The Bering Sea is known as the most dangerous waters on earth for ships to navigate. However, there is also a huge bounty of different species of crab and fish that attract fisherman from Dutch Harbor each year. Unlike the Atlantic Ocean, where fishermen are in search of swordfish and tuna, the Bering Sea offers the remunerative king crab and opilio crab that is sought after around the world. It is the incalculable Alaskan climate and the rough sea that makes getting these crabs the crab fishing occupations. Many perish each year in their quest for this high-yielding catch.
Beyond the northern Pacific lies the Bering Sea and a lot of it is frozen in the early months of the year. These icy waters are favored by the species of crab that these men are after. King crab is a delicacy around the globe and brings in big business for fishermen who dare to catch them. Catching them can be a deadly job though. It is often the ice that makes it extra dangerous for the crew of these fishing ships like the North Western or Time Bandit. It happens that sometimes the gear is set too close the encroaching ice and it swallows it as the waters continue to freeze.
When the ships journey so close to the ice, they actually get entirely covered in ice in layers up to a foot thick. This makes the fishing vessels very top heavy and unstable. When the center of gravity of these ships has risen so far, the likelihood of capsizing is increased dramatically. This is why the deckhands are constantly beating off huge chucks of ice from every square foot of the ship. They are nearing hypothermia, but it is a task that must be done in order to stay afloat. If the fisherman were to end up in the ice-cold seawater, they would die within minutes. A survival suit would be the only thing to keep them alive long enough for the coast guard to arrive for rescue.
There are many other factors that make these jobs the most dangerous jobs on Earth. Large waves and strong winds make it difficult for even the most experienced sea-faring deckhands to maintain their balance. It makes it all the more plausible that someone will slip and fall on the icy deck and seriously injure themselves. The spray from the seawater also covers the desperate faces of these fishermen in icicles. When a large rogue wave hits the bow, a wall of water comes crashing down on the crew, and if not warned in time, it could swipe them overboard. Going overboard is obviously the single worst fear that these men have.
Although a great deal of people are aware of all of the dangers associated with crab fishing on the Bering Sea. There are still quite a few who venture to the last frontier in search of Alaska commercial crab fishing jobs because of the potential income that can be earned. Many find themselves beaten the very first day on the job, and it is rare that a greenhorn becomes a respected deckhand. There are only a select few on this planet who have what it takes to be a crab fisherman and maintain a steady job on the same ship every season.
Beyond the northern Pacific lies the Bering Sea and a lot of it is frozen in the early months of the year. These icy waters are favored by the species of crab that these men are after. King crab is a delicacy around the globe and brings in big business for fishermen who dare to catch them. Catching them can be a deadly job though. It is often the ice that makes it extra dangerous for the crew of these fishing ships like the North Western or Time Bandit. It happens that sometimes the gear is set too close the encroaching ice and it swallows it as the waters continue to freeze.
When the ships journey so close to the ice, they actually get entirely covered in ice in layers up to a foot thick. This makes the fishing vessels very top heavy and unstable. When the center of gravity of these ships has risen so far, the likelihood of capsizing is increased dramatically. This is why the deckhands are constantly beating off huge chucks of ice from every square foot of the ship. They are nearing hypothermia, but it is a task that must be done in order to stay afloat. If the fisherman were to end up in the ice-cold seawater, they would die within minutes. A survival suit would be the only thing to keep them alive long enough for the coast guard to arrive for rescue.
There are many other factors that make these jobs the most dangerous jobs on Earth. Large waves and strong winds make it difficult for even the most experienced sea-faring deckhands to maintain their balance. It makes it all the more plausible that someone will slip and fall on the icy deck and seriously injure themselves. The spray from the seawater also covers the desperate faces of these fishermen in icicles. When a large rogue wave hits the bow, a wall of water comes crashing down on the crew, and if not warned in time, it could swipe them overboard. Going overboard is obviously the single worst fear that these men have.
Although a great deal of people are aware of all of the dangers associated with crab fishing on the Bering Sea. There are still quite a few who venture to the last frontier in search of Alaska commercial crab fishing jobs because of the potential income that can be earned. Many find themselves beaten the very first day on the job, and it is rare that a greenhorn becomes a respected deckhand. There are only a select few on this planet who have what it takes to be a crab fisherman and maintain a steady job on the same ship every season.
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