Hansen Retires: Is There a Secret Behind This Shocking Decision, or Is He Planning for a New Adventure?

Hansen Retires: Is There a Secret Behind This Shocking Decision, or Is He Planning for a New Adventure?

Life is very different for Sig Hansen compared to when he started out on “Deadliest Catch” all the way back in 2005. Though Sig Hansen only intended to do “Deadliest Catch” for one year, he ended up staying with the series and turning into one of its best-known stars. He’s been crab fishing for decades at this point, and his daughter, Mandy, has even joined the family business as a fellow captain. Times have changed, leaving Hansen at a major crossroads in terms of his future.

In a 2019 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Hansen was asked how he felt about the possibility of his daughter becoming the sole captain of the F/V Northwestern. “Oh, she’s fine,” Hansen said. “She and her husband can take it and run. I don’t care. They are young, they got this. For me, I’m done. I got a foot out the door. My mentality is different from [what] it was 20 years ago. You only get so many chances.”

Nonetheless, Hansen went on to explain his reluctance to retire from his role, despite the health concerns that have cropped up for him in recent years. “I can’t stop, that’s the problem,” he said. “All of us are egomaniacs. You want to stop, but the ego portion won’t let me stop. There’s no way in hell. See what I mean? You are torn. You know that song ‘Torn Between Two Lovers’? That’s kind of what is going on here.”

Hansen has an idea of what retirement will look like

While Sig Hansen isn’t quite ready to let go of “Deadliest Catch” and his fishing career yet, he has started mulling over some plans about what retirement might look like for him and his family. As mentioned, he intends to have Mandy take over the F/V Northwestern completely in his stead after his departure, but he also has plans for where he’d like to enjoy his retirement.

In an interview with Idaho Press, Hansen said that he thinks he’ll wind up settling down in Norway, a location he knows very well due to his heritage. “It’s a good possibility that might be where I end up,” the captain explained. “We were there as kids; we would go back and forth every year and spend time with our families, cousins and grandparents. So, we speak Norwegian at home, and the kids speak the language … Norway is home, so to speak. Those are our roots.”

It seems that Hansen has his game plan ready for whenever he makes his eventual exit from the fishing industry. However, at least for the foreseeable future, he’s continuing at the helm of the F/V Northwestern and nabbing boatloads of crabs on the latest season of “Deadliest Catch.”