by Jaime Welch

Created on: July 25, 2009

Working on a commercial fishing boat in Alaska isn't always as insane and unobtainable as the crabbing jobs filmed on the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch. If you want to experience the beauty of Alaska while living on or near the ocean you don't have to work in freezing temperatures for days on end without sleep. Many of Alaska's fishing seasons are in the summer, which often means 20 hours of sunlight a day, 70 degrees during the day, and many hours of leisure. If this sounds more appealing to you, consider a summer job in the Alaskan salmon fishing industry.

When I tell people that I was a fisherwoman in Alaska for five summers, I usually get one of two different reactions. First, many people immediately assume I was crabbing in Bristol Bay on the Time Bandit (or a similar vessel), since their introduction to commercial fishing in Alaska has only been through the hit reality show Deadliest Catch. A second reaction is to gape and sputter since I am five foot tall, weighing in at 115 pounds. Both of these reactions make me laugh or sometimes groan, but they are indicative of common misperceptions about fishing in Alaska. I would like to dispel some of these myths by introducing and explaining the salmon industry and the different jobs one could find, and how to survive and endure so that you can enjoy the pristine beauty of Alaska and make a decent paycheck.

In the summer, Alaskan salmon return from the ocean to their birthplace in a river mouth to spawn and die. The Alaska Fish and Game Department tracks the salmons' movement and fly over the rivers, counting how many salmon have swam upstream. When they determine that enough salmon have laid eggs, insuring there will be salmon in the future, the Fish and Game Department will open the area for fishing. Because the fisherman fish near the river mouth, the water is usually very calm, since it is in a protected bay. Although fishing vessels may encounter rough weather when traveling from one fishing area to another, the fishing is usually done on calm waters.

The Fish and Game Department will periodically open and close fishing areas, depending on the number of fish caught and the number that escape the fishing nets to reproduce. For the deckhand, this means there are many days when you won't be fishing. If lucky, the fishing captain may return to port, where the crew can make merry and do some sight-seeing, or if not, books, movies, meditation, swimming, and exploring Alaska's untamed

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