M E D I A K I T

The Big Bucks Guide toCommercial Fishing in Alaska

How to Run Away to Alaska, Work Harder Than YouEver Thought Possible, And Perhaps Even Get Paid

by Capt. Jonathan Allen

AVA I L A B L E I N P R I N T A N D e - B O O K6” x 9” 248 pages

ISBN 978-0-9839075-0-3

Retai l Softcover $19.95www.TheBigBucksGuide.com

www.Amazon.comand other retailers

Retail e-book for $5.99 Kindle and other online outlets

W H O L E S A L E O R D E R S :

Tammy AllenPublisher

208-863-3323tammy@TheBigBucksGuide.com

MEDIA INQUIRIES:LyLa Foggia

Foggia Public Relations503-622-0232

lyla@foggiapr.comwww.foggiapr.com

About the Author

CaptainJonathan Allen

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Capt. Jonathan Allen is a

graduate of the California Maritime Academy, where he

earned a B.S. in Nautical Industrial Technology, a Naval

Reserve commission and a U.S. Merchant Marine Officer’s

license as a Third Mate (Unlimited Tonnage). Upon gradu-

ation he worked on a variety of merchant ships, including

Roll-on/Roll-off ships, tankers, and research vessels.

After 10 years of kicking around the merchant

fleet, Allen was hungry for a new adventure and joined

the Alaskan commercial fishing industry, where he worked

crab boats, trawlers and longliners—including on the F/V

Lilli Ann, the F/V Blue North and the F/V Glacier Enterprise.

After nine years of commercial fishing (statistically the

most dangerous occupation in the U.S.), the father of three

reluctantly returned to merchant shipping, and currently

serves as a Chief Officer for APL Maritime Ltd.

Allen is a member of the International Organiza-

tion of Masters Mates and Pilots. Throughout the years,

he has attended the most comprehensive theoretical and

practical training offered to seafarers through Maritime

Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies / Pacific Mari-

time Institute (MITAGS-PMI). Allen’s qualifications include

an Unlimited Masters License and several Alaskan pilot-

ages. He is conversational in Spanish as a second language.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – Driggs, Idaho

New book filled with insider tips on how to live your dream of fishing Alaska for a living

Recommended by Captain Andy Hillstrand of

“The Deadliest Catch” hit TV show!

Looking for a fast way to make money? Need a summer

job to help pay your college tuition in the fall? Or maybe

your dream has always been to live the adventure of

fishing Alaska for a living. Whatever the reason, getting started is now a whole lot easier

thanks to a new book by Capt. Jonathan Allen, who spent nine years working in the

heart of the industry as a highly-respected skipper who consistently led his crew to new

records.

Allen’s THE BIG BUCK’S GUIDE TO COMMERCIAL FISHING IN ALASKA: How to Run

Away to Alaska, Work Harder Than You Ever Thought Possible, And Perhaps Even Get Paid

is a must-read for anyone hoping to break in or move up in what may be the most

lucrative job opportunity most will ever have. He tackles everything from what to expect

once you’re hired to how to navigate the maze of job opportunities, working and living

conditions, and pay and other issues that can make a critical difference in how

successful you will be. Most important, Allen has included the contact information for

literally hundreds of employers, as well as sample resumes and cover letters—so you can

start your job hunt before leaving home.

For those wondering if it’s worth the trek north, Allen says “the pay ranges from

nothing to hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. Many anglers have paid for homes,

businesses, advanced educations, or Harley Davidson's with a couple good seasons.”

But landing the job is just the first of the many physical and mental challenges

that Alaska's professional anglers are expected to endure in what has been called the

most dangerous profession in America. Whether you're an entry-level processor safely

back on shore or a crabbing deckhand fighting subzero temperatures on Alaska’s

notorious Bering Sea, “it's not an occupation for the soft. Everything you make, you will

have earned,” says the California Maritime Academy graduate who holds an Unlimited

Masters License.

