Commercial fishing boats are between 40 and 200 feet in length, are equipped with hydraulic systems to lift the catch, and are able withstand the freezing weather of the Bering Sea. Each fishing boat sets its own sailing schedule during the crabbing season, sometimes staying out for days or weeks at a time.

 

Fisherman use a steel box shaped trap consisting of a steel frame covered with a wire mesh called a pot. Each pot weighs 600-800 pounds and a ship may carry 200 or 300 pots. Fish, usually herring, is placed inside as bait and then the pot is sunk to the sea floor where the crabs reside. Red and blue king crabs can be found anywhere between the intertidal zone and a depth of 100 fathoms (180 m). Golden King Crabs live in depths between 100 and 400 fathoms (180 and 720 m). The location of the pot is marked on the surface by a buoy which is later used for retrieval. After allowing the pots to rest on the sea floor (typically one to two days for red and blue king crabs, longer for golden king crabs), the pots are dragged back to the surface using a hydraulic crane on the fishing boat.

The crabs in the pots are sorted once they are brought to the surface, and any not meeting the regulation requirements are thrown back. The crabs are typically stored live in a holding tank until the boat reaches shore, where they are sold. If the weather becomes too cold, the live crabs may freeze and burst. If they are left alone in the tank for too long, they will harm and possibly kill each other, as they can be cannibalistic. 

Deckhands are paid a percentage of the profits after the owner's share is taken into account. This can range from nothing to tens of thousands of dollars, depending on the success of the boat. The so called 'greenhorns' (deckhands in their first season of fishing) get a fixed amount of money.

Alaskan crab fishing is often regarded as one of the most dangerous jobs in the world due to the extreme conditions the fishers work in.

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