Just a quick post, because it looks like there’s a rumor going around that Phil Harris from the Cornelia Marie has passed away… there’s even been a thread on our forums about it. All indications are that this is just a rumor and nothing more. Bonnie from www.CorneliaMarie.com assures us that there’s no truth to this rumor and that Phil Harris is indeed alive and well, though still taking it easy and recuperating from his health problems.
Our best wishes go out to Phil, his sons and the crew of the Cornelia Marie!
Ok, I’m sure I’m going to get flamed here by folks who are far more knowledgeable than I am, but I’ve had a nagging question in the back of my head for a while now, and its time I put it out there:
Why don’t the crab boats use underwater cameras to actually look for crab, instead of just blindly dropping pots where they think they’ll be?
First off, yes, I know they’re fishing in the middle of the Bering Sea, but my understanding is that they’re not in actual “deep” water but rather on a kind of extended shelf that’s actually relatively shallow. So it stands to reason that a reasonably-tough underwater camera should be able to manage the depths along their usual fishing grounds. Heck, if memory serves, I seem to remember the film crew for Deadliest Catch actually dropping a camera along with a crab pot and watching the little suckers climb on in. So from a technical standpoint, it doesn’t seem like it would be all that difficult. Ok, maybe its a little difficult, but surely not impossible? And considering the millions of dollars at stake, surely a $15,000 camera might be worth the investment?
So am I crazy, or does this make sense to anyone else? I’m sure I can’t be the first to think this up, so I imagine there must be a good reason why crabbers don’t do this. But it seems to me that they could just sink a camera with its own light on a sounding string in areas where they believe they will find biomass, and within just a few minutes they’ll know whether or not its worth dropping a pot on that spot.
Is it a technical issue?
Is it a license issue? (i.e. is it considered an unfair advantage to use it?)
Do the crab just move too fast for it to matter where they are at any given moment? (I’d find this hard to believe!)
Is it just a matter of the crabbers being too cheap or too set in their ways to invest in high-tech equipment?
Well, we’re a few episodes in now… what’s your verdict? Is Season 4 the best so far of Deadliest Catch, is it ok but not spectacular, or has the show “jumped the shark”? Make your opinion heard using the poll below!
I’ve got my own opinions on this one but I’m going to hold back until a future post so as not to skew the poll results.
One of our readers posted a comment to our forums recently, suggesting that some (or all) of the fishermen featured on Deadliest Catch seem to be hamming it up for the cameras and inventing dramas/scenarios that they know will make for good television. The truck prank, for example - would the Hillstrand brothers have gone through all that trouble if they didn’t have an international television audience watching them? Sure, we know these fishermen work hard and play hard - they always have - but I guess its a fair question… has the Deadliest Catch phenomenon changed the way these fishermen do their jobs when they’re on camera?
I’d love to hear your comments, and be sure to vote your opinion on the poll below!
Wow! The wait was certainly worth it. Highlights from last night’s shows:
1. Jake buying a 26 inch FLAT SCREEN TELEVISION, on his dad’s credit card, without his permission!
Seriously, what was Jake thinking? Capt. Phil - predictably - threw a sh*t fit when he saw his son Jake putting together a custom-built mount for his flat-screen tv, right at the end of his bunk no less. This when there was legitimate, serious work to be done. Now that takes some cojones. (Phil himself dusted off an old classic by repeating his aphorism from a previous season: “Now you know why lions eat their young.”)
2. The FIVE-HOUR hunt for a cup-a-noodles on the Wizard!
Ok, we all know that fishermen are notoriously superstitious… everyone’s got their own little thing they’ve got to do before the season starts to ensure a safe and productive hunt. The Hansen brothers have to bite the head off a fish, other boats have to listen to the annual Dutch Harbor radio blessing. But the Wizard - apparently - can’t run things until they’ve got a Cup-a-Noodles steaming hot and ready to eat for the captain! All work ceased on-board the Wizard while everyone looked in earnest for the damned thing… the search lasted for at least 5 hours but to no avail. We’ll see if this has any appreciable influence on their results this year.
3. The Bering Sea prank of the century!
Its only the second episode but already they’re pulling out the big pranks… and I mean BIG! The Hillstrand brothers from the Time Bandit decided to pull a big one on Capt. Phil of the Cornelia Marie. They loaded up the chassis of an old, yellow pick-up truck and stored it on their deck until they got out into the middle of the sea. (Actually it sort of backfired on them as they had to constantly move the damned thing just to get any work done on-deck). Anyway, once Phil had laid down his first string of pots the Time Bandit moseyed on over and hauled in one of them… they cut the pot off the string and attached the truck chassis, then sank it. The poor crew of the Cornelia Marie almost died trying to reel-in the damned thing (I really thought their tackle system was going to break!) but everyone had a good long laugh when they saw what it was. Phil gave it an “A+” as far as pranks go, and I certainly can’t think of a bigger or better prank than that! The Hillstrand brothers said the next one would have to be an airplane to beat it… but I don’t see that happening.
Tonight’s the night - at 9pm EST on the Discovery Channel, Deadliest Catch will be airing the first episode of the 4th season! Its titled “Get ‘em Back Safe!” and the short episode description is:
It’s the beginning of a new king crab season and everyones looking to cash in. Some boats are slow to start but eventually get to catching some king crab.
For anyone who wants to chat away with fellow fans during the show, be sure to point your browser to our forum dedicated to this episode:
If you’ve not yet caught up on Seasons 1, 2 and 3 be sure to grab yourself the DVD sets from Amazon - they’re only between $16-$22 for an entire season, so its dirt cheap - not to mention crystal clear and without commercials. What more could you ask for?
Take a quick look around the Deadliest Catch Shop and stock up before Season 4 airs on April 15th!
It’s official - Season 4 of Deadliest Catch will premiere on Tuesday, April 15th at 9pm. It will be a two-fer - with two back-to-back episodes running from 9pm through 11pm. Seems like forever since the last season ended, but now we’re so, so close to the new episodes - I can’t wait!
