What are the best commercial fishing opportunites in Alaska?
I’m 24 years old and will be arriving in Anchorage on May 17th. I’d like to find work on a fishing boat. I’ve heard that Homer is a great place to work out of. What’s it like there as far as possibilities to find a job on a fishing boat? What is there to do when I’m in port? What are other options in other Alaskan towns? What are the conditions like working for the canneries?
As previously stated these jobs are hard to get. If I were looking for a fishing job I would go to where the fishings at. And that is Valdez. There are more boats there than any place I’ve seen.
If you are a "Good" fisherman & can prove your skills you do stand a chance. There are some boats that go out for long periods, months at a time, and the pay is fantastic, if the catch is good.
Rent some movies put out by the Discovery Channel to see some of the conditions on the boats, expecially the crab boats.
As for the canneries, when I was up there last year the Border Patrol busted about 25 Illegal aliens from Mexico who were working in one paticular cannery.
There are jobs galore in and around Anchorage. Diesel techs bring in $35+ per hour as do many skilled trades. Check the local union halls. Alaska has many trades covered by unions. It is a right to work state so you really don’t have to be union to work.
March 7th, 2010 at 9:32 pm
Most commercial fishing jobs are given to family and friends of the skippers on small seiners and set net rigs. I doubt very much that you want to get a job aboard a processor, but if you did, most of those are filled out of Seattle. Because you’re arriving early in the summer, I would suggest becoming a familure face where ever they are getting ready for the fishing season.
References :
March 7th, 2010 at 9:43 pm
As previously stated these jobs are hard to get. If I were looking for a fishing job I would go to where the fishings at. And that is Valdez. There are more boats there than any place I’ve seen.
If you are a "Good" fisherman & can prove your skills you do stand a chance. There are some boats that go out for long periods, months at a time, and the pay is fantastic, if the catch is good.
Rent some movies put out by the Discovery Channel to see some of the conditions on the boats, expecially the crab boats.
As for the canneries, when I was up there last year the Border Patrol busted about 25 Illegal aliens from Mexico who were working in one paticular cannery.
There are jobs galore in and around Anchorage. Diesel techs bring in $35+ per hour as do many skilled trades. Check the local union halls. Alaska has many trades covered by unions. It is a right to work state so you really don’t have to be union to work.
References :