‘Deadliest Catch’: Sig Hansen Admits Producers Make the Show More ‘Dramatic’: ‘That’s What Sells’

Discovery Channel’s hit reality TV series, Deadliest Catch, focuses heavily on Sig Hansen in season 19. Sig and his daughter, Mandy Hansen, are at the helm of the Northwestern, and they’ve given a lot of insight into what life is like catching crabs on the Bering Sea. Here’s what Sig Hansen admitted about the producers of Deadliest Catch focusing on the difficult weather conditions to make the show more “dramatic.”

Sig Hansen knows the ‘Deadliest Catch’ producers show the more dramatic footage

Deadliest Catch Season 19 continues to show the risks of boating in the Bering Sea. For years, viewers have watched as everyone aboard the fishing vessels constantly faces harsh weather conditions that are difficult to maneuver around. While it’s not uncommon for the captains of the boats to endure tough weather, Sig Hansen admitted the producers might make it seem worse than it really is.

“I do think they want to show the dramatic side,” the captain of the F/V Northwestern told The Fishing Website. “They shoot thousands of hours of footage, and I can understand that they are trying to put a storyboard together and make it fit. Everything that they film is accurate, but you will see a lot of the more foul weather as opposed to the calm days. I suppose that’s what sells, but the bad weather is a reality.”

With that said, Hansen said crab fishing is “pure hell all the time.”

“It’s crab fishing, it’s not an industry for the soft-skinned – you have to want it,” he added.

What ‘Deadliest Catch’ boats have sunk?

With a name like Deadliest Catch, viewers expect to see the difficulties of crab fishing in Alaska — and they see it all. Unfortunately, numerous cast members on the show have died through the years. And some boats have also sunk. Big Valley, Ocean Challenger, Alaska Ranger, Katmai, and Scandies Rose all sank.

Big Valley appeared in the pilot episode of Deadliest Catch, and only one crew member survived the ship’s sinking. The boat was carrying three times its weight capacity.

In 2006, the Ocean Challenger capsized. The weather reportedly played a big part in the ship’s sinking.

The Alaska Ranger sunk after losing its rudder, causing the rooms to flood. There were 42 survivors.

A storm allegedly caused the Katmai to sink in 2008, and the vessel was also having issues beforehand. Deadliest Catch Season 5 featured the ship’s sinking.

The series didn’t show the sinking of Scandies Rose on New Year’s Eve, 2020. The rough wind and sea conditions were the cause.

Does Sig Hansen own the Northwestern?

Sig Hansen and his family own and operate the F/V Northwestern, and the boat has been featured on Deadliest Catch since the beginning.

The Hansen family built the Northwestern in 1977 after Hansen’s father, Sverre, had his boat sink unexpectedly. The crew survived, but the boat was gone. Hansen was devasted by the loss of his father’s boat.

“Dad didn’t quit,” the cast member told Discovery. “He went out and put his money down on a new boat.” Hansen’s father bought the new boat, which would become the Northwestern, for $1.2 million.

“The Marco fishing boats were the Cadillac of the fleet,” Hansen added. “And they said that because they were so easy to maintain, operate, and they were so seaworthy.”

Elements of this story were first reported by The Biography.

Deadliest Catch Season 19 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel.

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