I recently watched a marathon of the Discovery Channel’s original series, Deadliest Catch. It’s about Alaskan Crab fisherman and their job, which is considered to be the deadliest job in the world. Even during the worst storms, they still go out there in the Bering Sea to catch King and Opilio crab. Let me tell ya’, after watching these shows, I will never complain about how expensive crab is at my favorite Calabash Restaurant in Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Watch a few episodes of this series (Tuesdays, 9 p.m.) and it’s easy to see why it’s the deadliest job on the planet. Men die every season. In season two, one man died after going overboard into the sub-freezing waters. The cameras didn’t catch that tragedy, but they did capture another man going overboard. Amazingly, the crew was able to find him and pull him back on board. He survived, but it took an emotional toll on the crew because he cheated death. He was in the water for more than a minute without survival gear and 999 times out of a thousand, he would have died.
The payoff can be huge, though. That’s why a lot of guys keep coming back. If a boat makes a good haul, a deckhand can take home upwards of $40,000 for 10 days of work during King Crab season. Hey, if I didn’t have a wife and kids, I’d probably sign up! Of course, if you don’t bring home the crabs, you make a little as $9,000. And if you’re a greenhorn (a young guy) then you get half of what the deckhands get. They get very little sleep, work in the worst weather conditions imaginable and they do all this so we can pay $30 a pound for King Crab at a decent seafood joint … hey, after watching those shows, I’ll gladly fork over the money for that delicious King Crab!