“Even the least demanding shifts run 12 hours a day, seven days a week. The most

demanding vessels work very nearly 20 hours a day for weeks at a time. Often the work

goes on until it's done, no matter how long that may be. It has to be that way. If the ice

on the boat is building up to where the vessel is endangered, it has to be broken off, or

the vessel and crew will be lost. If a crew member is seriously injured and unable to

work, the rest of the crew has to work harder to keep up production. It's a brutal

schedule for most normal people, yet it has its positive aspects as well. If you can work

these hours cheerfully, it makes you quite valuable to the boat and you won't have any

problem keeping a job.”

“Capt. Allen’s title says it all,” says Jessica Hathaway, Editor in Chief of National

Fisherman. “Commercial fishing is one of the hardest jobs anyone could ever have, but

it can pay off...The Big Bucks Guide to Commercial Fishing in Alaska strips away some

of the fantasies but also a lot of the confusion of entering and working our way up in

Alaska’s commercial fisheries. Anyone who’s dreamed of being a fish boat skipper (and

who hasn’t?) will get a reality check as well as plenty of inspiration in Capt. Allen's

stories and refreshing straight-talk. This guide will help you navigate Alaska’s robust

fishing industry from processor to tender to crewing in the state’s vast range of fisheries

and landscapes. It’s a must-read for aspiring greenhorns.”

Recommended by Captain Andy Hillstrand of “The Deadliest Catch” hit TV show, THE

BIG BUCK’S GUIDE TO COMMERCIAL FISHING IN ALASKA by Captain Jonathan Allen is available

in softcover for $19.95 at www.TheBigBucksGuide.com and Amazon.com, and as an e-book for

$5.99 through Kindle. The book will also soon be available through outdoor and other online

retailers. For more information about how to order it, please contact the publisher at 208-863-3323

or info@TheBigBucksGuide.com

Talking with the Author

How dangerous is fishing Alaska's Bering Sea?ALLEN: Fishing is very unforgiving. If you get in trou-ble, it's not like San Francisco Bay, where you call the Coast Guard and they come out and rescue you. On the Bering Sea, if you get in trouble, you’re on your own or if you’re lucky maybe another fishing boat will be in range to come help. The irony is that if you don’t take risks, you don’t catch fish. But if you take too many risks, somebody gets hurt. For the skipper, fishing is all about risk management.

How did you end up on this particular career path? ALLEN: Originally, I was going to be a veteri-narian, but I got into college and I couldn’t get through chemistry with anything better than a C. So I wound up at the California Maritime Academy without giving it much thought. Three years later I got a Coast Guard license, then spent the next 10 years on merchant ships.

Will kind of boats were they? ALLEN: The last five or so were on tankers, which I just hated. I have nothing good to say about tankers. It’s the one job I know of that you can make a mistake or have a lapse of judgement—and you've suddenly got an oil spill and land in prison. The problem is you're often working 24-30 hours straight, so you're going to make

mistakes. It’s stressful, to say the least. I figured that, sooner or later,1 I was going to push the wrong button or throw the wrong lever. So I got out.

How did you transition into the fishing industry in Alaska?ALLEN: About the same time I left tankers, commer-cial fishing was just taking off in Alaska, so I just made the switch. My first job was what they call a “paper mate” on a big factory trawler. After Congress passed the Magnuson act in 1977, foreigners were banned from fishing within 200 miles of our coastline. So they'd hire an American captain and an American chief mate to work alongside, say, a Norwegian fishing master and a Norwegian assistant fishing master, who were really in charge. The Americans really didn't have a lot to do, except sit in a chair and eat cookies. I had come from tankers working for nasty old cranks, and here I was working with ambitious, hard-working young guys, and I just loved it. It was a real upgrade, and so I figured that’s what I would be doing the rest of my life. I just had to find a job where I was doing the fishing instead of some foreigner.

What happened? ALLEN: Well, I burned out. My first three years fishing, I spent 11 out of 12 months in Alas-

Capt. Jonathan Allen spent nine years working crab boats, trawlers and longliners in Alaska, mostly as a boat skipper or captain. One of the most stressful jobs of any profession, the captain is responsible for everything from successfully navi-gating the Bering Sea’s notorious “perfect storms” to setting the strategies for maximizing the boat’s daily catch.

ka—which, in retrospect, was a mistake. At the end of each season, instead of heading to the airport, I'd walk down the dock and climb onto the next boat and ask, “Hey, anybody looking for somebody with a license?” Before I knew it I'd have another job. I never did a lot of career-planning. I was only 31, 32, and I'd always go for the adventure. You could say I was slow to mature. [He laughs.]

