Alaskan Fisheries Closed: Will There Be ‘Deadliest Catch’ Season 19?
The crab fishermen on Discovery’s Deadliest Catch encounter some of the most extreme conditions, in one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. Yet, they somehow manage to catch the crab and bring home a lot of money.
However, this year there is a crisis that threatens Season 19 of the Discovery series. For the first time in history, Alaskan Fisheries have been closed.
What does that mean for the captains and crews of the shows’ beloved boats?
Alaska Closes Down Snow Crab Fishing
Last week, Deadliest Catch captains and crew got some shocking news. According to Alaska Public Media, last week, Alaska’s Department Of Fish And Game announced that they were closing down the red king and snow crab seasons. This is the second year in a row that the red king crab fishery has shut down.
Why did they get shut down? There is a serious decline in snow crabs. The quota was less than 90 percent of 2020s. Moreover, the population has dramatically declined.
According to Maria Westphal, an area management biologist with the organization, they don’t have a definitive answer to why the numbers are so low.
One reason could be climate change. Warmer waters could be the reason for the decline. They have also determined that Alaska is getting warmer faster than the lower 48.
Will The Deadliest Catch Season 19 Be Affected By This News?
Now that this news has been released, fans of Discovery’s Deadliest Catch want to know whether Season 19 will be canceled.
According to Deadline, the show’s executive producer, Arom Starr-Paul issued a statement about the future of the Discovery series.
Fans can anticipate another great season of Deadliest Catch where we will document our captains as they participate in other sustainable Bering Sea crab and pot fisheries, such as Golden King Crab, Bairdi, and Cod.
What this likely means is that fans of the series will watch the captains scramble and figure out other ways to fill the pots and put money into the pockets of these fishermen.
From the beginning, this show has prided itself on being a reality series that showed the realities and hardships of crab fishing.
New Deadliest Catch Spinoff Could Be Future Crab Fishing Hotspot
Captain Sig Hansen and Captain Jake Anderson may be onto something. Both captains star in the Deadliest Catch: The Viking Returns.
Sig Hansen, along with his daughter Mandy, Jake, and other family members are trying their hand at crab fishing in Norway. This is the land of his ancestors. Turns out, they have a crab problem, and Sig’s F/V Northwestern crew is on the crab.
Captain Sig could very well be ahead of the trend. More fishermen may soon be headed to Norway.
In addition, The Barents Observer, scientists are finding an increase in crustaceans in Norwegian waters. Unlike the Bering Sea, The Barents Sea has seen the population grow tenfold.
Are you interested in seeing how the captains deal with the significant changes in crab fishing?
