Careers :: Crab Fishing in Alaska � Fishing for Richeswith the Richest Job in America!

But this is only the rosy side to the job. Crab fishing in Alaska is one of the most perilous of all jobsin the world. To fish for crabs in the glacial waters of the Arctic Ocean in sub-zero temperatures,with pounding waves thrashing on the deck and tossing the fishing boat treacherously and icy windshowling continuously, needs a stout heart and an able body. Furthermore, your work will involvenegotiating the enormous crab pots and coils of line along the slippery deck.

Crab fishing is the most significant of the Alaskan commercial shellfish industries. The waters ofAlaska, notably the Bering Sea, Bristol Bay, Dutch Harbor and the Kodiak and Aleutian Islands arehome to rich bounties of crabs: tanner, Dungeness and the famed Alaskan King crab.

No it isn't Bill Gates. It isn't the diamond merchants of South Africa or the oil barons of Saudi Arabiaeither. The world's highest paid job is crab fishing in Alaska. The frigid waters off the Alaskanshoreline house a veritable fishing goldmine and crab fishing in Alaska has been aptly dubbed thelast great gold rushes on earth.

Each and every muscle and sinew of the body is stretched to the hilt and exhaustion to the point ofbreakdown is common. Crippled limbs, crushed fingers and ribs, broken legs are the staple fare inthe grueling 20-21 hour daily schedules, while men toppling overboard are not uncommon incidentseither. In fact, every year there are some casualties in these fishing trips.

An idea of the valuation of crab fishing in Alaska can be garnered from the fact that a seasonedfisherman can hope to rope in US$50000 worth of catch in an eight-week period.

However, in spite of all the hardships, there is no dearth of men seeking employment in this fishingtrade. Crab fishing in Alaska remains a haloed job to land.

The different varieties of the Alaskan crabs possess immensecommercial value and the Alaskan King crab in particular is aprized dish in the culinary world, valued as highly as caviar orvintage French wine. US and Japanese restaurants are theprimary importers of Alaskan King crab in the world.

The commercial crab fishing industry in Alaska had itsbeginning way back in 1950. The returns were promising fromthe very start and the region quickly attracted hundreds of USfishing boats. The 1980s were the heydays of crab fishing inAlaska. During this period of king crab boom, the fishing boatcaptains regularly earned US$150000 in a season and thecrab fishing boats boasted of saunas, music systems and

microwaves.

But by 1983, the Alaskan King crab industry crashed forno apparent reason. The worst slump in fishing history, itforced fishermen to look into alternative fishing sources.Thus Alaskan commercial fishing branched out either tosalmon and halibut or bairdi and opilio, two types oftanner crabs.

Since then the Alaskan crab fishing trade has looked up alittle with the year 2001 bringing in 23.2-million pounds offishing stock worth US$36-million. But crab fishing inAlaska still continues to command the highest pay packet in the world.