We have some heartbreaking news for Deadliest Catch fans. Longtime deckhand Nick Mavar has died at the age of 59.
The longrunning reality show focuses on the many dangers of life on deck during the stressful seasons crab fishing in the Bering Strait. But Nick didn’t die at sea. According to multiple outlets, first responders got a 911 call from a boatyard in Naknek, Alaska — Nick had apparently suffered “a medical emergency” of some kind. Police told People they rushed him to the nearby Camai Medical Center “while providing life saving measures.” Unfortunately there was nothing staff could do — he was soon pronounced dead.
The Bristol Bay Borough Police Department would not elaborate on the medical issue, and it’s too soon to give a cause of death. But we do know a bit of Nick’s history thanks to a shocking incident on the show in 2021.
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Captain Sig Hanson‘s “right hand man” had to be airlifted to a hospital after a growing pain in his abdomen was determined to be appendicitis. Nick never returned to the show as a cancerous tumor was discovered in his appendix, requiring medical treatment.
He ended up suing Hanson over alleged lack of proper medical care — because there hadn’t been a plan in place in case of emergency. And a ruptured appendix is a pretty major emergency. It’s unclear if the new medical issue was related to the cancer.
In all, Nick was on the show a whopping 16 years, from its start in 2005 until that fateful day in 2021. 98 episodes in total.
Nick is far from the first Deadliest Catch cast member to die; the show has lived up to its title, unfortunately. Deck boss Nick McGlashan died of a drug overdose back in 2020. He was just 33. Deckhand Mahlon Reyes also died due to drugs the same year. He was 38. Captains Blake Painter, Phil Harris, and Tony Lara and deckhand Justin Tennison have all passed as well. #RIP
[Image via Discovery/YouTube.]
