We did a lot some days and a whole lot of nothing on others. Still, I left feeling that I must return to Puerto Rico. I have a feeling there’s a lot that I still need to see.

A few thoughts: While Old San Juan is charming, I got the distinct feeling that the city in general is trying mighty hard to become South Beach. Places push their prices sky high, blare house music, drape everything in white and compare themselves to The Delano. To fall into this would be a shame. While I love South Beach, Puerto Rico is no South Beach and I wish they’d try to forge their own identity rather than become copycats. The result ends up looking like a fake Louis Vitton bag: kind of desperate and cheap.

I’m also at a loss when it comes to the service in Puerto Rico. Whether at a restaurant serving comida tipica or an upscale place with menus in English, the waiters were the same: they’d come and take your order, bring your food and then disappear. Getting a check or paying a bill were nearly impossible and probably doubled the amount of time I would have spent in any establishment. This wouldn’t have been nearly as bad if I’d had some kind of drink in front of me, but sitting at an empty table, with an empty glass, trying to flag down a waiter is simply no fun. It also makes the dine and dash a tempting prospect”

Notables: Eating well in Puerto Rico is easy. Eating healthily, not so much. It seems the Puerto Ricans like to fry everything- fish, tacos, plantains. You name it, you can probably find it fried. Even seemingly good foods like rice and beans are cooked in ways to increase their calorie content- a technique that harks back to the days when people had to subsist on the basics. Rice is typically cooked with lard, while beans come stewed with some kind of pork fat.

We ended up at a strip of food stalls in Loquillo one day, about an hour east of San Juan, but I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures. There must have been 50 places, all lined up on the beach, all selling chicharron, mofongo, fried fish and yellow rice. While the comida tipica was tasty, I can’t figure out how these places survive when they seem to all sell the same thing.

The Surprise: San Juan Water & Beach Club in Isla Verde. Yes, this place falls into the category of establishments trying too hard to be South Beach. But the lovely ocean views, waterfalls in the elevator and not too pretentious service made it work: this place is chic, fun and definitely worth a visit. We started our evening at Wet, the rooftop bar which afforded a lovely 360-degree view and a too-cool-for-school atmosphere. This would be a great place to come on a date, or to start a rowdy evening with friends. (One complaint: they don’t have a cocktail menu. What upscale nightlife establishment doesn’t have its own cocktail menu?)

We then had dinner at Tangerine, the restaurant downstairs that emphasized ambiance with blue lights, a waterfall behind the bar and white everything. While appearance is good, what sets this place apart is the fact that the food was tasty and original.

We started with a trio of ceviches: ginger tuna, topped with candied ginger; coconut snapper; and tangerine salmon. Each was distinct and unlike any ceviche I’ve ever had: the snapper was subtly sweet, the tuna had a bit of bite and the salmon emphasized sour.

Next, we had a paella with red snapper. It was a lovely execution, not at all greasy, which can be the case with paella. The rice was accented generously with carrot, zucchini and red pepper, as well as large, gorgeous chunks of snapper.

The highlight of the evening, however, was the steak with green chile sauce. To be frank, I didn’t have high hopes for this one, but we didn’t think two tapas-sized dishes would be enough to eat (though in the end, two would have been fine). Chunks of tender beef sauteed in a red-wine, chile and caper sauce, and served with house fried plantain chips, this dish was succulent, savory and impossible not to love. While our previous two dishes had been good, this one set the bar even higher.

The Regret: Driving back to San Juan from Loquillo on Saturday I passed a sign for chicharron de conejo. I was intrigued. Chicharron are typically fried pieces of pork skin and conejo is rabbit”� fried rabbit skin? Alas, I kept driving, and now I haven’t been able to stop wondering what I missed out on.

While I mostly have great things to say about Puerto Rico, there was one place that annoyed me so much, I feel compelled to warn others to stay away, especially because it’s supposed to be one of the best places on the island.

