Catch Your Own Lox

At the start of each summer, millions of salmon begin a heroic journey from sea to stream, only to be caught by Alaska's enormous fishing industry. Not only are the fish traveling great distances, but migrant workers including college students are rushing in from all over the country to share in Alaska's seafood bonanza. And when the fish are running, there's money to be earned. But before you jump in the covered wagon and head west, consider the truths of life on the fishing line. While advertisements in your college newspaper claim you can make $20,000 over the summer, you'll be lucky to make a tenth of that each month — and you'll earn every penny through long hours of sweat, fish guts and a smell that lasts for months. According to Marcil Ferreia, who works at Maritime Jobs, a recruiting agency for Alaskan fishing jobs, most college students without prior experience will end up at the bottom of the fishing industry's food chain: the fish processing plant. Ferreia describes working in floaters (anchored ships) or enormous warehouses as "smelly." Amidst the whir of heavy machinery, freshly caught fish are beheaded, gutted, filleted, frozen and made into the packages and cans you see in your supermarket's seafood department. "Just imagine working directly with the fish: picking it off the net, cutting the fish's head off," said Ferreia. "It gets messy and the whole place smells, well, like fish." Besides the fish, celebrities have also passed through Alaska's processing plants. Hillary Clinton recently told U.S. News and Report about her experiences on a "slime line" in Valdez, Alaska. Armed with a rain coat, hip boots and a knife, she said the job "was the best preparation ever for working in Washington." For Katja Isakovic, a sophomore journalism major at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, Calif., money is not the issue. "I don't care if they paid me a million dollars, I wouldn't subject myself to that type of job," she said. Fish processors work when there are fish to process. If the catch is large, the hours are long and the overtime is good. During peak season, a worker can expect 16hour days standing alongside an assembly line and butchering fish as they roll by. With overtime starting after eight hours, a worker can double the average starting hourly wage of $6, earning around $3,000 a month before taxes. Working long hours with knives and heavy machinery in cold and damp conditions can also lead to accidents. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health reports that fulltime fishery work has "20 times the overall U.S. occupational fatality rate." Maritime Jobs urges budding fish mongers to find out what they're getting into. But harsh conditions and messy work doesn't deter job seekers. "Often, people just show up expecting jobs to be available. It's not that easy," said Ferreia. Most companies carefully screen prospective workers, or use recruiting companies to make sure a worker won't buckle under the job's rigorous demands. "It's best to secure a job before you come to Alaska," said Ferreia, who added that housing is often limited — the unlucky lastminute arrival might spend the summer sleeping outside in a tent. Many recruitment agencies charge a processing and application fee, and workers must sign a term contract of two months or more with the fishery. Can you really make $20,000 in a summer, as the advertisements claim? Only after several seasons on the "slime lines," insiders say. On fishing boats, every crew member is given a share of the catch, but such jobs are only available to experienced and skilled workers. The reward comes with considerable risk though, as the rough, icy Alaskan waters have claimed deckhands and entire ships alike. With the past two fishing seasons in some areas at record lows and work dependent on the number of fish returning to Alaskan waters, it's difficult to estimate earnings. Still, there's something of the American spirit in the search for fish and fortune in Alaska that recalls the gold rush days a century ago. Jesse Ratzkin, a graduate student at the University of Washington, investigated the fishing life. "Going to Alaska to be a fisherman is not a bad way to spend a summer," he said, "but I would not recommend it as a moneymaking venture."