‘Deadliest Catch’: Johnathan Hillstrand Was Threatened by Russian Draggers

Deadliest Catch fans were shocked to hear that Johnathan Hillstrand and the Time Bandit were surrounded by Russian Draggers — especially since they started threatening him. Did Johnathan back down?

Deadliest Catch: Johnathan Hillstrand Receives a Threat

Time Bandit’s captain Johnathan Hillstrand was driving his boat on Deadliest Catch when a mysterious voice comes on his speaker. It didn’t take long for Johnathan to figure out what it was. In the distance, he sees a myriad of boats. And he recognizes them as draggers, more than likely from Russia.

The voice then starts asking Johnathan Hillstrand if he’s fishing at that location. Johnathan responds, saying he wants to set down gear in the area to catch king crab.

The voice starts threatening him, saying they already have their ships in the location. He tells Johnathan Hillstrand on Deadliest Catch that setting down his gear isn’t a good idea. When Johnathan asks if they’re dragging, the voice tells him “we can drag anywhere we want” and “I wouldn’t fish here if I were you.”

What Are Draggers?

So, what exactly are the Russian Draggers doing? Draggers are vessels that target bottomfeeders. They drag the seafloor with nets. These nets threaten the crab population and could prevent the Deadliest Catch captains from making their crab quotas.

Johnathan Hillstrand calls up Deadliest Catch relief captain Josh Harris and explains the draggers can’t fish farther than a specific area; however, Johnathan was planning on catching a school of crab near where the draggers are.

Deadliest Catch: Johnathan Hillstrand’s Decision

Is Johnathan giving into the Russian draggers? Of course not. That’s because they’re infringing on American waters. If crab fishing gear is there, the Russian draggers can’t tell the crab fishers that they can’t fish there.

Unfortunately, the Russian draggers won’t back down without a fight. So, Johnathan Hillstrand has to get creative. Fortunately, it doesn’t take him long to think of a plan on Deadliest Catch.

Johnathan calls up Cornelia Marie’s temporary captain Casey McManus on Deadliest Catch and they decide to go all the way around and block one of the boats off, so they can fish in the area they planned. Time Bandit will go one way and Cornelia Marie will go in the opposite direction.

Once the boats meet, they will set a variety of pots down so the Russian draggers can’t lay down their nets. This will force the Russian draggers to do their fishing somewhere else.

Did their plan work? Yes, it did. They were able to lay their pots down and fish. How was their catch? They reached the jackpot. The captains and crew were ecstatic to see pots filled with crab on Deadliest Catch.

In the words of Josh Harris: “the Time Bandit does not back down.”

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