How Long Does ‘Deadliest Catch’ Film Its Crab Seasons?

Deadliest Catch usually has anywhere from 10 to 23 episodes a season on Discovery Channel. This means the show presents anywhere from 16 to 38 hours of footage after commercials. However, with a maximum of just over one and a half days of footage, how long does the crab season usually last?

Here is what you need to know about the crab fishing seasons shown on Deadliest Catch.

How Long Is Crab Fishing Season On Deadliest Catch?

Deadliest Catch is four episodes into its 20th season. The 19th season, which aired from April through September 2023, lasted 22 episodes. With five months’ worth of episodes, each at less than an hour, it only captures a small snippet of what happens in crab fishing season.

Ironically, while the five-month seasons only show a small part of the crab fishing season, the actual fishing season lasts only three months. The crab fishing season starts in October each year and ends in January. Weather conditions and resources could change the length somewhat, but that is what most fishermen can expect.

The crew usually heads out for three to four weeks of fishing action, then comes back, unloads, heads out, and does it all over again. This is also a race against time to get the full loads, as laws only allow the fishermen to keep male Alaska King Crab, and there are quota limits.

“You’re out there. You’re on the boats 24/7. You’ll come in, offload your crab…and you’re back out,” David Richert said about shooting Deadliest Catch as a cameraman (via Gold Derby). He said that things don’t stop even when the cameras stop rolling.

Deadliest Catch Season 20 Is Ongoing

As is the case, the current Deadliest Catch season on Discovery Channel is from the crab fishing season from October 2023 to January 2024. The production team had to edit the season footage together before it could premiere. It is now on Week 4.

This season of the reality TV show continues to show the effects of global warming on the Alaskan waters. Alaska is one of the fastest-warming states in the United States (via New York Times). The warming waters have started killing the Alskan crab population, hurting the crabbing industry.

Season 20 also shows the crews battling a different obstacle, with El Niño causing deadly problems for the fishermen. “El Niño was really rough this last fall. We had a man overboard, and for me, that never happened. But it happened this time,” Captain Sig Hansen said in the season promo.

Are you surprised at how short the crab fishing seasons are on Deadliest Catch? Are you enjoying the new season so far on Discovery Channel? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.

Shawn S. Lealos has been a freelance writer for over 25 years and is a voting member of the Oklahoma Film Critics Circle. He is also a published author with a book about the Stephen King Dollar Baby Filmmakers.

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