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Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. The commercial harvest is performed during a very short season, and the catch is shipped worldwide. Large numbers of king crab are also caught in Russian and international waters.
Alaskan crab fishing is very dangerous, and the fatality rate among the fishermen is about 90 times the fatality rate of the average worker. In 1980, at the peak of the king crab industry, some Alaskan fisheries produced up to 200 million pounds of crab. However, by 1983, the total size of the catch had dropped almost sixtyfold. Several theories for the precipitous drop in the crab population have been proposed, including overfishing, warmer waters, and increased fish predation, but the true cause remains a mystery. As a result the current season is very short. In the winter 2005–2006 season, 250 boats caught 14 million pounds of red king crab in four days. |
Alaskan crab is caught in baited pots that weigh about 800 pounds, or 360 kilograms. These are launched over the side of the boat, allowed to soak and then hauled up by a crane. Alaskan crab fishing is one of the USA 's most dangerous jobs. Because of the big waves and dangerous boats the fishermen work on, some people die every year. Alaskan crab fisherman salary? How much does a fisherman earn?
The most popular Alaskan crab-fishing months occur between October and January. The allocated time for a season continued to shrink — at one point a red crab season was only 4 days long. After 2005, each boat was given a quota based on their catch from previous years and how many crabs are available to catch. The fleet went from 251 boats down to 89. Currently the seasons last from two to four weeks.
Alaskan king crab is fabulous and doesn't need any enhancements, save perhaps lemon juice, or a horseradish cream on the side. This was a case of not allowing the star of the show to shine, instead drowning it in an overpowering dressing and serving it as a tian. Alaska's fishery resources are the envy of other countries, and its management programs are regarded as a model for sustainability. The seafood industry also provides more direct jobs than the oil/gas, mining, agriculture, forestry and tourism industries combined.
Deadliest Catch is a documentary series aired by the Discovery Channel beginning in 2005. The show highlights the dangers of king crab fishing: the waters are freezing, the pots that must be dragged up can weigh well over a ton when full, and, since the season is short — both because of regulations and the weather — fishermen spend days at a time on very rough seas working long hours with little rest time.
Alaskan Crab Fishing | Deadliest Catch | Alaskan Crab | Alaskan King Crab
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