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Stacey718995
Member
07-05-2007
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 11:03 am
Thanks for taking the time and trying to answer Roxi! I am curious about the dynamics of the pay, 20k difference is big time. I will try to research it later today and report what I find. If I put it in writing at least I can look up when I forget later on!
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 1:21 pm
Dang Stacey, I hope you are having better luck that I had...that must be the most closely guarded information on the internet to-date! But again, I think it all comes down to which boat you are on and what is the size of the crew...it appears to be an arbitrary number so apparently the boat owner/captain has the discretion to choose pay. I found nowhere that it is regulated by a union or a governmental agency. By the way, during my attempts to find out the financial information I found out that Phil is halfowner of the Cornelia Marie...and apparently the other half is owned by the original Cornelia Marie. From what I read (which may or may not be true) Phil bought her ex-husband's half of the boat. She goes out during fishing seasons apparently (regular fish, not the crabby clawed kind) on the boat but of course not during the show seasons...and apparently she is a very private person.
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Wargod
Moderator
07-16-2001
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 1:34 pm
I've always wondered if it had something to do with how long the guys have been on the boat. More experience/longer with the boat = more pay? The greenhorns don't get their full share for a few season, if I remember right.
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Sia
Member
03-11-2002
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 2:06 pm
What incenses me is that the crab canneries seem to have way too much influence over what the guys earn for the crab they've caught. They work so hard in freezing weather, rough seas--even risk their lives--and then a cannery can tell a ship it has to wait while the crab die? That's a load of crap, to me! At the last minute, Sig wasn't sure if he was going to get the original price-per-pound he was quoted or if he was going to have to settle for much less. That's not fair to the crab fishermen at all. The Northwestern seems to run a smaller crew. Maybe Sig's deckhands have bigger salaries because there are fewer deckhands among whom to divvy up the money. The boat owner takes a share, the captain has his share, and the deckhands get a percentage, while greenhorns get a half-percent or sometimes more if the crew votes for the greenhorn to get a raise.
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Stacey718995
Member
07-05-2007
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 4:17 pm
OK have been checking on some things. The thing that threw me the most is why some boats caught so much more (and got paid more) while other boats "seemed happy" catching less and going to Mexico, making less. I got this info here: Using the fishing season in Alaska as an example, the amount of fish and crabs each boat can catch -- along with the ineligible ones that need to be thrown back -- are carefully allotted and supervised. Male crabs that are large enough can be delivered to a processor, but any females or juvenile males must be chucked back overboard. There are several ways quotas and permits can be doled out, so it's good to check in with the regional National Marine Fisheries Service and any other agencies that have jurisdiction to find out the specifics. In Alaska, the complicated system of fishing quotas, quota shares, processing quotas and processing shares all help ensure the entire operation is thoroughly monitored and controlled. So here is what the ships did: Cornelia Marie $2,600,000 total and $54,000 per deckhand Northwestern $2,270,000 total and $51,000 per deckhand Wizard $1,780,000 total and $32,000 per deckhand Time Bandit $1,250,000 total and $30,000 per deckhand Here is how many deck hands they have: Northwestern: 6 Time Bandit: 7 Cornelia Marie: 7 Wizard: 8 Now I realize that most of what I read shows the green horns will not get a full deckhand cut. I also realize that it depends on the owners and what the cut is there, etc. But, it really seems to me that the key to making the most money is how much your quota is for the season. Everything I read was a whole bunch of angry articles about fisherman unhappy about the quota system. I don't know how much it varies per season or what determination your boat size has on it. If you were a kid looking to get on a boat it would seem you should check quota size and try harder for the bigger one. I mean I could give up my week off early in Mexico for 20k more, how about you?? I don't know maybe I am reading through all this wrong, someone set me straight if it all makes more sense to them!
