By Margaret Bauman
Alaska Journal of Commerce

Crab fishermen are the stars of "Deadliest Catch," a 10-part Discovery Channel series premiering in April that focuses on the hazardous hunt for Bering Sea king crab.

Among those featured is Sig Hansen of Seattle. Hansen is the owner and captain of the crab boat Northwestern, one of several vessels engaged by the Discovery Channel to film the fishery Oct. 15-22.

The series features crab fishermen at work in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea, battling 40-foot waves and 80 mile-an-hour winds while 700-pound crab pots slam against the deck.

The 2004 season "was a very good season," said Tom Casey, executive director of the Alaska Fisheries Conservation Group, of which Hansen is a member. "The price was good and the poundage was good, so it was very lucrative."

Hansen was awarded a $250,000 bonus from the Discovery Channel for having the vessel which harvested the most king crab, Casey said.

The series documents the end of an era, what veteran crab fishermen call "The Last Rodeo." Because many believe the race for crab contributes to a high degree of injury and death among the fishermen, federal legislation has put an end to the old-style race to see which vessel can catch the most of the allowable harvest before the fishery is ended.

This season's tragic start reinforces that point. As of Jan. 18, two men were dead and four others were missing and presumed dead in two separate incidents during a disastrous opening opilio crab opening Jan. 15.