The Disappointment: Budatai in Condado. Frommer’s led me astray with this one, naming it one of the 10-Best Dining Bets in Puerto Rico. Perhaps the good people at Frommer’s only ate at 10 places in Puerto Rico? Executive Chef/Owner Roberto Treviño is a contestant on Iron Chef America this season, and if this cuisine is any indication of Treviño’s talents I’d avoid putting any money on him winning.

Located across from La Ventana al Mar Park, the terrace area where we ate did have lovely views of the sea and surrounding area. However, that did little to make up for the limited menu or poor execution. My first beef with Budatai came with the menu, which boasted “Wild Salmon”� but which our server then informed us was actually farm-raised. My sense of distrust raised immediately. Why would you put “wild”� on the menu if it isn’t? What other fabrications are included? Is the vegetarian cuisine truly vegetarian? Is the duck really duck?

We started with some vegetarian egg rolls, which interestingly enough had cheese in them. Yes, cheese, which in my book is the ultimate faux-pas when it comes to Asian-fusion cooking. Worse, the cheese was gooey and tasteless, adding nothing but calories and a strange mouth feel.

My companion, who keeps kosher and hence had little to choose from on the shell-fish and pork heavy menu, reluctantly opted for the salmon, which came with vegetables and a Bearnaise sauce- again, a strange offering at what is supposedly an Asian restaurant. It was forgettable at best. I opted for the pork dumplings (billed as the house specialty) and a side of duck fried rice.

In his last column as The New York Times’ dining critic, Frank Bruni suggested that one way to safely navigate a restaurant’s menu was to “scratch off anything that mentions truffle oil.”� I wish I’d listened. As a rule, pork dumplings are usually a safe standby in Asian places. Budatai’s started off promisingly enough with some well-flavored pork wrapped inside a doughy wrapper. Then things got a bit”� well, crazy. The dumplings looked like they’d been grilled, but they were about as crispy as chewing gum. Then, they were topped with what looked like any and everything the chef had within reach: some strange brown sauce, caviar, truffles, truffle oil, garlic, sesame seeds, watercress”� and those are just the things I could identify in the terrace’s half-light. It was a cacophony of flavors, so busy I wondered if I’d even notice if half the ingredients were missing.

The duck fried rice was similarly busy. Greasy, with only a trace of duck, this dish came laden with sweet plantains, which were just weird. Just say it: rice, banana and duck”� it even sounds weird, doesn’t it? This dish would have been saved with more duck and perhaps the inclusion of some complimentary ingredients: think scallion or bean sprout. Banana? Not so much.

The Delight: Miró, also in Condado. This place obviously caters to tourists, but had a few hard to find dishes, like grilled baby octopus and arroz negro — rice cooked with squid ink and then mixed with a variety of shellfish. In addition, the sangria was pretty amazing. Made to order with red wine, brandy, triple sec, pineapple juice and a squirt of sprite, it was refreshing, but not too sweet.

One of those outfits is the father/son combo of Wayne and Mike Marshall out of the village Brant Rock, which opens up into Cape Cod Bay from Marshfield.

Wayne and Mike were pulling traps on Thursday when they caught glimpse of something very special — a rare blue lobster.

“I have heard of blue lobsters but never caught one. It was quite a surprise to see it,” Wayne said.

As you can see above, the lobster only has one claw, which is not too uncommon. But it’s color is. One one in every two million lobsters is blue. The coloring is caused by a genetic mutation that makes the lobster produce an excessive amount of a certain protein.

There are other rare colored lobsters out there. On August 1, 2006, a Maine lobsterman caught a yellow lobster near the mouth of the Kennebec River. The odds of finding a yellow one are about 1 in 30 million. Also in 2006, another Maine fisherman caught a half and half lobster — with two colors perfectly covering the halves of the lobster’s shell. The odds of finding one of those are one in 50 million.

