‘Deadliest Catch’: Fisherman On List of Jobs With Worst Workplace Protections, Study Finds

The name doesn’t lie. Long-running Discovery Channel reality series Deadliest Catch follows tough-as-nails fishermen as they fight to make a living catching crab in the brutal Bering Sea. But just how dangerous is commercial fishing? A new study crunched the numbers and proved it’s one of the riskiest occupations out there. 

Fisherman near the top of the list of risky occupations

Recently, J&Y Law, a personal injury firm in Los Angeles, did a deep dize on over 15 industries to rank the jobs with the worst workplace protections. Using data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the study compares nonfatal and fatal injury rates across industries, as well as union representation. Additionally, they looked at information on the unemployment rate, median salary, and health insurance for different occupations from Zippia, Smartest Dollar, and Statista.

The result is a list of occupations where workers face serious risk of injury while also enjoying few workplace protections. Fishermen like those who work on Deadliest Catch are dealing with some of the toughest conditions. The unemployment rate is relatively high, at 10.8%, and the median yearly salary is the lowest among occupations studied, at $30,530. The nonfatal occupational illness and injury rate is 2.6 per 100, while the fatal injury rate is 50.9 per 100,000. Fewer than 5% of fishermen are represented by a union and only 75% have health insurance. 

While being a fisherman comes with some big risks, it wasn’t the deadliest occupation on the list. That unfortunate honor went to loggers, who have a fatal injury rate of 100.7 per 100,000. Roofers had a fatal injury rate of 57.2 per 100,000. Other occupations with a relatively high rate of fatal injuries (though not as high as fishermen) include construction workers, welders, steelworkers, and commercial pilots. (You can see the results of the study for yourself here.)

‘Deadliest Catch’ has faced tragedy head on 

Over nearly two decades on the air, Deadliest Catch has not shied away from the sometimes dangerous reality of fishing. While filming season 1, the F/V Big Valley sank in rough seas. While the boat was not one that was featured on the show, narrator/host Mike Rowe recalled the moment as a “wake-up call” in a 2017  Facebook post. 

A few years later, the F/V Destination sank, killing six crewmembers. The tragedy was addressed on the show, including a devasting moment when Captain Sig Hansen learns that his friends are likely dead. An accident with a crab pot took the life of cast member Todd Kochutin in 2021, and several cast members have been seriously injured. 

“[I]t’s still so easy to forget that Deadliest Catch is not a ‘reality show;’ but rather, a show about reality,” Rowe wrote in his Facebook post. “And it’s still a shock to see how rudely ‘reality’ can shake me awake.” 

“It also strikes me, that for all our efforts to eliminate risk from our daily lives, there are still places on the planet where risk can never be removed – where life can never be scripted,” he added. “The Bering Sea is one such place – a place where men of great courage show up to work every day, and confront a level of danger that most of us will never encounter.”

New episodes of Deadliest Catch Season 20 air Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel. 

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