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Bluejaxrock
Member
04-23-2004
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 4:35 pm
Remember that any shares are divvied up after expenses such as fuel, bait, equipment, food, water, repairs, etc. The way I understand it (which isn't much, I admit) is that if the catch is worth $2.7 million, expenses were $700,000, the owner gets his cut of $2 million, then the skipper, and so on and so on. I remember Crosby's first season on the Wizard - Cap'n Monty felt so bad that Crosby had to take up the slack from the other greenhorn that Cap'n Monty gave Crosby 1/2% of his (Cap'n Monty's) share.
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Mush
Member
09-09-2002
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 5:20 pm
Great information! I also read somewhere that boats can sell a portion of their quota to another boat. Just to add more confusion.
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Stacey718995
Member
07-05-2007
| Monday, June 01, 2009 - 8:16 pm
I may be confused on names, aren't Monty and Crosby brothers? I was under the impression they co-owned their boat. I also read that about the expenses as well. I also read that most deckhands are expected to provide all of their own supplies/food etc. Down to their own sleeping bag. Another reason I would be going for the higher quota boat! I should have never looked it all up today, it makes me want to go be an agent for deckhands!
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 5:52 am
From what I read yesterday the crab quotas were put in place to keep the crab from totally being fished out - apparently there was so much indiscriminate fishing that the supply of crab was dwindling - and in some species almost nonexistent. Plus the crab quotas keeps the fisherman from keeping some that would be not acceptable (female, too small, etc.). I think Monty and the other captain of the Wizard (Keith?) are brothers. I think Crosby was just a greenhorn. But apparently a hard-working one. And I think you are right. If a fisherman doesn't want to go out fishing I think he can give his crab quota (or another captain can guy his crab quota) to another boat.
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Stacey718995
Member
07-05-2007
| Tuesday, June 02, 2009 - 11:30 am
OOPS Roxi you are right, Keith and Monte are the brothers, damn this memory!
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Lexie_girl
Member
07-30-2004
| Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 3:58 am
Did anyone watch last night? I'm curious why they didn't put the tarp on the pots before they left Dutch Island since they knew they were going straight into the storm. It was obviously too treacherous to put it on once they hit the storm.
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 5:40 am
I've only watched bits and pieces...but of course once I watch the whole show I will give you my expert opinion...LOL!
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Terolyn
Member
05-06-2004
| Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 7:36 am
To add to more confusion... The price of the crab goes down at some point during the season. So it is a huge rush to get out, get your quota and get it to the cannery before prices go down. This can dramatically change the share for each captn, deckhand.
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Mush
Member
09-09-2002
| Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 1:28 pm
These captains must be brilliant! Not only do they have to "drive" the boat, but they also handle crew disputes, figure out where to drop the pots, deal with rescheduling by the places where they offload, and now plan for price drops. And then there's the weather!
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Stacey718995
Member
07-05-2007
| Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 7:52 pm
I haven't watched yet but I had the oddest dream today when I was sleeping I had a dream that I was at this hole in the wall bar we go up to at the lake. I was sitting there by myself and watching the water. I hear this familiar guy's voice say "Stacey this one is for you" up on the karaoke stage. They then started to sing "It's Rainin Men" That person was Edgar. It seems like he sat down and joined me for a beer after song but I can't remember details. I must have been missing the show
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Wednesday, June 03, 2009 - 7:56 pm
If that isn't Freudian, I don't know what is...LOL I've actually dreamed that I was deck hand on the Northwestern with the Hansens. It was all too real and there was no romance I think it was because I played their video game too long that day...LOL
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Tess
Member
04-13-2001
| Thursday, June 04, 2009 - 1:30 am
I just love the Hansens. All of them. My favorite scene is after one season when Sig's wife and children were waiting at the dock. What a sweet family. And Edgar, he's great. No one messes with Edgar. I know I don't have what it takes to be the wife of a fisherman and wonder every time he takes his boat out if he and his crew will make it back safely all the while taking care of a young family and making all the decisions back home as well. I'd be a wreck.