Wayne said he’s been fishing out of Brant Rock for more than 30 years, mostly catching lobsters. Him and his son operate the 30-foot wooden, Maine-built lobster boat “The Necessity.” They usually haul traps four times a week and sell the catch on the pier.

A couple years ago, the Marshalls caught a rare half yellow lobster.

Their blue lobster is currently being held at the Brand Rock Fish Market, but don’t worry, it’s not destined to become a meal. The Marshalls are looking for a home for it and will be contacting the New England Acquarium this week.

Wayne and Mike also run a t-shirt printing business called Brant Rock Ink, where they print up themed t-shirts for the local fishermen and some fire departments.

Blast author John M. Guilfoil (left) enjoys Fish Tuesday.

The Boston-based food blog is a newcomer, and it mixes restaurant experiences with New England home cooking.

Blast got to enjoy exactly what Tania and Nicole deLuzuriaga means by home cooking by attending a special Musing Bouche event called “Fish Tuesday,” where an unbelievably assortment of fresh codfish, (filleted from the WHOLE fish) corn pudding, tomato and avocado bread salad and more. They fed 11 people to the brim.

The blog is great, the food was amazing and you need to see what all the buzz is about.

Ashley Byrne, PETA’S Sea Kitten campaign coordinator, said in a press release, “If Phish became Sea Kittens and the band’s legions of fans started calling fish ’sea kittens,’ fewer of these gentle animals would be violently killed for food, painfully hooked for ’sport,’ or cruelly confined to aquariums.”

We wonder what frontman Trey Anastasio thinks, but we’re betting he’s not having “Sea Kittens” tattooed on his shoulder anytime soon.

In a letter to the band, PETA requested that the name be changed for their June 20 visit to East Troy, Wis.  in the hopes that it will stick.

PETA said that “sea kittens” not only feel pain, but are affectionate, intelligent animals who communicate with each other.

Their Sea Kitten campaign is aimed at changing the animals’ name for good.

Check out their website and let us know if you’ll be swearing off the eating of sea kittens for good, or if you’re just as ready as ever to tuck into that smoked salmon.

Seafood Spinach Quesadilla’s

1 bag frozen shrimp (51-60 count)

3 oz. Cod

Fresh spinach

Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Wheat tortillas

Olive Oil

Ripe Avocado

Salsa

Directions:

• Heat oven to 400 degrees
• Spray skillet with cooking spray and add cod
• When cod is just about cooked put cod shrimp and spinach into one pan and cook until spinach is wilted and seafood is cooked.
• Spray round baking pan with cooking spray.
• Brush olive oil onto one side of tortilla and place into round baking pan
• Spread shredded Monterey Jack cheese on tortilla.
• Add spinach and seafood mixture to tortilla.
• Place second tortilla on top and spread olive oil over top half of tortilla.
• Place in oven until tortillas are crisp.
• After removing sprinkling cheese on top of finished product and cover until cheese melts (1 minute at most).
• Slice with large knife or pizza cutter.
• In a bowl mash half ripe avocado.
• Mix in salsa of choice and enjoy guacamole and salsa on the side of your quesadillas!

Catch a Piece of Maine was founded by two brothers, Brendan and John Ready, who after being raised in the lobstering community decided to get their own boat and start catching lobsters after high school. Fortunately for them, their parents encouraged a higher education. After going to universities in Boston and getting degrees in business, they put their newfound knowledge to work. 

They founded a company, Ready Inc., and created a new way to sell lobsters by offering ownership of a lobsterman’s trap to get 13 lobster baskets direct from the fisher for a year. 

“We are a community supported fishing model that is relevant for the Maine lobster industry. In the past 50 years there has been very little change and what we can offer is the quality product with the experiential value,” explained John Ready.

Each basket includes four pound-and-a half lobsters, pound of steamer clams, pound of mussels and four servings of typical Maine desserts like blueberry brownies or whoopee-pies.  The shipments also bring a photo and story of the lobsterman who works the trap; a map of where the trap is located; a personalized note from the lobsterman telling how the fishing went; next day delivery, classic lobster-printed white bibs and, last but not least, a call form the lobsterman himself the night of delivery to ensure costumers are happy with their bounty. 

