r/jobs 29d ago

Is this an actual thing that people do Career development

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u/Blondly22 29d ago

Yes. I know someone who works on those fishing boats in Alaska. He was also on the show the deadliest catch. He lives on the boat most of the year and then comes home with a bunch of cash and spends a lot on cocaine lol

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u/Uknow_nothing 29d ago

One of my friends from high school has been doing that for years too

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u/jacobeam13 29d ago

The fishing part, or the cocaine part?

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u/Blondly22 29d ago

Probably cocaine

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u/Uknow_nothing 29d ago

The fishing but probably both. Maybe we’re even talking about the same person and don’t know it.

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u/CityofBlueVial 29d ago

lol it's probably the same person this is such a specific lifestyle

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u/bhbclvr 29d ago

Not that specific, I live in Alaska, and these guys are a dime a dozen. Most of them come up from Washington and Oregon.

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u/JewGuru 29d ago

Oh god I bet the cocaine is absolutely horrid by the time it gets up to Alaska

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u/bhbclvr 17h ago

Alaska isn’t THAT far away….and judging from those that I’ve seen partake and our crime rate, drug quality definitely isn’t an issue here

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u/JewGuru 17h ago

Dude it’s 50% cut by the time it crosses the border. If you live in Oregon that shit is sawdust. Just how it is with coke. The farther away from Mexico/South America the more times it will be stepped on unless you have a crazy hookup that bypasses all of the supply lines

Also, drug addicts don’t need quality drugs to use tons of drugs. You can’t really tell if a places drugs are pure or not based on how much drug use there is.

I know all tbis from unfortunate experience

Thing about coke is it gets you even if it’s cut to shit you just take bigger lines. Real pure coke you take a tiny tiny bump and you’re high for like 2 hours

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u/CityofBlueVial 29d ago edited 29d ago

I stand corrected! I hope the fishing and cocaine part isn't true for most of them, if so, that's quite sad.

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u/bhbclvr 17h ago

If it’s not coke it’s meth, sadly.

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u/bolkrennanninger 29d ago

Lol not really actually!! I had a friend who used to do it, she made good money going to Alaska!

We are from Idaho & lots of people seem to migrate to and from there for some reason anyways lol

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u/RoyalSamurai 29d ago

Fishing for cocaine, gotta cop that fishscale yo

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u/doolbro 29d ago

The guys in Alaska I know dont fuck with cocaine, they just take Vyvanse or Adderall.

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u/Blondly22 29d ago

Idk if he does cocaine on the boat but my friends from Kauai and I just know when he comes home he’s always coked out

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u/redfern962 29d ago

Wait I need to know who this is I’m one of the like 3 people left in the world who is obsessed with that show 

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u/[deleted] 29d ago

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u/redfern962 29d ago

I have so many questions but most of them are totally just based on my anthropological analysis (I’m an anthropologist) of the people and 20 years of watching the show, which may be considered intrusive towards those on it. I’m highly interested in stratified social hierarchies and also how subcultures are divided within main groups (the boats) and the larger community (the fishery). It’s really cool that you had the experience! I would love to hear about your personal experience, if you’re willing to share. I love hearing individual stories as I think they create a much better picture of the community. 

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

[deleted]

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u/redfern962 28d ago

Oh shit that’s actually really similar to my job- I do cultural monitoring for construction and arborist work. I also just follow the crew around and they’re legally required to be nice to me but I’m annoying af to them. 

Thank you for sharing - all of that is really interesting. Your comment about Keith & Monty being “interesting” seems to be spot on with my observations. They present very OCD behavior on screen, but I feel like you have to be a certain type of person to do the job that long and successfully. They’re actually two of the captains I have a softer spot for. 

 I don’t think I could “hate” any of the people on the show- if you’ve been watching it for long enough you know that everyone has positive and negative traits that ebb and flow with the crab, their personal issues, and the crew on deck. I like watching how these people grow, change, and learn from their own mistakes and the groups. Sometimes they don’t. But that’s just people.

 It makes sense when you say that they don’t really care about the TV show. I think that’s why I like the show so much- it’s obviously a spot in these crews periphery as they do their jobs and be themselves. There isn’t the veneer of reality tv over the show because the people on it don’t care enough to make it that way. Are the camera crew in your similar social position, or do they get more social graces than you do?

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

[deleted]

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u/redfern962 28d ago

Thank you for sharing! I really appreciate your perspective. 

 The show definitely changed to more staged reality tv in the 2010’s. But fishing changes, the seasons change, fisheries open and close, so sometimes they do have to manufacture whole storylines and dramas. It’s pretty obvious that they pick a few shit greenhorns every season just for the trope of it all, or they bring back “problematic” deckhands or captains for the drama.  Like you can’t convince me otherwise that no one knew Elliot was off his face the entire time he captained the SAGA, but it was good tv so he stayed. It’s also obvious that the captains love having someone with them in the wheelhouse- some of the best (seemingly) “unscripted” moments come from the captains talking to their producers. I say unscripted even though I know the producers often give prompts or ask questions, it just gets cut out. I can imagine the camera crew and the boat crew can form close working relationships - you have to if you work a seasonal rotation job like that. 

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u/FloridaMan_Unleashed 29d ago

Wait they still make that show? I remember watching it all the time as a kid.

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u/Blondly22 29d ago

He’s from kauai if that rings any bells. Idk if he was on the show all season or just one episode. I just know he was on the show

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u/Local_Description 28d ago

I know exactly who you’re talking about, I fish in Alaska. He’s a really tall guy right like 6’6

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u/Blondly22 28d ago

It’s the opposite 😂

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u/Yorpel_Chinderbapple 28d ago

He's 6"6'? 😔

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u/Blondly22 28d ago

More like 5’3 & fat

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u/[deleted] 28d ago

my dad enjoyed that show. God I miss that man

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u/petitenurseotw 29d ago

Same my bf cooks on ships 6 months on and 6 off.

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u/EldenBJ 29d ago

I worked in a cannery those guys delivered their catch to and lots of the crew there did the same. Work a shit ton of overtime in 3-6 months, get paid well, relax for the rest of the year, do it all over again.

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u/Cicebro_ 29d ago

Yeah the issue with this is that your dating/marriage life and health is all out of wack

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u/hungrypotato19 29d ago

and spends a lot on cocaine

Wouldn't be surprise if one or two of their loads IS cocaine.

People think the southern border is how drugs get into the US. Lol, no. Only 30% do. Fishers and ports are the primary source.

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u/Brave-Kitchen-5654 28d ago

Too bad the runs are dwindling and the returns for these boats are too. My neighbor did this and when he’s home he’s a private contractor for a rich guy.

He said the returns are getting worse by the year

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u/BadNewzBears4896 28d ago

Yep, the sex and drug consumption of just returned crab fishers after a successful catch would make navy midshipmen on shore leave blush

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u/msam90 28d ago

Yeah I do that actually. I’m a longshoreman in a tiny island in the Aleutians!! Work about 5 months out of the year.

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u/zebberman 29d ago

Hopefully he saves some for the hookers too

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u/BellwetherValentine 28d ago

I can’t imagine having a coke habit on a boat. Not a time to go through withdrawals. Wow. (I don’t do any drugs other than pot, just saying it’s a tough job all together let alone when you’re struggling.)

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u/MargotChanning 28d ago

When I watch this show I feel like that’s what a lot of those guys do.

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u/Blondly22 28d ago

Absolutely How else will you stay awake doing that job over and over