Here I am!
You probably won't see 80K in your first year, and probably not for a few years. Most boats pay in a percentage of the catch, with the newest people on the boat getting the smallest percentage. If you stick with a boat for a few seasons, the pay goes up.
That's gillnetting for salmon..
If you're talking about going out crab fishing or longline fishing, the pay might be slightly higher, because that's out in open water and extremely hazardous.
In my oppinion, $80K is a bit high, but the pay is indeed good, assuming the fish come like they are supposed to. The number of returning salmon can vary greatly year to year, and no matter how they try to forecast returns, there is great uncertainty.
The hours are long, the conditions mainly crappy, but the pay is indeed good for a summer job. I would challenge anyone to find a 3 month job that pays better.
Let me know if you've got more questions. I would be interested to know where you would be fishing, and what fish you'ld be fishing for. Kodiak? Bristol Bay? Somewhere way out in the Gulf?
For the record, I went commercial halibut fishing twice. It's not for me.
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