 Aside from canceling third parties, trap holders establish a relationship with those who run their trap and learn what the real lobstering life is about. It may sound like too much razzle-dazzle but this personal treatment is what sets the Ready brothers apart, selling more than two million pounds of lobster annually.

“We have customers who really look forward to receiving their call the night of their delivery. They have dinners on that day and its not strange to be put on speakerphone to join the party, people love being involved, they like to know they form a part of what we do,” said Ready.

Their business model has helped create a feeling of togetherness amongst the lobstermen, something that Ready said is not often found. Not only that, it is creating jobs in an ailing industry and encouraging consumers to continue buying the clawed crustacean. The yearlong share costs $3,000 but there are other options that have become as big sellers as the yearly “subscription.”

“We are here to please you, I just had a call from a woman who said, ‘I love lobster tails, send me 20 by this date’ and we did. Our consumers like experiential gifts so we have an array of smaller custom made options to never say ‘no’ and give them the same experience,” Ready said.

One of those options is the $250 “Lobster Share” pack.  It includes the same four hard shell lobsters, steamer clams,  mussels and Maine made desserts and personalized messages as the shareholders monthly basket does. It also comes with the popular call from the lobsterman who caught your delicious dinner. 

If you don’ know whether or not a person likes lobsters, the business on-line store also offers Catch a Piece of Maine gear gift certificates and a colorful 2009 calendar filed with Maine scenery and lobstermen’s photos.

In a time when the lobster industry is in decline this company has grown at an amazing rate. The difference being in that the brothers use their salesman skills effectively to help revitalize the lobstering community and make a profit along the way. 

“We grew up in this lifestyle, because catching and selling lobsters really is a lifestyle. When we see the men that we looked up to as children struggling to pay bills or make things work we’re not only concerned with making a business successful, we’re concerned for our family,” Ready shared.  “This is what other people see too and by getting even a small piece of it they know their gift will be unique and that our community will keep going.”

Whether your holiday list is on a budget or not, the custom packages and apparel from these Mainers are special options to consider. Because, if you think about it, who else can boast after New Years that the “lobsterman called, wanting to make sure you got your lobsters alright” at the office?

Get your own piece of Main by sending an email to Giveaways@BlastMagazine.com with your contact information by January 1st to win the lobstermen’s 2009 calendar!

Several decades ago a fish-centric diet was considered to be not only healthy but also environmentally friendly. But today those of us who eat a lot of fish may not be doing ourselves or the environment any favor. The two major concerns are overfishing and pollution. 

Demand for low-calorie, protein-rich fish has grown tremendously alongside increases in world population. At the same time, the technologies employed for catching seafood have improved to the point that the commercial fishing industry has essentially stripped the ocean of its once teeming fish populations. One recent analysis concluded that only 10 percent of the large predatory fish that once roamed the world’s oceans are left, due to overzealous sport and commercial fishing. Another study concluded that three-quarters of the world’s fisheries are either fully fished or overfished. 

Pollution from industrial, agricultural and other everyday activities like electricity generation and automobile driving has also taken a serious toll on the health of the remaining fish species. Scientists routinely find unsafe levels of mercury, PCBs, dioxins, pesticides and other harsh toxins in the fat, internal organs and even muscle tissue of many different kinds of fish. These contaminants are then passed on up the food chain to our dinner plates. 

According to Seafood Watch, a project of the Monterey Bay Aquarium that works to educate the public about the seafood crisis, consumers can make a difference by getting educated so as to make smart choices about what seafood to avoid. Consumers can download and print out free Seafood Watch pocket guides to the “best choices” across six different regions of the U.S.-after all, what’s abundant and sustainably harvested in your area may not be the same for someone across the country. 

