Chad Harris, a native of Seattle who has since relocated to North Port, Fla., published "Alaska Commercial Fishing Guide" in September 2009.

The 102-page book is intended as a guide to the state’s commercial fishing industry, which attracts 70,000 to 80,000 people per year and is a popular option for those looking to make a large amount of money on a minimum time commitment.

Harris, who has been in the business for 16 years and is first mate and soon-to-be-captain on the Pavlof fishing boat, grew up in Kirkland and since moved to Florida to be closer to his wife’s family.

Harris listed the benefits of working in the fishing industry as the potential to make great money, the time off (six to eight months per year), and the ability to work outside the typical office environment.

These benefits, plus the fact that the fishing industry has not contracted as a result of the country’s recession, contributed to the demands of the dozens of people who showed up on Harris’ front step in Florida looking for a job.

When Harris first moved to Florida, neighbors began showing up on his doorstep, asking him to put in a good word for them with his connections in the fishing industry.

So many people dropped by, his wife had to post a “Do Not Disturb” sign in the front yard, said Harris.

Eventually, so many people requested help that one day, while hiding in the bathroom from one job-hunter, the idea for the guide came to Harris.

Harris began writing the guide one year ago and went through five or six revisions before finding satisfaction with the final product.

He wanted the book to be easy to read, straightforward and to the point so the average job hunter could easily find relevant information on the Alaskan fishing industry.

The book has sold several hundred copies in its hardcover edition so far without the aid of a publicist.

Harris said the majority of customers seem to be parents in their 50s and 60s who are buying the book for their children in their 20s and 30s who are newly out of work or working service sector jobs in the restaurant industry.

The Alaskan fishing industry offers a chance for employment with minimal experience and the opportunity to make significantly more money than these same young adults would at home.

Harris said the increase in interest in the Alaskan fishing industry is in part due to the success of shows like the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch,” which depicts the events aboard crab fishing boats in the Bering Sea.

“The 'Deadliest Catch' has put a spotlight on fishing,” said Harris.

Harris said he had plans to write when he was younger and in school, but that a teacher of his killed the desire when she told him he couldn’t use four-letter words in his writing.

Now older and with no teacher to submit his work to, Harris writes as he pleases.

He said the book flowed when he began to type it, and that the writing took a couple weeks, and the research, photographs and assembly of the book several months more.

“I’m one of those people who have to have a creative outlet,” said Harris.

Harris took all the pictures in the guide, with the exception of three. In 2005 he was the Alaska Fisherman’s Journal Photographer of the Year.

The guide contains contact information for more than 400 employers, each of which Harris contacted individually to obtain information. He said this was the most time-consuming and difficult aspect of writing the book.

Harris has future plans to publish a book on the Gulf of Mexico’s oil industry and one on the green jobs industry, among possible others.