Equipment and Process
Commercial fishing boats are between 12 to 75 m (39 to 246 ft) in length, are equipped with hydraulic systems to lift the catch, and are able to withstand the freezing weather of the Bering Sea. Each fishing boat sets its own sailing schedule during the crabbing season, often staying out for days or weeks at a time.
Fishermen use a box-shaped trap called a pot which consists of a steel frame covered with a nylon mesh. Each pot weighs 600–800 lb (270–360 kg) and a ship may carry 150 to 300 pots. Fish, usually herring or codfish, are placed inside as bait and then the pot is sunk to the sea floor where the king crab reside. The pots are dropped in a straight line (known as a "string") for easier retrieval. Red and blue king crabs can be found anywhere between the intertidal zone and a depth of 100 fathoms (600 ft). Golden king crabs live in depths between 100 and 400 fathoms (180–720 m, 600–2400 ft). The location of the pot is marked on the surface by a buoy which is later used for retrieval. After allowing the pots to rest on the sea floor (typically one to two days for red and blue king crabs, longer for golden king crabs), the pots are dragged back to the surface using a hydraulic winch with a pulley on the end called a "block."
The pot is then brought on board the boat and the crew sorts the king crab. Any not meeting the regulation requirements are thrown back. The crab are stored live in a holding tank until the boat reaches shore, where they are sold. If the weather becomes too cold the live crabs may freeze and burst. If they are left in the tank for too long they will harm and possibly kill each other as they can be cannibalistic. Even the rocking of the boat can cause damage to the crab, so boards are inserted in the holds to prevent excessive side-to-side movement. If a crab dies in the hold for any reason it releases toxins which can kill other crabs. If the crew fails to remove the dead crabs, they can poison the entire tank and ruin the catch.
Deckhands are paid a percentage of the profits after the owner's share is taken into account. This can range from nothing to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the size of the harvest. The so-called 'greenhorns' (deckhands in their first season of fishing) are paid a fixed sum of money.
Read more about this topic: Alaskan King Crab Fishing
Famous quotes containing the words equipment and/or process:
“At the heart of the educational process lies the child. No advances in policy, no acquisition of new equipment have their desired effect unless they are in harmony with the child, unless they are fundamentally acceptable to him.”
—Central Advisory Council for Education. Children and Their Primary Schools (Plowden Report)
“The process of education in the oldest profession in the world is like any other educational process, in that it requires time and effort and patience; it can only be acquired by taking one step at a time, though the steps become accelerated after the first few.”
—Madeleine [Blair], U.S. prostitute and “madam.” Madeleine, ch. 4 (1919)