Another convenient way to get the low-down on the fish you may be contemplating buying at the grocer or a restaurant is to text “30644″ with the message “FISH,” followed by the name of the specific fish in question. In a few seconds, an automated response will come back from the non-profit Blue Ocean Network’s FishPhone service with information on the status of the fish in question-and alternatives, should Blue Ocean consider the fish an undesirable choice. 

The basic skinny on fish consumption is that if you like it, you should eat it, but responsibly-that means in moderation and armed with the proper knowledge of which types of fish to buy and which to avoid. 

For those looking to cut down on or eliminate seafood from their diets but still gain the health benefits of eating fish, plenty of alternatives exist. As most vegetarians know, beans, tofu and many nuts can be significant alternative sources of protein. And walnuts, flaxseed and hemp oil/seeds are all rich in the Omega-3 fatty acids common in many fish and thought to help ward off heart disease, cancer, macular degeneration (age-related blindness), arthritis and inflammatory disorders. 

CONTACTS: Seafood Watch, www.mbayaq.org/cr/seafoodwatch.asp; FishPhone, www.fishphone.org. 

Dear EarthTalk: What makes those so-called “new urbanism” housing developments popping up around the U.S. more environmentally friendly than regular old suburban neighborhoods? – Rusty Spinoza, Galveston, TX 

The husband-and-wife team of town planners Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk are typically credited as the founders of new urbanism, a style of community design that embraces mixed use (commercial and residential) development in pedestrian-friendly and green space-rich neighborhoods-much like the old neighborhoods many baby-boomers remember before suburban sprawl made us all slaves to our cars. 

Duany and Plater-Zyberk formulated their new urbanism principles while living in one of the Victorian neighborhoods of New Haven, Connecticut while they attended graduate school in architecture at Yale. Their neighborhood included corner shops, front porches and a variety of attractive and well-designed housing and commercial structures-planting the seed of an idea that has now swept the U.S. and beyond. 

The prototypical new urbanist community is Florida’s Seaside, which Duany and Plater-Zyberk began designing in 1979 for the 80-acre coastal parcel’s developer, Robert S. Davis. Their plan took the best elements of a handful of graceful southern cities like Key West, Charleston and Savannah to create a community based on the tried-and-true concept of walkable, self-contained neighborhoods. Besides 300 homes, Seaside contains a school, a town hall, an open-air market, a tennis club, a tented amphitheater and a post office-everything anyone could ever need in a town, and all within a five minute walk. 

According to the non-profit Smart Communities Network, Seaside works as a community because of its design: “Mandatory porches are set close enough to walkways to enable porch sitters and passersby to communicate without raising their voices…. The streets are all interconnected; creating a network that eliminates ‘collector’ routes and reduces congestion. Walkways crisscross the development to encourage walking and biking, while narrow streets serve to reduce traffic speed.” Building fronts are a uniform distance from the curb and all streets are tree-lined to further the community’s “sense of place.” 

Other examples of new urbanist communities include: Stapleton on the outskirts of Denver, Colorado; Seabrook on the southern coast of Washington State; Melrose Arch in Johannesburg, South Africa; Alta de Lisboa near Lisbon, Portugal; and Jakriborg in southern Sweden. Meanwhile, the idea has caught on in New Orleans, where developers are styling new communities in the wake of Hurricane Katrina based in part on the principles of new urbanism. 

According to the website NewUrbanism.org, being green is central to the concept of new urbanism, where houses tend to be compact and on small lots. And many developers are incorporating green building design and alternative energy generation into their plans for these communities. Furthermore, proponents say that building densely settled, walkable communities instead of road-intensive suburban developments cuts down on the need to drive, thus further reducing the carbon footprint. 

CONTACTS: Seaside, www.seasidefl.com; Smart Communities Network, www.smartcommunities.ncat.org; NewUrbanism.org, www.newurbanism.org. 

