Deadliest Catch is a documentary-style television series that documents the events aboard fishing boats in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and Opilio crab fishing seasons. The Aleutian Islands town of Dutch Harbor is the base of operations for the fishing fleet. The show is named Deadliest Catch because the crew of these boats are at a high risk of death or injury due to the conditions of the sea during the seasons they fish, earning the title of most dangerous job in America (if not the world). The show was created as a regular series after two well-received prequels about Alaskan crab fishing were produced by Thom Beers for the Discovery Channel. First was a special documentary titled The World's Deadliest Job; second was a three-part miniseries called America's Deadliest Season. Deadliest Catch premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005. The first season had ten episodes with the last airing on June 14, 2005. Season two was filmed one year later and began airing on March 28, 2006. Season three began airing April 3, 2007. Image File history File links 728964_lg. ... Reality television is a genre of television programming which presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and features ordinary people instead of professional actors. ... Mike Gregory Rowe (pronounced: ) (born March 18, 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland) is the host of the television show Dirty Jobs and the narrator of several television shows, primarily on the Discovery Channel. ... This is a list of Deadliest Catch episodes. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel distributed by Discovery Communications that provides non-fiction variety programming focused primarily on the themes of popular science, history, and knowledge about the world, which is showcases uasually as documentaries. ... is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to document reality. ... Satellite photo of the Bering Sea Bering Sea and the North Pacific Ocean Bearing Sea with Kamchatka Peninsula and Alaska The Bering (or Imarpik) Sea is a body of water north of, and separated from, the north Pacific Ocean by the Alaska Peninsula and Aleutian Islands. ... Genera Acantholithodes Cryptolithodes Dermaturus Glyptolithodes Hapalogaster Lithodes Lopholithodes Neolithodes Oedignathus Paralithodes Paralomis Phyllolithodes Placetron Rhinolithodes King crabs, also called stone crabs, are a family of crab-like decapod crustaceans chiefly found in cold seas. ... Species See text Chionoecetes is a genus of crabs that live in the cold waters of the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans [1]. Other names for crabs in this genus include queen crab (in Canada) and spider crab - they are known by different names in different areas of the world. ... Aleutians seen from space The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, island) are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km²) and extending about 1,200 mi (1,900... Unalaska is a town on Unalaska Island in the Aleutian Islands. ... Superfamilies Dromiacea Homolodromioidea Dromioidea Homoloidea Eubrachyura Raninoidea Cyclodorippoidea Dorippoidea Calappoidea Leucosioidea Majoidea Hymenosomatoidea Parthenopoidea Retroplumoidea Cancroidea Portunoidea Bythograeoidea Xanthoidea Bellioidea Potamoidea Pseudothelphusoidea Gecarcinucoidea Cryptochiroidea Pinnotheroidea * Ocypodoidea * Grapsoidea * An asterisk (*) marks the crabs included in the clade Thoracotremata. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel distributed by Discovery Communications that provides non-fiction variety programming focused primarily on the themes of popular science, history, and knowledge about the world, which is showcases uasually as documentaries. ... is the 102nd day of the year (103rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... June 14 is the 165th day of the year (166th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... March 28 is the 87th day of the year (88th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

A four-part special, hosted by Mike Rowe, called After The Catch began airing on May 29, 2007. The special has interviews with the captains and crews, behind the scene footage, and other footage not shown on the series. An additional behind the scenes episode aired on June 26, 2007. For other persons named Mike Rowe, see Mike Rowe (disambiguation). ... May 29 is the 149th day of the year (150th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ...

The opening theme for the TV airings is "Wanted Dead or Alive" by Bon Jovi, although this song is not used on the official DVD release of the first season nor in the European version of the show. The spots for Season Three feature an updated and faster version of the hit Styx song "Come Sail Away" performed by the punk rock cover band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes. Alternate cover Japanese Cover Audio sample Wanted Dead or Alive is a song from Bon Jovis 1986 album Slippery When Wet. ... Bon Jovi is a hard rock band originating from New Jersey. ... DVD (Digital Versatile Disc or Digital Video Disc) is an optical disc storage media format that can be used for data storage, including movies with high video and sound quality. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... Come Sail Away is a song by Styx from their album The Grand Illusion. ... Me First and the Gimme Gimmes is a punk rock cover band that formed in 1995. ...

In North America, the series is narrated by Mike Rowe, while Bill Petrie narrates the show in Europe. The show takes a unique approach to censoring profanities spoken by the crews, using sound effects such as a ship's horn or a burst of radio static instead of traditional bleeping. As these sounds are part of the atmosphere's normal ambience, it is often difficult to realize that phrases are being censored at all. For other persons named Mike Rowe, see Mike Rowe (disambiguation). ... In ancient Rome, censorship was the office or function of a censor. ...

Format

The series follows six fishing boats and their crews throughout the dangerous crab fishing seasons. The show emphasizes the danger to the crew on the decks of these boats. Each episode has a focus on a story or situation that occurs on one or more boats, on the background story and particular activities of one or two crew members, in particular the greenhorns (inexperienced crew members) on several boats. Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. ... A greenhorn is a term that came from ranchers to describe someone thats new to the job and has never roped cattle before. ...

Production

The aforementioned After the Catch special provided insight on how the program is produced. A two-person TV crew lives on each boat profiled. They use handheld HDV cameras to shoot most of the series (one on the main deck, one in the wheelhouse). Additional footage is provided by four stationary cameras that are permanently mounted around the ship and are constantly recording. Shots from vantage points outside the ship are accomplished through a variety of methods, including the use of a helicopter (for footage near the harbor) and a cameraman on a chase boat. The crew also makes use of underwater cameras, including (beginning in season 3) one mounted to a submersible watercraft. High Definition Video (HDV) is a video format designed to record compressed HDTV video on standard DV media (DV or MiniDV cassette tape). ... A deck is a permanent covering over a compartment or a hull[1] of a ship. ... Bridge of the brigantine LEtoile The bridge of a ship is an area or room where the ships navigational controls and other essential equipment related to ship operations are housed and operated. ... A helicopter is an aircraft which is lifted and propelled by one or more horizontal rotors consisting of two or more rotor blades. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ...

Because of a lack of space on the boats, the crews do not have a sound recordist. Audio is recorded using wireless microphones worn by the fishermen and shotgun microphones attached to the cameras. Invented by Hung C. Lin, the first wireless microphone went into production in 1962, called the transistophone and put out by the German equipment manufacturer beyerdynamic. ... A microphone, sometimes referred to as a mike or mic (both IPA pronunciation: ), is an acoustic to electric transducer or sensor that converts sound into an electrical signal. ...

Although the equipment is carefully waterproofed, the cameras are routinely damaged by saltwater corrosion, ice, and accidents. By the end of each production cycle, most of the cameras (which have an average cost of $20,000 apiece) are no longer usable. Annual mean sea surface salinity for the World Ocean. ... See corrosive for the hazard. ...

Rationalization: Derby vs. Quota

The series' first season was shot during the final year of the derby style king crab fishery. The subsequent seasons have been set after the change to a quota system. Under the old derby style, a large number of crews competed with each other to catch crab during a restrictive time window. Under the new Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) system, established owners such as those shown on the series have been given quotas which they can fill at a more relaxed pace. In theory it is intended to be safer. However, the rationalization process put many crews out of work. The fishery profiled on the current series is a very small remnant of what it once was. ^[1]

Vessels

Crew members struggle to recover a crab pot as a wave crashes over the side of the ship.

The show is filmed aboard various fishing vessels, some of which change between seasons: Image File history File links Deadliest_catch. ... Image File history File links Deadliest_catch. ...

Note 1: The Big Valley sank January 15, 2005. 5 of the 6 crew perished, 3 never found. Cache Seel was the only survivor. The F/V Cornelia Marie is one of the commercial fishing boats featured on the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch. ... The F/V Northwestern is a crab catching vessel that is operated by the Hansen family. ... Sigurd Sig Hansen (born April 28, 1966) is the Seattle, Washington based Captain of the fishing vessel Northwestern. ... January 15 is the 15th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Other ships and/or crews are shown on the documentary but did not have embedded film crews:

In addition to the crab boats, other vessels have also appeared on the show, interacting in one way or another with the crabbing fleet. USCG HH-65 Dolphin The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is a branch of the United States armed forces and is involved in maritime law enforcement, mariner assistance, search and rescue, and national defense. ... Map of Saint Paul Island and surrounding ocean soundings. ... Year 1990 (MCMXC) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1990 Gregorian calendar). ...

USCGC Munro (WHEC-724) is a High Endurance Cutter of the United States Coast Guard, named for Signalman First Class Douglas A. Munro (1919–1942), currently the only Coast Guardsman to be awarded the Medal of Honor. ... A fish processing vessel or fish factory ship is a vessel primarily intended for fish processing. ... Species See text Chionoecetes is a genus of crabs that live in the cold waters of the northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans [1]. Other names for crabs in this genus include queen crab (in Canada) and spider crab - they are known by different names in different areas of the world. ...

Episodes

Main article: List of Deadliest Catch episodes

This is a list of Deadliest Catch episodes. ...

See Also

• Alaskan king crab fishing
• Lobstermen: Jeopardy at Sea, a related show also on Discovery Channel.

Alaskan king crab fishing is carried out during the winter months in the waters off the coast of Alaska and the Aleutian Islands. ... Discovery Channel is a cable and satellite TV channel distributed by Discovery Communications that provides non-fiction variety programming focused primarily on the themes of popular science, history, and knowledge about the world, which is showcases uasually as documentaries. ...

References

Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... June 6 is the 157th day of the year (158th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

External links

• Discovery.com Deadliest Catch website

Fishing boat websites

• F/V Cornelia Marie
• F/V Farwest Leader
• F/V Maverick
• F/V Northwestern
• F/V Rollo
• F/V Time Bandit
• F/V Wizard