Mark Elsarelli has ‘the deadliest job in the world? and he loves every minute of it.
‘Most people go to work and they just do their job,? explained the 20-year-old Addison man. ‘I have to survive mine.?
Elsarelli, a 2004 Oxford High School graduate, recently returned home after spending two months working as a deck hand aboard a commercial fishing vessel catching Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Russia’s Siberia.
‘The Bering Sea is supposedly the deadliest body of water in the world,? he said. ‘That’s why they refer to it as the deadliest job in the world.?
‘They lose fishermen every year to the Bering Sea,? Elsarelli noted.
When the Courageous, the 163-foot catcher/processor vessel Elsarelli worked aboard, first pulled into Dutch Harbor, Alaska, he saw a memorial to all the fishermen who perished in the unforgiving waters.
‘I remember seeing that before we started fishing,? he said. ‘It was rather large.?
Such a thing might have given other men second thoughts about their new job, but the adventure-seeking Elsarelli said, ‘It actually excited me a little bit.?
‘It’s a special breed of human being that goes out there and actually works on the water,? he noted.
An experienced sailor, Elsarelli previously worked aboard the Fred R. White, Jr. ? an 800-foot bulk freighter that transports gravel, coal and iron all over the Great Lakes ? and as first mate of the Lady Jessie, a 90-foot former crab boat now used as a ‘tender vessel? to transport salmon and pollock from fishing vessels to shore in Newport, Oregon.
Elsarelli also served as a U.S. Naval Sea Cadet from age 13 to 17, where he learned how to run a ship and received certifications in many areas.
‘I grew up on (Lakeville Lake) and I’ve just always had a fascination with the water,? he said. ‘I love to be in it, under it, on top of it. Doesn’t matter, I just love the water. It seems like it’s the only place I’m understood sometimes.?
As a deck hand aboard the Courageous, Elsarelli worked 17-18 hours a day, seven days a week on two fishing trips, each lasting about three weeks.
‘The boat never stops fishing,? he said. Once it leaves port, ‘the boat fishes until it’s full.?
The Courageous holds about 500,000 pounds of fish. During Elsarelli’s trips, the vessel caught a combined 970,000 pounds of cod.
During the first half of his shifts, Elsarelli was responsible for untangling all the fishing gear and replacing missing hooks.
Three lines, each about three miles in length and each containing approximately 10,000 hooks baited with frozen squid, are used to catch the cod.
The second half of Elsarelli’s shifts were spent outside on the deck, gaffing fish that fell off the lines as they’re being brought onto the boat and bleeding them before processing below deck.
‘One in every five would fall off the hook,? he said, noting the average cod is about 15 pounds, but the ones they were catching were in the 25-30 pound range. ‘The biggest one was 62 pounds.?
Killer whales would sometimes come up and eat the cod right off the line.
‘We hate it when that happens,? Elsarelli said. ‘They’re beautiful creatures, but that’s our money.?
Being a deck hand is definitely not for the weak, the lazy or faint of heart.
‘It’s painful, hard work,? Elsarelli said. ‘Very fast-paced, very difficult.?
‘You use your hands a lot,? he explained. ‘You wake up every morning and they’re swollen, beat up. You can’t feel them. They’re still kinda numb.?
Rough weather and even rougher waters were the norm. ‘Sometimes you were almost standing on a wall the boat would tip so much,? Elsarelli said. ‘It was bizarre.?
‘It got pretty ugly out there. The waves would knock you on your butt.?
Precautions even had to be taken in order to get a few hours of shut-eye. ‘There were times you literally had to strap yourself down so you didn’t move around and bang your head,? Elsarelli said.
The 23-man crew sustained a lot of injuries during their trips. Elsarelli said he ripped some cartilage in one of his left ribs and ‘almost lost a finger.? He was lucky.
One his friends, a processor below deck, was cleaning out the freezer, slipped on some ice, and is now paralyzed from the waist down. ‘Knowing what we go through to catch that fish motivates me to want to go out and eat a lot of it,? he said.
In return for his long hours of painful labor, Elsarelli was paid 1 percent of the catch for each of his two trips. ‘After taxes, it’s around $5,500 to $6,500 (each trip), depending on how much we caught,? he said. ‘You get paid every time the boat’s full and you go ashore to offload the catch.?
Once he proves himself ‘worthy,? Elsarelli will be able to get a ‘full crew share,? which is 2 percent.
‘I’ve got to work up to that,? he said. ‘It’s all seniority you know.?
Elsarelli plans to return to Alaska to do more commercial fishing in the Bering Sea.
‘The money’s great ? it’s addictive,? he said. ‘So is the adrenaline rush you get out there.?
After working as a deck hand for another year or two, Elsarelli plans to attend the Maritime Academy, obtain a mate’s license and work his way up to skipper.
No matter where the sea takes him, Elsarelli knows he’s already accomplished a unique and rare feat, something he can be proud of the rest of his life.
‘There are very few people that can say they’ve actually gone and survived the deadliest job in the world.?