GOT AN ENVIRONMENTAL QUESTION? Send it to: EarthTalk, c/o E/The Environmental Magazine, P.O. Box 5098, Westport, CT 06881; submit it at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/thisweek/, or e-mail: earthtalk@emagazine.com. Read past columns at: www.emagazine.com/earthtalk/archives.php.

We have a seafood feast on major holidays, especially Christmas and New Year’s, with fillet, fried shrimp, calamari, stuffed clams, lobster or crab sauce and plenty of claws to crack and pass around.

Now that I’ve opened my eating horizons, fish is a distinctive option, not only for the holidays and Friday nights, but for a healthy, refreshing alternative to chicken, steak and pork.

I want to show off a family-inspired recipe that illustrates clearly that the Italians don’t just batter and deep fry their fish. Today is Good Friday, so I bought a beautiful, large cut of cod fillet, and I’m going to bake it and serve the fish with some sautéed vegetables.

By the way, a single serving is only six Weight Watchers points.

Kicked up traditional codfish

Preheat the oven to 350.

First, I take my cod and soak it in water with a light squeeze of lemon for five minutes. Take it out, and let the water drain off. Lightly coat both sides in salt and pepper. I use coarse, kosher salt, but anything works.

Take a deep baking pan and cover it in aluminum foil. Coat the foil in non-stick cooking spray.

Take 2-3 pieces of lemon and one diced plum (or any…) tomato and lay them down across where you’re going to put the fish. Dash on a little salt, pepper, basil, oregano, parsley, whatever you want. Drizzle some olive oil.

Take a small handful of Italian breadcrumbs and sprinkle the bank of the fillet. Lay it down over the lemon wedges and tomato. sprinkle a few more crumbs over the top — just a bit. Then take 4-6 Ritz crackers and crush them, two at a time, with your hands, letting the crumbs fall over the top of the cod.

Then dice one or two more small tomatoes, and cover the crumbs. Coat with some more salt, pepper, cayenne pepper and whatever spices you like best. Drizzle some more olive oil on top.

I like to leave some onion pieces in the corners, and you can add any vegetables you want to the pan. I didn’t in this case, because I’m serving other veggies with the fish. Don’t cover the cod, but crinkle the sides of the foil up just a bit on each side.

Bake for 30-40 minutes or until it cleanly flakes with a fork. You may need less time if you use a smaller piece.

Now, take out your favorite chef’s knife, and cut up some veggies.

I stress that you can use whatever vegetables you want, but I chose some red and green peppers, a white onion and a yellow squash. It’s a colorful mix; it’s beautiful; it tastes unbelieveable.

Cut some narrow strips or slices of your favorites and shake them up with salt, pepper, Adobo spice, parsley, garlic powder, etc. This is not an exact science, but DON’T OVER SEASON your veggies. Too much, and they’ll be saltier than McDonald’s French Fries and it will ruin the dish.

Lightly coat a nonstick frying pan or wok with olive oil and warm over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables, and continuously stir then for about five minutes or until you can easily break one with the spatula.

Invest in a $1 wooden spatula. It cleans in the dishwasher and won’t rust or scratch your pans.

After about 5-7 minutes, cover the pan for 2-3 minutes. You don’t want to steam the vegetables, but you want to force them to hold in some moisture. Then uncover the pan and drizzle about a tablespoon or two of soy sauce. This departs from tradition just a bit, but trust me. Stir it in, and turn off the heat.

You want to start cooking the vegetables about 2/3 though the cod’s cooking cycle.

When the fish is done — depending on the size and number of people — spread some vegetables over the center of each plate. With a a spatula, cut even pieces of fish. Discard the cooked lemon wedges (the fish tastes lemony enough) and serve with the tomatoes and whatever else is in the pan.

One good-sized fillet serves two.

This is a very filling, very, very healthy dish. The kicked-up veggies replace the need for rice or potatoes or French fries.

Enjoy with a glass of white wine, and have a Happy Easter!

See Blast’s new Food Page for more great ideas!

