‘Deadliest Catch’ Cancelled with Crab Season Crisis?

Deadliest Catch cancelled might be the next breaking news story after Alaska authorities had to do something unprecedented to deal with a snow crab crisis. Here’s the latest on the Discovery Channel series.

Deadliest Catch Facing Cancellation? Alaska Cancels Snow Crab Season

For 15 years, a growing legion of fans followed the docu-series chronicling the triumphs and tragedies of Alaskan crab fishermen. It’s the most deadly profession in the world but worth it for those with crabbing in their blood.

Now, is it the end of an era? Is Deadliest Catch cancelled now that there’s no crab fishing to be had? On October 10, Alaskan officials canceled this year’s winter Bering Sea snow crab season for the first time ever. Why? An unprecedented drop in the crab population.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game crushed the hopes of those that make their living harvesting snow crab. Not long ago, juvenile snow crabs were at record numbers. Now, 90% of them are inexplicably gone.

While many blame climate issues, others blame it on destruction from trawlers/draggers. And those people hope the Deadliest Catch cast use their platform to draw attention to these issues.

The statement above is from the organization repping most of the crabbers. If you don’t know the lingo, “TAC” is total allowable catch. BBRKC is Bristol Bay Red King Crab. Snow is snow crab. So, the allowable catch for the 2022-23 season is zero!

Snow crab alone is a $200 million industry — all at risk. Experts estimate that many crab-fishing families will go under after this staggering loss. Laws allow the harvesting of only mature male snow crabs. And the jump in juveniles spurred hopes of a future boom.

Then, the bottom dropped out. And no one can pinpoint why. In addition to climate and trawling theories, the Federal Government claimed that snow crabs are “overfished”. Is this the end of the Deadliest Catch?

Sig Hansen Made Smart Move to Norway When Alaskan Crab Crisis Began

Last year, Alaska closed king crab season early for the first time in three decades. And they only opened the 2021 season at all because the crab population barely met the minimum threshold regulations require.

It seemed Sig Hansen smelled blood in the waters of the Bering Sea. He took the F/V Northwestern and his family and packed off to Norway, where his ancestors once roamed and fished. That launched Deadliest Catch: Viking Returns.

Not only could that fill the belly of his boat with crabs, but it could also keep his reality TV checks coming. With no crab season in the Bering Sea, will Discovery channel cancel the show or cover the drama of the industry’s devastation?

When Alaska closed the red king crab fishery for the first time since the 90s, Sig Hansen left. And it’s proved to be a wise decision. Now, state officials called off Bristol Bay red king crab season for the second straight year. That crab population’s been steadily declining too.

Will Discovery cancel Deadliest Catch? There’s a season on now plus you can check out Sig, daughter Mandy Hansen, her husband Clark Pederson, and Captain Jake Anderson (F/V Saga) on their spinoff.

Can Deadliest Catch & Crab Fishermen Bounce Back or is it Over?

Andy Hillstrand of the F/V Time Bandit on Deadliest Catch already said “We’re going to have to let people go” adding “there’s no work”. Hillstrand said they’re not even earning enough to cover upkeep on the vessel.

We covered the death of Stephen Biernacki and the capsizing of the F/V Mary B II. So, that crew of three lost their lives when the 2019 crab season was delayed by four weeks. That pushed crews to take risks.

This, though, is another beast since it’s not a late opening but a non-existent snow crab season. And this could mean the end of Deadliest Catch — and more importantly, the livelihood of hundreds of families. We’ll update you here if anything changes.

Check out Discovery Channel for new episodes and get Deadliest Catch news here at Soap Dirt.