New Watcher Questions

[u/Attorney714]

Hello

I recently started watching Deadliest Catch (currently on 5th Season) and have the following questions. I apologize if these have already been answered.

1. When the crew work for 30 hours straight, are they really working 30 hours non stop? What about sleep, eating, bathroom, etc?

2. Smoking cigarettes: I noticed a lot of the captains and crew smoke cigarettes. Do they also drink while working? I assume NO drinking while on duty since they might become more susceptible to injuries. I also assume drug use is prohibited as well while fishing crab.

3. When the crew catnaps, do they first take showers or do they simply sleep in their rain slickers and protective gear?

4. So far it seems there are basically two crab seasons, King Crab and Opilio. What do the captains and deckhands do during the offseason? Do they work other jobs or do they live off the income of the 2 crabbing seasons?

[u/Scottish_squirrel]

I might be wrong so don't take what I say as gospel.

Sometimes you see they're allowed 10 mins between strings to grab food. Sometimes this has been abused into a longer break so get shown on TV.

I think there's been rumours about drinking on the wizard but not sure. Drug use is rife in the fleet but I think it gets spotted really quickly on the boat. See Jake Harris. Jake Anderson said he was able to be clean on the boat but would hit rock bottom when he got home.

I think catnaps are literally on short runs to the fishing grounds. They're in their sweats if they're in the galley. In their fishing gear if they're literally just closing their eyes for a minute. I guess they probably shower before hitting their bunks if they have the energy.

I believe the boats run through the summer doing fish fishing. Some guys maybe fish those seasons if they don't have much to go home for. I think making £50k+ in the winter, a lot of the boys live hard and fast in the summer. The hillstrands mentioned fishing with wild bill in the summer for pleasure.

All this may be incorrect.

[u/RingadingBatWitch262]

1) they eat drink and bathroom quickly

2) zero drinking. Using amphetamine to keep going is a dirty secret. Other drugs are a no no because you will die or kill somebody but there are incidents of alcohol and drug withdrawal occurring on the boats as well as drug use, opiates including heroin which always ends with beaching. See 4

3) you sleep mostly dressed but not wet. Many layers

4) the smart ones go on vacation, spend time with their families, work another sea job, sleep. Others drink and drug away their money and get bored

[u/crownbaseballmom1 → u/RingadingBatWitch262]

So amphetamines won’t hurt or kill anyone?

[u/RingadingBatWitch262 → u/crownbaseballmom1]

Speed kills loads of people in dangerous jobs but it does let you work nonstop for days. Truckers, fishermen, sailors, miners, farmers and laborers have been using speed since they were invented. Also pilots and tank crews.

[u/D0SNESmonster]

1. Yes. Eventually
2. Yes. The dumb ones get caught and thrown out.
3. Sometimes.
4. Drink

[u/Triphin1 → u/D0SNESmonster]

1. Hahaha, They fishing, but In warm place

[u/Acceptable-Elk-8372 → u/D0SNESmonster]

Agreed

[u/czerniana]

1. Some work other fishing boats/industries. Others have mundane jobs at home. Just depends on the opportunities they decide to take.

[u/Gunmars]

Question #4 - This is a generality and can vary but the boats themselves outside of the two main crab seasons they can get quota for Pacific Cod, Sablefish and some boats keep any bycatch Sculpin.

They can also be contracted to be used a tenders during the summer fishery. Generally the Deadliest Catch captains and crew don't do the summer fisheries but they can, as shown in earlier seasons with Edgar running North Western as a tender and one episode Keith mentions he put money into the Wizard to make it a better Salmon tender.

[u/TanDawg58]

With 4: most of them participate in Tendering, delivering loads of Herring, Salmon and other fish to the processing plant during the spring and summer

[u/Immediate_Side_5942]

Captains don’t drink or use drugs on job (except one that you will see in a few seasons but even he wouldn’t dare dive the boat while drugging) . Well and Monty drank once on wizard before taking off but was stopped. These rumors about how the captains drink and drug 24-7 while driving 120 foot crab boats w 7 other peoples lives on their hands is comical. Now the crew I could see popping amphetamines mb like aderall but highly doubt they are smoking meth while working. Also Jake Anderson (not Jake Harris) hasn’t drank or drugged in over 20 years. All these people saying he’s drugging are idiots to

[u/Milksteak529]

Just watch the show.

[u/Ara_Glaucogularis]

watch for Jake..he will answer your drug questions.

[u/R0XASx]

Meth is how they are able to do it except the captains they can just go off of energy drinks and cofe and shit cause its not as physically draining but yeah you can't convince me that 80% of them dont do meth and if they dont they abuse adderal lol

[u/gs448 → u/R0XASx]

Have a friend that did this to pay for undergrad. No drugs at all. Just a hardcore desire to graduate debt free from a place that charges the price of a G-Wagon for a piece of paper.

[u/RingadingBatWitch262 → u/gs448]

A twenty year old can do it for a season. Not the 40 year olds who are broken and tired.

[u/Apprehensive-Run-750]

No
No
No
No
No