Then one night last year, Mythbusters was over and this Bon Jovi song comes on, and I decide to watch an episode of “the fishing show.” Now I’m hooked.

What really strikes me about Deadliest Catch is that the Discovery folks put in cameras and producers, documentary style, and ended up with better characters and dramatic plots than most of the striking writers could put out.

From Sig Hansen, the third generation Norwegian to salty Alaskan Phil Harris on his boat, the Cornelia Marie, Deadliest Catch is no small achievement.

Watching these fishermen haul 700-pound crab pots from the bottom of the Bering Sea over and over again and watching them deal with everything from legal problems to winter storms, it’s often easy to forget that Deadliest Catch is unscripted. Moreover, it’s easy to forget that any of these people can die — fishermen and producers — at any time.

The reminders come from the solemn episodes where the boats break away from fishing to search for survivors from a vessel sunk by a rogue wave or storm. They rarely find many alive in the frigid waters. This came to life in the first season especially, when one of the featured boats, Big Valley, sunk early on, killing all but one aboard.

The third season starts off with the beginning of the Red King Crab season and disaster as the fishing vessel Ocean Challenger sinks, taking three men with it and showing a dramatic Coast Guard helicopter rescue where one of the crew members is saved.

Season three is contained on five DVD’s with nearly nine hours of footage. I was disappointed by the lack of special features — Discovery did a really good special called “After the Catch” where narrator Mike Rowe shared stories and beers with the captains and crew. That was another amazing part of deadliest catch, bringing narrator and subjects together.

Either way, the DVD set is an excellent gift and a great way to relive Deadliest Catch.

Episodes:

A Tragic Beginning
Journey back to Dutch Harbor, Alaska – the largest fishing port in the United States. The 2006 Red King Crab season kicks off as 81 fishing vessels eagerly return to stake their claim in the million dollar jackpot.

The Unforgiving Sea
After the Ocean Challenger fishing boat sinks, a Coast Guard helicopter rescues the only known survivor. Meanwhile, two bodies are pulled from the water and another man remains lost at sea.

Pain and Paybacks
After a deadly start to the season, the Bering Sea claims more victims. Deckhand Lenny Lakanoff of the Wizard suffers a crippling injury, leaving Captain Keith scrambling to shore.

Cheating Death
Halfway through the season the grind is on with crews working throughout the nights. Equipment failures, fatigue and bad weather make fishing even more dangerous.

Bering Sea Salvation
Experience the heart-wrenching tales of the Bering Sea as Captain Johnathan Hillstrand of the Time Bandit recounts a rescue attempt he made nine years ago that ended in tragedy.

The Last Lap
The grinding 2006 Red King Crab fishing marathon comes to a close as holds fill with King gold. With money in their pockets, the fishermen return home for a short rest before returning to the 2007 Opilio Crab Season.

New Beginnings
All aboard as the January Opilio crab season opens. Several greenhorns are about to experience the subfreezing temperatures and icy winter waters of the Bering Sea for the first time.

Caught in the Storm
Only days into the Opilio season, a major storm system hits the fishing grounds causing Captain Andy of the Time Bandit to call his men off deck.

Crossing the Line
A monster storm blows through the Time Bandit and Cornelia Marie grounds, and a double change of guard takes place on the Wizard as Captain Keith Colburn and greenhorn Nick both head south.

Trials of the Greenhorns
The harsh winter weather puts the greenhorns to the test, but the Northwestern and Cornelia Marie greenhorns step up to prove their worth by working through broken bones and icy decks without complaint.

Ice and Open Water
The promise of a great catch outweighs the dangerous risks faced by the Opilio Crab fishing vessels. The Far West Leader attempts to survive the loss of one engine, while the Time Bandit enjoys unseasonable weather and unprecedented catches.

A Frozen Finish
The 2007 Opilio crab tally is in and a winner is declared. After a long and difficult crab fishing season, the Northwestern enjoys a sweet homecoming with friends and family back in Seattle.