficient. For example you could have crab pots that tell you how many crabs are in them by measuring thiner increasing weight, and then radio the information back using ULF radio. Then you could find out much faster which of your exploratory pots are in the right place. Or you could electronically tag crabs when a big haul is found, and throw them back in the water. As they move with the other crabs, you can track the crab migration. Others have also mentioned more efficient winches and cranes. The camera idea is impracticable as the viability would be poor, and better solutions are available.
The fact is, these solutions are very expensive and complex and fishermen are not trained to operate them. Even if the captains did learn to operate them, they would be taking a complex piece of equipment (ie multiple points of failure) into an environment which is damp, constantly moving and freezing cold. How long do you think it will last? A ships engineer on a boat can do a pretty ingenious job of fixing most mechanical things. However he is not an electronic engineer. He can’t install a new hard drive and ghost an image on to it if water leaks into some piece of equipment. If you only have 4 days to make your money, are you going to rely on some expensive complex piece of equipment performing perfectly in a freezing damp environment? Or are you going to rely on your knowledge of the business that has worked for decades (otherwise you would not still be a crab fisherman) and trust your crew to do the hard graft to get things done. If you don’t know the answer, you shouldn’t be watching the show. Maybe America’s Next Top Model is more your thing.