One of the most common questions here is: “How do I become an Alaskan crab fisherman?” Or, more specifically, how do they apply to get on one of the six or so boats actually featured in Deadliest Catch.

Let’s disabuse you of this notion right off the bat. Neither Sig nor Phil, heck not even greenhorn-captain Blake, is going to hire some guy off the Internet who loved watching them on the Discovery Channel. Guys who get crabbing jobs get them either (1) because they are friends/family with one of the crew or (2) are incredibly, incredibly lucky, in the perfectly right place at the perfectly right time. So right there, that eliminates 99.99% of the population of wanna-be crab fishermen from contention.

Then you have to consider the fact that some 75% of greenhorn crab fisherman absolutely hate the experience. So even if you are lucky enough to get on board, you may be in for a seriously rude awakening.

If you have any ego, whatsoever, and can’t be bossed around ruthlessly while keeping a smile on your face and a spring in your step… find another job.

If you enjoy sleeping at least once every twenty-four hours… find another job.

If you think breaking your wrist or losing a toe means you can’t work a full 71-hour shift… find another job.

In the end you need to remember - crab fishing is one of the most difficult, rewarding and competitive jobs out there, and its only becoming more and more popular with every Emmy-award nominated season of Deadliest Catch. Guys who land these jobs tend to keep them. Where else are you going to make six month’s salary in three or four days?

Finally you need to ask yourself why you want a job on an alaskan crab boat. Do you just want to test your masculinity? Do you want a chance to get on TV? Do you want bragging rights for your kids and grandkids, so you can sit back years from now and say, “Yeah, I did that once”? If you answered yes to any of the above, then you’re probably not cut out for the job.

The guys who succeed on these boats don’t do it because of the romance of the sea, or the chance for fame or glory. They do it because they’ve got families to take care of and traditions to uphold. Crab fishing is in their blood. Their lives are literally in the hands of their crew, and vice versa, so captains like Sig and Phil don’t want to have to rely on some snot-nosed kid who just wants the “adrenaline rush” of being a crabber for one season, just so he could say he did it.

So, if after reading all of the above you think you’ve passed all the tests and met all the criteria… then what?

Well, like a wise man once said, 90% of life is just showing up. Get yourself to Alaska - preferably either Dutch Harbor or St. Paul Island.

Even better, land a job with one of the processing facilities. The Hansen brothers of the F/V Northwestern suggest getting a job with Icicle, Trident, Westward, Unisea, Peter Pan or Royal Aleutian Seafoods. They’ll usually pay to get you up to Alaska, and they’ll even give you a place to crash while you work. The job is shit, the pay is slightly better than shit, but you’ll have a foothold in the industry and you’ll start to meet real-life crab fishermen. In this business, like in most small industries, its not what you know, its who you know - so the more fishermen you meet, the more contacts you’ll have and the better chance you’ll have of someone considering you for a rare job opening on deck.

The crew of the Northwestern also suggest the following two links on their website:

http://www.labor.state.ak.us/esd_alaska_jobs/seafood.htm
http://www.labor.state.ak.us/esd_alaska_jobs/jobfair.htm
http://company.monster.com/dentsea/
http://www.fishingjobs.com/
http://www.afjournal.com/
http://www.alaskafishingjobs.com/

Good luck to you! God knows there’s a part of me that would love to be on a crab boat for three days at peak season… but there’s an even bigger part that realizes I’d be curled up in the fetal position most of the time, puking my brains out and realizing what an awful, awful mistake I’ve made.

Hope you’re more of a man than I am.

UPDATE: If you’d like the experience of being a crab fisherman without actually, you know, being a crab fisherman… you can always sign up for a tour with the Aleutian Ballad. Yes that’s right, the very same boat that was featured on Deadliest Catch. They’re now doing 4-hour tours for people who want to learn more about the fish industry, and get an up-front and personal view of what life is really like for the men they’ve seen only on television. ? No, you won’t be going 400 miles out to sea with 50-60 foot waves crashing on deck - in fact, they stay in a relatively calm and protected part of the bay - but this is about the closest most of us land-lubbers will ever get to the “dream” (nightmare?) of being a deckhand on a full-fledged crab boat. So why not check them out?

http://56degreesnorth.com/default.asp?pageid=2

For those who don’t remember, yes, the Aleutian Ballad is the ship from Deadliest Catch that literally flipped over onto its side after taking a monster rogue wave in the middle of the night. The engines died, the computers were knocked out, and the crew was thrown from their quarters. Luckily the ship righted itself and they limped back to port for repairs. Incredibly, it was all caught on video. Click here to watch on YouTube.

On the surface, Deadliest Catch would seem to be a fairly repetitive show. The weather turns bad. Waves batter the fleet. Crab pots are dropped. Crab pots are drawn up. Some are full, others aren’t. After a few episodes you’d think most viewers would flip to something else.

But we don’t.

The show is riveting, as much now at the close of its third season as it was at the very beginning. Why is that exactly? Well I’m no expert, but I have some theories.

Basically, Deadliest Catch is – if you’ll forgive the loaded metaphor – the perfect storm of network television. No other reality show has the rich brew of themes underlying what may at first appear to be a fairly routine fishing show. Among the most compelling themes:

Theme #1 - The Boy Becomes a Man

One of the primary focus-points of every season has been on the Greenhorns (i.e. rookies) - a brilliant move on the part of the producers. We watch these inexperienced youngsters (well, most of them are young), cockily announce their entry into the field, and we see their determination to prove themselves worthy of their fellow deckmates. We watch them either rise to (or fall away from) the challenges that the Bering Sea has to offer.

