‘Deadliest Catch’: ‘Wild’ Bill Wichrowski Says ‘Desperate People’ Become Crab Fishermen

Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch Season 19 shows the difficulties of fishing on the Bering Sea, and fans continue to enjoy watching “Wild” Bill Wichrowski on the F/V Summer Bay. Wichrowski joined the show back in 2010, and his gruff personality rubs some of his fellow fishermen the wrong way. At one point, he explained why “desperate people” are the ones to become successful at sea. Here’s what he said.

‘Wild’ Bill Wichrowski commented on the type of people who can successfully fish for king crabs

Crab fishing in the Arctic waters is no easy task, and Deadliest Catch Season 19 star “Wild” Bill Wichrowski knows this well. Wichrowski nearly had his boat capsize and fished in plenty of uncertain weather. He believes most people aren’t cut out for the life of a king crab fisherman out at sea.

“Somebody that has a family or there’s some employment involved with their life, somebody that already has a career that wants to change because … I’ll be generous and say one in 10 people will make it, and that’s probably an exaggeration,” he told ComicBook.com. “So when they get up there and they realize, ‘Holy smokes, this is 10 times worse than I thought it would be.’ All of a sudden, doing roofing with their uncle or their father, it doesn’t seem that bad.”

He then noted that “desperate people” are the ones to make it through, as they have the grit and determination to succeed in the industry. “That’s why you almost need desperate people to push through the pain and the ache and the arc of this thing that don’t have anything to fall back on,” he added. “They make the choice to come up and this is one of the last shots and they know if they make it, they’re going to make something out of themselves. They’re going to be able to stand tall.”

The ‘Deadliest Catch’ captain discussed the difficulties he faced during the pandemic

Captain “Wild” Bill Wichrowski fished in severe weather that could’ve taken his life. He explained how the Deadliest Catch season following the coronavirus (COVID-19) shutdowns was one of the most difficult he ever experienced due to the new protocols. Shore plants shut down, and fewer workers worked them, extending the processing times.

“They had less people; the product processing took longer,” he told Looper. “The plant has a COVID shutdown, and they’re one of the biggest seafood processors in the world, the biggest processor that we have.”

Despite the circumstances, Wichrowski and his fellow fishermen had to figure out a way to fish.

“It’s like, from where we were fishing to St. Paul Island was over 300 miles. So you’re talking a 500-mile journey to deliver crab,” he added. “I mean, again, the market was bad with so many plants shut down, and that’s why we all kind of figured out a way to get this done.”

Captain Sig Hansen talked about the unsafe conditions and scary weather

Captain “Wild” Bill Wichrowski isn’t the only Deadliest Catch captain to discuss the hardships he’s faced while fishing. Sig Hansen spoke to The Fishing Website about how the weather greatly impacts what will happen on the Bering Sea.

“Every year there is something that goes wrong – it is fishing, and they are extreme conditions. A lot of it is due to the weather,” he shared. “A problem with Alaska is that you have this shallow shelf that drops off to a couple of thousand fathoms. This forms very tall, close-together waves on the shelf, and these are the problem — they do so much damage because they are so close together. A lot of the times the boats are loaded with crab pots, so they are already top-heavy.”

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

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