What kind of fishing did you do?ALLEN: I did them all, but I specialized in long-lining, because that was the type of fishing that offered me my first permanent captain’s job.

What makes longlining so difficult?ALLEN: It gets rough out there. As the skipper, you have to hold the boat on an exact course to protect your gaffer—the guy who’s gaffing the fish as they come out of the water. So you want to keep your wind on the port side, while he gaffs on the starboard side. If you get even slightly off-course, the gaffer gets pounded. I was once on a boat that had only enough power to fish at 40 knots of wind, and it blew more than 40 knots for part of ev-ery day for an entire month.

What has been your scariest experience?ALLEN: Early in my career, while I was studying to become a harbor pilot, I was pulled into an emergency situation where the captain of a boat had to leave to be with his injured wife and the company was desperate to find somebody to take over. I told them I wasn't quali-fied, that I had a captain’s license but I'd never sailed on it. They talked me into it and the next thing I knew, I was on a plane to Lost Harbor. The boat was about 180 ft. and tied up to a 500’-600’ processor ship. In less than 12 hours, a monster storm came up with 100 or so knott winds. The mooring lines started breaking and we

were slamming into the big ship like a pendulum. As we began letting go, the power went off, shutting down the steering. Meanwhile, we were on the windward shore, which is where you never want to be on a disabled ves-sel, setting down on the beach only a quarter mile away. Much to our surprise, we lived and we managed to keep the boat off the rocks. Later, the owners were so grateful that offered me my job of choice in the company, so that was my break into trawling.

What are some of the biggest misconceptions about com-mercial fishing in Alaska?ALLEN: The biggest is probably the assumption that you're guaranteed a paycheck. The fact is you only get paid when fish are caught. Another is that all boat op-erators are honest. I learned this one the hard way. I was once about to take a job with a particular boat own-er, and I was warned he wouldn’t pay me. I signed on anyway and spent the next year running his boat and bringing in so many fish we set new boat records almost every day. And he still refused to pay me. I had to hire an attorney, and it took seven months to finally get my paycheck. It also seems like most first-timers heading to Alaska don’t have a clue about what it’s like. There’s no such thing as a coffee break or a full night’s sleep. You work until the work is done. If you’re sick, you work. If you’re tired, you work. If you’re hungry, you work. The thing is, when you are paid on a share, if you don’t pull your weight, everybody on the boat suffers because production goes down. So it takes everybody working together for a boat to be successful. There’s very little tolerance for slackers, for people who try to cut corners, or show up late, or just work slow. Most people who try it are not successful, unless they’ve got a background in hard physical work.

C a p t a i n A n d y H i l l s t r a n d“ T h e D e a d l i e s t C a t c h ”

“I’m frequently asked how to get into the crabbing industry.Now I recommend this book.”

J a y B a r r e t t , P r o d u c e r / H o s tT h e A l a s k a F i s h e r i e s R e p o r t

“If you have the drive to be an Alaskan commercial fisherman,but no clue how to start, begin with this book.”

J e s s i c a H a t h a w a y , E d i t o r i n C h i e fN a t i o n a l F i s h e r m a n

“Capt. Allen’s title says it all. Commercial fishing is one of the hardest jobs anyone could ever have, but it can pay off...

The Big Bucks Guide to Commercial Fishing in Alaska stripsaway some of the fantasies but also a lot of the confusion of

ntering and working our way up in Alaska’s commercial fisheries. Anyone who’s dreamed of being a fish boat skipper (and who

hasn’t?) will get a reality check as well as plenty of inspirationin Capt. Allen's stories and refreshing straight-talk. This guide will help you navigate Alaska’s robust fishing industry from processor

to tender to crewing in the state’s vast range of fisheries and andscapes. It’s a must -read for aspiring greenhorns.”

