Although the dangerous work can cost their lives, if the “hunting” is successful, the fishermen can earn up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.
King crab is considered a famous seafood dish, with sweet white crab meat, tough but still pure, with a slight smell of the sea.
This is a crab that can be up to 2m long, live up to 20 years, live in sea water several hundred meters deep. They have larger and longer parts to easily adapt to the harsh habitats in the waters of Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and the cold Bering Bay of the United States. This is a place with unpredictable weather patterns, potentially dangerous to life.
Alaska king crab is likened to a super seafood dish.
Alaska king crab fishing usually takes place in the autumn – winter months with the peak season lasting from October to January every year.
Because the fishing time is only a few short months, the fisherman has to take advantage of the “golden time”. On average, each fishing trip of a boat lasts from 3 to 4 weeks at sea.
Close-up of the dangerous work of fishermen on the boat
About 30 years ago, Alaska king crab fishing was very well paid. In the early 80s, boat owners could earn from 1 to 2 million USD per fishing season and pay fishermen working on their boats from 60,000 to 100,000 USD. Today, the number of remuneration is similar.
Heart-stopping watching the scene of scuba diving to catch king crabs with bare hands.
And besides the commercial fishing method, the fisherman even dives deep into the sea to catch crabs. Every year, this activity attracts hundreds of participants. Fishermen can use knives, or even bare hands to catch.
Snorkeling and catching crabs with your bare hands.
With the method of scuba diving, the fishermen have to accept the harsh weather, facing the freezing cold sea water. To ensure safety, skilled workers are always fully equipped with specialized equipment, from oxygen tanks, propellers, to flashlights and crab bags.
Many fishermen pay with their lives for pursuing this profession.
To capture a crab as large as king crab is very difficult, requiring each person to be highly focused, experienced and ingenious. Sometimes some people even rely on the help of sharp knives, “kill” crabs right in the water and then put them in their bags.
Fishermen fishing on the boat is not much less difficult. But they accept the risk for a worthy remuneration, if it is favorable, they will earn hundreds of thousands of dollars in the season.