Tag Archives: Aleutian Ballad

‘Deadliest Catch,’ a reality show with drama – and room for make-believe

This year, nine Bering Sea crab boats will appear on the Discovery Channel show’s 18th season, premiering April 19. That represents nearly a quarter of the 39 vessels registered as of March 21 to catch snow crab in the 2022 harvest, which has been greatly reduced due to conservation concerns. Some are smaller boats that may have a more difficult time operating in the cold, rough water of the northern Bering Sea, where surveys indicate most of the crab were to be found this year. But with the money paid by Discovery, their captains had plenty of added incentive to keep crabbing, and keep their crews employed, in 2022 rather than transferring small catch quotas to larger boats. Just how much “Deadliest Catch” pumps into the crab fleet is largely kept confidential. >click to read< 11:32