This is truly one of the most compelling themes of the show, perhaps because we (the viewers) are ourselves as much Greenhorns as those youngsters. We know as little, if not less, about the business of crabbing than they do, so we can’t help but identify with them as they struggle to keep up the pace and learn the ropes. Those who make it to the end of the season – through all the pain, sleep-deprivation, and, let’s face it, screaming and derision of the full-share deckmates – have truly achieved something great. And we’ve seen them through that amazing journey, every step of the way.

Theme #2 - The Gamble to Get Rich Quick

Americans love to gamble – if you need convincing of this, just do a quick count of all the televised poker tournaments that are on cable these days (and while you’re at it, check their ratings). Its part of the American dream to want to “get rich quick.” So in that sense, these crab fisherman are living out the American dream. They make as much in three days as some of us make in an entire year. Sure, it may be dirty, disgusting, dangerous work, but they’re out there and they’re doing it – they’ve thrown their chips on the table. Come hell of high water (and in their case, its generally always high water), they’ve made the gamble, and there’s a part of each of us that wishes we had the guts and gumption to do the same.

Of course, getting out on the boat is only the first step. You actually have to catch the crab to make money. And that’s why we can watch two, three, or five hundred pots being pulled up by the hydraulic wench, and never get tired of it. Will there be a full pot of 800 opies? Or just a couple of hangers on and a disoriented codfish? You just never know. It’s a gamble. And that’s why we’re riveted.

Theme #3 - The Last Bastion of American Masculinity

Its not for nothing that the theme song for Deadliest Catch was Bon Jovi’s classic “Dead or Alive.” The cowboy theme runs strong in this show, and with good reason – there’s so darned few left in the world. A cowboy doesn’t have to herd cattle or ride horses or even catch crab. The cowboy ethos is instead concerned with brute masculinity, about working a damned tough job for long hours, until your body is busted up and bleeding and you can barely walk in a straight line.

Sure, there are lots of “hard” jobs left in America. But on the whole, we’ve spent the last fifty years sanitizing and shrink-wrapping every aspect of daily life until its as safe and worry-free as possible. Machines do our heavy lifting, “safety-inspectors” make sure we sit in ergonomic chairs and don’t suffer repetitive stress syndrome. We’ve got warning labels on just about every imaginable product. And we have a national craze about suing folks whenever we bump our heads or sprain an ankle on their property.

Then you watch Deadliest Catch, and you get a glimpse into how “real” men used to be. These guys sever a finger and then wrap the stump in electrical tape so they can keep on working until the job is done. They work 72 hours, non-stop, in single-digit temperatures.

Meanwhile, we regular Joes bitch and moan about cold half-caff-lattes and half an hour of unpaid overtime.

These are just three of many underlying themes to this show. There are many others, but there are the ones that grip me, personally.

I get a lot of people asking me how I can watch “the same old stuff”, three seasons in a row. My answer is always, watch the show again – really watch it – and then see how you feel afterwards. I don’t give a whit about fishing… heck, I don’t even eat crablegs. But I can watch this show for hours on end. Nothing else on television feels so real. No other characters fill me with that unique mix of envy, dread and admiration.

I’d kill to have a beer with Sig Hansen.

And I’d kill twice to never, ever have to be a Greenhorn on his boat.

Have you played? If not, make sure to check it out. Takes a bit to figure out what you are doing but it’s definitely an exciting game to play. Learn to be your own captain, plot using gps, pick your crew, and make some money!

If you have played, what’s your highest score? Let us know by click on the “Comments” Link below the post title.

Enjoy!

While watching the show, you are probably wondering how many different types Alaskan King Crab there are; well, we’ve found that information for you.

The Red King Crab

Caught in the waters of Bristol Bay and Norton Sound, the true red king crab is the most prized species of crab in the world. There was just one major harvest of red king crab in Alaska this winter. The season lasted only 4 days. Over 250 boats participated in the fishery (in the waters of Bristol Bay) and harvested a total of more than 14 million pounds. Alive, red king crab are actually a dark burgundy in color. When they are cooked they turn bright red- with firey-red highlights on the top part of the shell, and especially around the toes. Taste-wise, true red king crab is the best in the world. The meat is snow-white, with highlights of bright red.? Succulent, and served steaming-hot, there is no other meal I would rather have.

The Blue King Crab

Caught in Alaska near St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands, this species is known for its proportionally giant claws. Pribilof Island blue king crab are among the largest crab in the world.? In Dutch Harbor in 1998 I saw blue king crab being unloaded at the dock weighing more than 18 lbs! When they are alive, blue king crab are brown with royal blue highlights. However, when they are cooked they turn a bright orange-red. This is why blue king crab is generally marketed as “red king crab”. Taste-wise, blue king crab is a close second to true red king crab.? When it is available in-season, I like serving blue king crab when I am entertaining guests. They are always amazed at the size of the legs- and especially the claws.

The Golden King Crab

Caught in the waters surrounding the Aleutian chain, brown king crab are the smaller of the three main species. Brown (golden) king crab is similar in taste to blue king crab. These crabs are the smaller cousins to red and blue king crab. They are a good value.

The Scarlet King Crab

Though not commercially marketed, the Bering Sea also holds a fourth type of king crab known as the Scarlet king crab. Though I have never tried this type of king crab, I have heard a tale or two that they have extremely sweet meat. Scarlet king crab have neither the size nor population to sustain a commercial harvest.

A Map of Where the King Crab Hang Out:?

Information from King Crab 101 - Alaskan King Crab Facts?