Catching the king's crabs was dangerous, filming the catch movie was even more dangerous!

In the autumn and winter, the ships in Alaska went out to sea - the super food that many fishermen paid for with their lives. At the same time, filmmakers were also on board the ship, wrestling with huge waves to record the precious footage of the fishery.

America's most dangerous occupation

Forbes magazine and many other newspapers have long believed that catching is the most dangerous profession in America. This conclusion is based on the number of people who die when practicing each year, as well as the extremely difficult working conditions of Alaskan marine fishermen.

But what is this special dish that makes people want to hunt so much? Alaska emperor crab has the meat that is said to be "the most pure, sweet white, tough, hidden behind the ruddy crust, sometimes smelling salty sea".

Emperor crab with sweet white meat, tough.

This crab species can be up to 2m long, with a lifespan of up to 20 years, the larger and longer the part to adapt to the harsh living environment. In particular, it only lives in the waters of Alaska and the Bering icy bay.

Red crab breed of Alaska king crab (left) and its distribution area (right)

That trait further enhances the king's preciousness but is a challenge for fishing fleets. The unpredictable weather of Alaska waters has always been a great threat. Moreover, the most profitable fishing season takes place in autumn and winter, when the storms and colds are ever more severe.

Despite the devastating natural conditions, the fleet of 80 ships of Alaskan fishermen is steadily sailing, each steel vessel is about 39m long.

The most profitable fishing season takes place in autumn and winter, the weather is very harsh.

Around the ship, waves hit continuously, as high as 9m, 111km / h winds and four surfaces were dark. But the fishermen still hid themselves in protective gear and wet tools, entrenched on the deck, holding the steel cage weighing up to 318kg. Because, inside is the most precious Alaska emperor crabs!

It was not time to be happy because the cage was full of crabs, if not kept close, the large iron cage dangling along the hurricane would likely bring people into the sea. In fact, about 12 professional fishermen die that way every year!

Around the ship, waves continuously hit, up to 9m high, the wind speed was 111km / h.

If not carefully, the large iron cage swung in a hurricane, dragging the whole person into the sea.

Besides the waves, the temperature is too cold at -7 degrees Celsius is a very frightening factor. It causes lowering of body temperature and can lead to death.

In addition, the waves hit the sides of the ship, freezing, causing the boat to slip and tilt. Although the ice was just formed, it was very heavy and made the boat sink. In order to prevent this, the crew had to use a hammer to smash the ice.

The sailors had to beat the ice with a hammer.

In addition to natural conditions, fishermen have to work hard for hours because the fishing season lasts less than 4 weeks. Sometimes, every 50 hours they work 40 hours and only 10 hours off.

Fishing conditions sound like a nightmare but it is completely true for the Alaska fleet for many years. They accept the risk of taking the reward - if convenient, it will earn up to $ 100,000 (nearly 2.3 billion) within a few months.

"Deadliest Catch" and a little-known story about "death" filming

In the world, the rarer it is, the more curiosity to discover. So did the emperor, but the fishing in Alaska was no different.

It was this "dangerous temptation" that caused Discovery's film crew to decide to record, producing a long-running program called "Deadliest Catch".

This program turned out to be equally profitable for the emperor, giving Discovery 3 million weekly views in the United States and broadcasting to 150 countries.

Prologue, and beautiful views of Alaska before the storm comes.

But it is not easy to have excellent and true footage in the violent waters of Alaska.

Only the most seasoned filmmakers were selected to Alaska. They split into helicopters and small ships to record the fishing team when the boat team had just left the station.

There will be 1 cameraman and 1 producer on each ship. They are primarily responsible for the entire e-ticket and also face the most danger.

Humid air and negative temperature have seriously destroyed electronic devices. Despite all the water-proof efforts for the Sony HDV camera, seawater still penetrates and corrodes it.

At the end of the fishing season, only a handful of more than 50 camara can be operated. And even though the filmmakers tried to avoid contact with water, the lens was still blurred and frozen.

A camera guy accepts "swinging people" with buoys to have a nice camera angle (right photo).

Frosty weather and waves made the boat wobble as another challenge, as cameramen had to look at the camera to control the frame.

Of course, the LCD screen is equipped but it is inevitable that accidents when the boat is hit by strong waves, such as sprains, ankle rashes, and even broken ribs .

Moreover, like the fishermen, the film crew had to record hard for 40 hours continuously, even before the fishermen woke up and after they had slept to reflect a full day on the ship. catch.

The film crew has many times . drunken waves (right).

The work had so many difficulties, so many of Discovery's loyal spectators wondered: Is it possible to catch the king's crab or the filming job - which is more dangerous?

It was hard to answer because so far (fortunately) there has been no death in the crew.

Only one thing is certain: anything "sticking" to fishing boats in Alaska's seas is lethal .