4 of 15

Write now Article Tools

This is not one of the more politically correct programs aired on The Discovery Channel; however THE DEADLIEST CATCH is one of the most interesting programs on the air currently.

The series looks at the lives of several captains and crews of crab fishing boats working out of Dutch Harbor Alaska.

Each episode will be cut together with people like Sig Hansen, the Captain of the Northwestern; a fishing boat that is crewed mainly by family members. Compared to the Cornelia Marie captained by Phil Harris, which has his son as a batesman who becomes promoted to a full deckhand.

The difference in positions on a boat like the Cornelia Marie is two fold, one as a bates-man, all you do is prepared the dead fish to be used as bait in the big iron pots sent over to the bottom.

There is no variety to your job officially, you may be asked to help in casting out to retrieve one of the big cages (known as pots) but your main job is preparing the bate.

Another key difference is as a deckhand your pay is higher, because your pay is calculated by your participation in every aspect that goes on in setting out and retrieving the pots, and the sorting of and storage of crab.

Each boat has a set quota of how many Crabs it can fish and bring home, this policy change came at the end of the 2005 crab season to ensure that everyone have a fair chance at profit. The policy was also put in place to try and protect the crabs to ensure that no one over fish.

What makes this series amazing though is that the crews will work sometimes 12 to 20 hours at a time in order to bring in the crabs. The crews may have only 5 days to bring in their quota, then the season will be over.

The men who do this are that breed that one hundred years ago were common among us, they are hardy men who know that if the Bearing Sea changes its' weather pattern they may not come home.

Many times the viewer is reminded that people die in pursuing the crabs, sometimes one man may be the only survivor out of a crew of six. When the weather changes fishing boats can be swamped and flooded , they can be turned over and they can sink immediately if they have not been able to lay down their pots.

Decks can freeze making injury a possibility, many times crew will have to take sledge hammers and break off ice from the deck so they can work with some degree of safety.

Everyday is a struggle, will a boat like the Rolo retrieve empty pots, or will it lose pots because the ropes break? Will a captain like Phil Harris have to

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about TV show reviews: The Deadliest Catch?
We want to hear your view. Write now!