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Thursday, June 04, 2009 - 5:34 am
I'm not sure I would want to wake up if Edgar was populating my dreams... I thought this week's show was better than the majority of the shows last season. It had a little bit of everything - showing the wear and tear on the boats (but my question is why didn't they get that checked out during the weeks they had off? - seems like it would have been a good idea to have all those things checked out in between seasons...DUH!), some major weather drama (loved the scene of the Cornelia Marie leaving Dutch Harbor in the midst of a snowstorm) and some fishing. I agree with whomever said that Keith should have put his fancy tarp on the front of the pots BEFORE they left port - unless of course he was hoping that they would get them in the water before the major ice came. Is it me or were there a lot of good looking men on the crews this year? Or maybe they just look better at the start of the season...LOL!
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Stacey718995
Member
07-05-2007
| Thursday, June 04, 2009 - 5:08 pm
Yeah Naja the thought of that one being analyzed makes me shudder! You know what I think would be great and accepted by all the fans, is if they took one of the weekly episodes (just one per season) and do like a clip of the boat and the men like the always start out but then do a long segment on the families at home. I would love to see how they live and who all waits for them. I can't imagine being a fisherman's wife either which apparently means I just want them to sing me weird songs in a bar though.
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Delurker
Member
08-19-2005
| Friday, June 05, 2009 - 6:46 am
Morning all, I thought I best give you all a heads up, I invited a dear "chat" friend of mine to join in on this discussion since her DH IS one of the fisherman who does this job. He is not shown on tv though. I've loved this show from the beginning and when I found out her DH did this I was in awe of him and her too for staying home and holding down the fort. So if you see her, welcome her, I invited her this morning to join in since Stacey mentioned she couldn't imagine being a fisherman's wife and she said she would take a look. ::::waving to Crabby::::
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Terolyn
Member
05-06-2004
| Friday, June 05, 2009 - 7:24 am
I am not sure it is the same, but I was a Navy wife for 20 years. Many people asked how I managed with my husband deployed typically 8 months out of each year. (he was in the Navy, usually rotation was 6 months out, 3 weeks in, 2 weeks out, 3 months in, then the work up for the next deployment would start, 1 week out, 2 in, 3 out, 1 in .. 6 months out. I missed my husband, but I am very independent and did fine. Worked good for me. The really issue was when he retired and was home so much.. that took getting used to! 
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Roxip
Member
01-29-2004
| Friday, June 05, 2009 - 10:39 am
LOL...Crabby, if you are checking us out we would love to have you join us. A different perspective is always fun and welcome!
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Sia
Member
03-11-2002
| Friday, June 05, 2009 - 10:51 am
LOL, Stacey and Naja. Edgar is my very favorite crab fisherman on this series, too, but I haven't had him appear in my dreams---yet!! I'm not sure what appeals to me most about him, but part of his allure for me is that he's mechanically-inclined, fixes what's wrong with the boat, and he handles his deck crew really well. When I picked my DH I was looking for a man like my dad: able to fix things, kind, attractive, and witty. Come aboard, Crabby! eta: ITA about getting the boats checked out BEFORE the start of crab season. That seems to happen to at least one boat every season. Gee, guys, get the boat vetted before you're expected to ship out and start meeting quota!
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Stacey718995
Member
07-05-2007
| Friday, June 05, 2009 - 12:32 pm
Crabby I hope ya join us. I think that many of us are not just fans of the show but intrigued by the lifestyle or whole process of these fishermen. We don't bite, just have oddball dreams.
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Captainswife
Member
06-05-2009
| Tuesday, June 09, 2009 - 6:41 am
Sneaking in peaking around the corner looking for Delurker?? She invited me over to chat with everyone I hope that I can contribute to the conversation. I am a Captians Wife of almost 17 years, the fishing industry is dear to me. I live it from the other side so to speak I am the one who runs the home while the Captian is away (ok and usually while he is home too lol) so maybe I can be of help with the questions you have that aren't answered threw the show. Looking forward to talking with you all. Have a fabulous day}
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