I am a local in North America

Chapter 41 Additional Quotas!
All the people on the Golden Crab survived the ordeal, and their accounts of the harrowing experience left everyone with much to ponder.

Fortunately, they were rescued; otherwise, it would have been a tragic accident.

The relatively satisfactory ending somewhat alleviated the regret and unease. Su's father even jokingly reassured them:

"It feels like some disaster movies about survival at sea. On the bright side, maybe after the news gets out, a Hollywood director will contact you and offer a lot of money to adapt your true story? Like the movie 'Adrift' that was released last year."

Captain Jonathan Nicholson sat on the sofa, holding a thermos of hot water, and smiled slightly after listening.

After calling his family to let them know he was safe, he was in much better spirits and replied:
“I also hope to adapt our real experiences into a movie and show it on the big screen. However, the process may not be so interesting. For example, wearing thick waterproof clothing makes it extremely troublesome to go to the toilet. It is so cold that the exposed skin feels like it is being cut with a knife. We also have to hold on tightly to the edge of the container to prevent falling into the sea.”

Bob was amused by this and said:

"Oh my god! If I fell into the sea while using the toilet, I would use all my strength to pull my pants up first. If I were to die, I don't want to be found with my pants still on my knees!"

Everyone present burst into laughter after hearing this, and the atmosphere instantly changed.

Captain Jonathan Nicholson laughed so hard he could hardly breathe, nodding repeatedly as he said:

"I had the same worries!"

Then, he let out a long sigh of relief, looked everyone over in their waterproof suits, and asked curiously:
"Is your boat still in operation? I see there are very few crab traps on the deck, and there are also some small king crabs being sorted out. Is the crab fishing season not over yet?"

While listening to the survivors recount their experiences was fascinating, the profits from the King's Landing's voyage directly impacted everyone's income.

After hearing this, Bob slapped his thigh and exclaimed:
"Oh, right! I almost forgot there are still a lot of crab traps to retrieve! Now that there's no danger here, Captain, shall we continue to retrieve the crab traps? I want to get home tonight and give my wife a surprise!"

Mr. Su nodded and said:
"Yes, today marks the start of the exit period. I've already contacted the buyers at the dock, and they'll be waiting for me there around 9 pm tonight. I'm running out of time."

"You can continue to rest here. Later, another boat will take you ashore to the hospital for treatment and examination, where you can also see your family."

"We still have a lot of work to do, we need to get back to it..."

Captain Jonathan Nicholson stood up, supporting himself on his knees, and gestured as he said:

"Thanks again! I'll treat you to drinks in a couple of days!"

His smile faded, and his tone became serious:

"Alas! What a waste of all those king crabs in the Golden Crab's hold!!!"

“I lost all my income from previous years this year. Fortunately, the ship owner, Mr. Jackson, had insured the Golden Crab. I still don’t know how to face him.”

"He trusted me so much, but I messed it up this time..."

Old Man Su patted his shoulder and shook his head to comfort him:

"The most important thing is that everyone is safe. There is still hope. The ship owner, Jackson, was extremely worried the other day. I even heard him pleading with everyone to participate in the search and rescue on the public radio channel. He seemed more concerned about your safety than the safety of the Golden Crab."

The people on the Golden Crab all showed expressions of gratitude.

They already knew that a large portion of the $10 bounty had come from the ship owner, Mr. Jackson.

Mr. Jackson, a native of the Aleutian Islands, like Jerry's grandfather, had been involved in the king crab fishing industry for a long time.

He also benefited from applying for IFQ quotas back then, accumulating considerable wealth over time, and owns another new crab fishing vessel. Now that the Golden Crab has sunk to the bottom of the sea, its most valuable asset, the IFQ quota, remains unaffected. Furthermore, with insurance companies covering the Golden Crab's losses, Mr. Jackson's losses will not be too significant.

Seeing them continue chatting, Su Jierui's heart stirred, and he suddenly asked:

"Captain Jonathan, you mentioned before that you still have a quota of over 12 tons of king crab, right? Perhaps we can cooperate to help you recover some of your losses!"

Captain Jonathan Nicholson was initially puzzled, but then he quickly realized what was happening, his eyes lighting up again as he asked with delight:
"Isn't the season already coming to an end? Did you set up a lot of crab traps before, and are there still extra king crabs in them?!"

Old Man Su hadn't thought of this angle before, but now his eyes lit up! He looked at his son approvingly, secretly marveling at how clever the young man's mind was.

Su Jerry explained:

“I had just calculated that before.”

“We just collected several sets of crab traps. On average, each trap contained about thirty king crabs. Yesterday, a total of 320 traps were set. That means if we maintain this harvest, we can expect a total catch of nearly 7.6 pounds.”

"Our crab fishing boats only need half of that. The rest of the king crabs should be thrown back into the sea anyway. If you are willing to go through legal procedures to temporarily authorize us to use that quota of more than 12 tons, then you can recover a large part of the cost and avoid losing everything."

"Of course, I have no intention of taking advantage of your misfortune; it's simply because this proposal is highly beneficial to both of us. We can negotiate a suitable ratio to share a portion of the extra profits with you..."

Just like the rules at sea, no one would think that the $10 reward should not be taken, so that in the future people would worry that they would not receive the reward and have done useless work, which would lead to them being passive and lazy when participating in other rescue operations.

Now, Su's father, Uncle Feng, and Captain Jonathan all think that Su Jerry's suggestion is quite reasonable.

After all, to harvest an additional 12 tons of king crabs, the crew of the Junlin crab fishing boat would have to expend time and energy, and also bear the risk of a drop in the king crab purchase price if the harvest was delayed.

After a brief moment of consideration, a hint of struggle flashed across Captain Jonathan's face, but seeing the equally exhausted crew members beside him, he decisively said:

“I had a feeling a few days ago that I would lose the rental fee for the 12-ton king crab catch quota. It’s great that you have extra king crabs!”

“Of course I’m willing. According to the rules, temporary transfer of quotas requires filing with the management department, and I can cooperate with this process! I can even just give you the rental fee for the corresponding quota. At that time, I rented quotas from Mr. Jackson for $3.8 per pound.”

"But I want to make more money to compensate these four brothers for taking the risks, so... just give me 20% of the profits, what do you think?"

"They've worked so hard these past few days, risking their lives. I can't let their efforts be in vain..."

As the owner of the Junlin crab fishing boat, Su Laoba also needed to consult with Uncle Feng, Bob, Brother Wang, and Little Gavin. After all, these fishermen could also receive a share of the net profit, and they were all part of a community of shared interests.

After gesturing, Mr. Su waved and said:

"Please wait a moment, we'll discuss it and give you an answer shortly..."

Dad and the others went up to the deck and gathered together to discuss the matter. Su Jerry also joined in, taking out his phone and constantly calculating.

Old Man Su looked around and said to everyone:
"If we delay even a little longer, our ship will cost a lot more money."

“Since the king crabs are already in our cages, I think we should give them 20% of the profits.”

"Captain Jonathan's losses must be substantial, and the other crab fishermen also lost income this time. It's reasonable to give them some compensation..."

(End of this chapter)