An Alaskan fisherman spent Friday night floating at sea in a small fish bin after his boat sank off the coast and kept his spirits up by singing "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and "Row, row, row your boat."

The U.S. Coast Guard plucked Ryan Harris, 19, of Sitka, from the one-by-one metre plastic bin on Saturday afternoon, more than 24 hours after his boat sank, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Monday.

His crew mate, Stonie "Mac" Huffman, managed to don a survival suit he found near the overturned boat and reached shore a few hours before Harris was picked up.

Their 28-foot boat tipped in high waves, Harris told the newspaper, and he climbed in the bin to keep afloat before the pair were separated.

"I never thought I was going to die, but I was worried about Mac. I'm glad to be here," Harris told the Sentinel.

He said he sang songs to keep his mind busy and kept repeating for hours, "I'm Ryan Hunter Harris and I'm not going to die here."

Neither man was injured.