Deadliest Catch

WHAT CREW MEMBERS ON BOARD FISHING VESSELS IN ALASKA NEED TO KNOW

Many stories have been told about people who, with no trouble whatsoever, landed a job as a crew member in Alaska’s fishing industry on a highliner fishing boat and made tons of money. There are published materials for sale which boast of lucrative jobs in canneries and on fishing boats. The reality is, that for every success, there are many failures. A prospective crew member’s chance for a profitable season will be enhanced by careful assessment of job openings and close attention to details regarding any job offer.

During harvest seasons, prospective crew members must walk the fishing docks to follow up each word of mouth lead to speak with the skipper personally. The travel and waiting for such an opportunity can be costly, both physically and monetarily. Crew members rarely leave good jobs, so only a small percentage of hopefuls find their berth in this manner.

Minimum wage laws do not apply to crew member jobs in the industry. However, certain federal and state laws concerning hiring of persons under the age of 18 do apply.

Wages are often based on a share or percentage of harvest earnings. Newcomer deckhand earnings range from 1.5% to 10% of the adjusted gross catch, depending on location and type of fishery and the skills the worker possesses. Some vessels offer a daily rate from $50 to $100 instead of a percentage of the catch. Recent market conditions have caused some share rates to decline.

CREW COSTS
A crew member can be expected to purchase specialized apparel such as:

The fishing vessel owner/operator should provide other specialized gear required by the Coast Guard, such as a survival suit. Make sure the vessel has a good safety reputation.

Many boats charge a share of the operating expenses to crew members. These expenses may include:

• food
• fuel
• bait
• ice

ACCOMMODATIONS: On board smaller vessels, the crew will eat, relax, and sleep with very little privacy. Toilet facilities on some vessels can be either non-existent or somewhat exposed to other crew members, while on others there is a shower and toilet for individual use. If privacy is important, a would-be crewmember should ask about these facilities.

SAFETY
Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the United States. The possibility of injury is ever present in every aspect of the work. The lack of medical assistance in the event of injury or illness increases the hazard. Getting to the nearest clinic or hospital is totally dependent on the weather and availability of special transportation. The wait can be hours, or even days. Before accepting an offer of work, applicants should ask about the safety equipment and procedures aboard their intended vessel. Once hired, crew members must obey all safety rules.

FISHING VESSELS
Fishing vessels range from small skiffs of 20 feet to large factory trawlers of 300 feet or longer. The vessels may fish anywhere from near shore to 200 miles at sea. The larger river systems of the state also support skiff fisheries. In 1999, approximately 25,060 crew licenses were issued to fish commercially in Alaska waters.

NEAR-SHORE VESSELS
During the summer months, vessels that work near shore and concentrate on the herring and salmon fisheries comprise the largest portion of the fleet. The majority of these are smaller vessels such as gill-netters, purse seiners and hand and power trollers averaging in size from 20 to 60 feet. Depending on the fishery and the configuration of the vessel, the number of crew members varies from one to six.

Most of these vessels are independently owned and operated. Obtaining employment on them is difficult. Replacement crew members are often family or are obtained through an industry association. Crew members are hired well before the season begins.

Floating processors, referred to as “floaters,” also operate near shore. Floaters process seafood delivered from inshore fishers and usually rely on other motor vessels to move them from one location to another. Work on floaters may be paid by the hour rather than by crew share.

OFFSHORE VESSELS
A variety of larger vessels dominate the deeper offshore reaches of the coastal waters. The area or zone where fishing takes place is commonly referred to as the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) or the Fisheries Conservation Zone (FCZ), which extends from three to 200 miles offshore. Vessel size ranges from about 50 to over 300 feet in length. Most operate year round, targeting bottom fish or whitefish (referring to the flesh color) and shellfish. The primary gear types are trawl, pot and long-line. Factory trawlers are capable of harvesting and processing simultaneously. Corporations usually own the large vessels. Most are based out of California, Oregon and Washington, while a small number are based in Alaska. Vessels of this type are normally fully crewed before they depart their home port for the offshore fishing grounds of Alaska. Many of the offshore companies have developed recruitment efforts to hire workers in Alaska.

For job seekers in Anchorage, the Anchorage Employment Service seafood office at 3301 Eagle Street is an excellent resource. Companies usually hire new workers as processors to work in the factory below deck and promote workers from these factory positions to work on deck as deckhands.

The size of the vessel has little bearing on the number of fishers or deck crew required for the various fisheries. For example, a trawler of 160 feet in length can operate efficiently with a crew complement of five, which is about the same needed for a 58-foot purse seiner in the near-shore fishery.

JOB OPPORTUNITIES
Employers have job opportunities for crew who:

Community seafood employment specialists can be contacted in the following local Alaska Job Center Offices: