Where is ‘Deadliest Catch’ filmed?
Deadliest Catch Season 20 is filmed where seasons in the past were filmed — the Bering Sea during the crab fishing seasons. In the north, the Bering Sea connects with the Arctic Ocean through the Bering Strait. Between the sea and the strait lies the boundary between the United States and Russia. Regarding the Discovery Channel series, the base of operations for the fishing vessels lies in the Aleutian Islands port of Dutch Harbor, Alaska.
Deadliest Catch nearly faced filming difficulties for season 20 due to fisheries closing in the area. In October 2022, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game canceled the winter snow and red king crab seasons due to a lack of crabs. It seems climate change is the driving factor. Thankfully, production continued.
“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,” Deadliest Catch Executive Producer Arom Starr-Paul told Deadline.
Crab fishing is particularly dangerous due to the cold waters
Fans watching Deadliest Catch Season 19 know the dangers of the Bering Sea — and a lot of it has to do with the temperature of the water. The cold water allows the crabs to grow to a harvestable size, but it can prove deadly if a fisherman falls in. Captain Sig Hansen told Channel Guide Magazine that viewers watching the series also need to understand that the cameramen are putting themselves in danger just by filming the show.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize the risk a lot of the cameramen put themselves in,” Hansen explained. “And they don’t know the true bonds between the fishermen, the characters, I guess you would call them. The relationships are really there — some are deeper than perceived.”
In the same interview, Hansen noted that if he wasn’t a crab fisherman, he would choose a profession in television. “Now it would be fun to do something on television because number one, I am not risking my life,” he said. “Number two, I am on land. And number three, it would be fun because you are learning something different. You know who I am jealous of? I am jealous of Steve Harvey, and I don’t get jealous of anybody.”
Closing crab fisheries had a ‘devastating impact’ on those in the industry
Deadliest Catch continues to film in the Bering Sea, but it’s unclear how long the fishermen will continue to fish here. NPR spoke to Gabriel Prout, a man who owned a crabbing boat in Kodiak, Alaska, about the closures in 2022. Prout explained how the closures deeply affected him and his family.
“Yeah, the closure of the snow crab fishery for the first time in its history is going to be having a really devastating impact on me and my family,” Prout shared. “And it’s going to have a huge impact on the fishery in general. We’re really struggling to find a path forward here just going into the next year with the complete closure, trying to pay our bills and invoices, mortgage fees, insurance fees. The vessels themselves that go out to the Bering Sea are incredibly expensive to maintain and operate. So this closure for the first time ever, along with the second closure in a row for king crab, is really making it difficult to find a path forward here.”