Praise for Commercial Fishing in Alaska

Fishing Alaska! 1What to Expect 3Choosing a Fishery 9Choosing a Boat 11Catcher Boats vs.Catcher Processors 14Processing at Sea 16Living Conditions 18Shoreside Processing Plants 21Tendering 23Salmon Fishing 24The Easiest Way to FindSummer Salmon Fishing Job 29Salmon Fishery Areas 33Walking the Docks 39Trawling 41Longlining 46Crabbing 49Rationalization vs. Derby Crabbing 53Finding a Crabbing Job 55Halibut Fishing 58Herring Fishing 59Ground Fish 60Finding a Job on a Factory Boat 64Other Positions 66Knots and Knives 6810 More Ways to Avoid Getting Yelled at, Fired, or Beaten Up on a Fishing Boat 70Clothes 73Payment Issues 75The Good Parts 82

Other Expenses 85 Taxes 85Health 86Seasickness 87Emergency Drills 88Seatime Documentation 94Age 94Discrimination 95Drugs and Booze 96Airline Tickets 98Passport 99Fishing Magazines 99Schools 100Employment Paperwork 101Getting Ahead 101Foreign-Owned Fishing Boats 103Alaskan FishingOutlook 104Worst Day of Fishing Ever 105Glossary 107Appendices1: Sample Seatime Documentation Letter 1162: Sample Cover Letter and Resume 1183: Land-Based Seafood Processor Plants 1224: Catcher Processors and Seagoing Processors 1305: Gill-Netters, Salmon 1356: Purse Seiners, Salmon 1777: Gill-Netters/Seiners, Salmon and Herring 219

Table of Contents (from the book)

1. Don’t claim to know how to cook if you can’t.

2. Understand that you will be taunted, harassed, and tormented as a crab boat newbie. It’s nothing personal. When you fall into the live tank hole in the foredeck and injure yourself, everyone will stop and laugh before helping you. Then they’ll yell at you for slowing production. If you can’t take that, you can’t work on a crab boat.

3. Avoid talking about money—about how much you are or are not making. The skipper will think you care more about your own selfish needs than the boat’s, which of course you do. We all do, we just shouldn’t tell anyone.

4. If the skipper is having trouble finding fish, don’t offer any ad-vice, at least for the first month. I promise you he’s more twisted up about it than you are.

5. Try to never say anything negative. I remember with awe, af-ter a thirty-hour shift of poor crabbing in a driving blizzard on a crummy boat, the deck boss saying hopefully, “Just think, in less than 96 hours we’ll be sitting in the Elbow Room.” That’s a pro.

6. Never, ever take or borrow someone else’s things without per-mission.

BOOK EXCERPT

10 Ways to Avoid Getting Yelled at,Fired, or Beat Up on a Fishing Boat

7. If you work on a boat with a federal fisheries observer, treat her carefully and with respect. Otherwise, you will create big problems for your company, your skipper, and yourself. On second thought, treat all women aboard with the same care and respect, for the same reason.

8. Don’t bring alcohol aboard the vessel without the skipper’s permission. Some fishing boats allow their crewmembers to tie one on after offload in the deliv-ery port. I don’t know of any that allow alcohol to be brought aboard still in a bottle or can. If you don’t get fired, you might very well get your share reduced.

9. Never whistle on the boat, expect to leave port on Friday, or request ba-nanas on a fishing boat. All are considered bad luck. Also, on a crab boat, all canned foods must be label out and right side up. Honey bears are, of course, completely out of the question (a crab boat once sank and all the rescuers ever found was some floating honey bears).

10. Just because you’re seasick or ill doesn’t mean you don’t have to go to work. You are expected to work through it. If you’re injured, see if you can do some light duty, such as helping the cook. Fishing boats don’t carry extra people, be-cause that would reduce everyone’s share. If there is any way you can continue to work, you must.

Images available for editorial on the bookContact 503-622-0232 or lyla@foggiapr.com

Images available for editorial on the bookContact 503-622-0232 or lyla@foggiapr.com

Images available for editorial on the bookContact 503-622-0232 or lyla@foggiapr.com

Images available for editorial on the bookContact 503-622-0232 or lyla@foggiapr.com