The 2008 King crab fleet faces huge stakes - before boats even cast off. Skippers Keith and Phil could be sidelined by life threatening illnesses and all the boats are in debt from summer repairs. A skipper is pressured to take a potentially fatal risk.

A vicious storm kicks up and a Mayday goes out. The Skippers are glued to their radios -- waiting to hear the fate of 11 brother fishermen in distress...

The fleet is still dialing into the crab, and already a typhoon has taken its toll. A boat has sunk - and bone-chilling accounts of the fate of its men relay around the fleet.

It¹s week four of King Crab Season. Seven souls have perished, but the fishermen soldier on, in the hunt for crab. Grueling hours and vicious hazing test the Greenhorns -- and some start to crack.

Crab pots still come up empty and the skippers are out of ideas. Low bait and long grinds take our crews to dark places -- the smallest infractions from a Greenhorn or fellow Deckhand cause tempers and even violence to flare.

A new deadline is set: an upcoming drop in the price of king crab has the skippers rushing to finish their season. But crew battles and a fierce arctic storm block the way.

The King Crab Season is down to the wire and skippers are desperate to top off their quotas. It's looking bleak as crews pick through bone-yards of fished out grounds. Some boats dig deep for an end of season sprint, --other boats just scrape by.

The 2008 King crab season is over with and It's the start of the 2009 Opilio Crab Season. Anything the Bering Sea held back during King Season is now being paid out in spades. The skippers have their eyes on the oncoming ice pack -- but it's a lethal, 40-foot rogue wave that's on the hunt.

In this episode the fleet arrives on the Opi Grounds and boats struggle with ice, big seas, and bad information to hunt down the crab. A skipper regrets sending his men out in savage weather to save the boat but there are no second chances on the Bering Sea.

It's week three of the Opilio Crab Season. Long hours and miserable conditions already have the crabbers turning on each other. Boat-crushing ice stands between one skipper and the safety of harbor.

After weeks battling freezing spray, forty foot waves, and sub-zero temperatures, skippers have begun plugging their boats with Opilio crab. As they race to St. Paul harbor for offload, the 250,000 square mile arctic ice pack stands in their way.

Halfway through the season, each skipper faces his own personal form of hell. Frozen crab, frozen gear, and a frozen harbor chill the hearts of the most callous of fishermen. On the Northwestern, Sig battles a fierce cigarette addiction-and a fierce storm

When the fleet gets word of great fishing by the ice pack, the chase is on to the ends of the earth! Two egos collide, when Keith and Phil fight over fishing turf. Sick of hauling mangled, barnacle-ridden crab down south, Captain Harry on the Incentive faces his fears and climbs north to frozen waters. While aboard the Northwestern, Sig pushes his crew and himself to the edge of insanity with a sleepless, 38 hour grind. Hellacious hours and missing pots-a journey to the far north will push these men over the edge.

Weeks into the Opilio Season, the fleet is bone tired and desperate for home. As delirium sets in, deadly, rib-crunching mistakes are made. But for one fisherman, a tragedy on land spells gut-wrenching, heartbreak at sea.

The Opilio season is almost over, but an arctic storm front has the skippers on edge. The boats race to plug their tanks with crab and get back to port unscathed. On the first boat to finish, a tight knit crew fractures.

It's the final 24 hours of the 2009 Opilio crab season. A savage arctic storm causes multiple vessels to send out maydays. The Coast Guard is in a race against the clock to save four men before their boat is pounded into splinters against jagged rocks.

The 2009 King crab season begins with tensions at an all time high. One deckhand threatens to quit, while another sets his pre-mature sights on the wheelhouse. When the captains gather for their annual meeting, a line is crossed.

It's week two of King Crab season and a storm looms as the fleet hauls their first crab. One greenhorn cramps up after just a few pots, while two junior deckhands are tested on unfamiliar boats. But it's the veteran deckhands that really try the skippers' patience.

It's the third week of hunting King crab and Captain Phil and Captain Sig's experiment in trading junior deckhands comes to a close. The young crew members are tested by big waves and cruel pranks until the end. Meanwhile, conflict between skippers and deckhands continues to rage unchecked.

Captain Sig and Captain Phil liaison to reclaim their junior deckhands with a high seas transfer. But when the young crew members submerge themselves in the bitter, treacherous tides - the plan quickly spins out of control.

The boats unload and head back out to top off their quotas but the fishing is poor. Captain Sig takes the Northwestern on a risky excursion to the northwest for blue king crab. The high seas are fighting everyone.

A white knuckle, boat-crippling passage stands between the Time Bandit and their final offload. A maniacal skipper continues to risk mutiny in the far northern reaches of the Bering Sea. Meanwhile, Captain Phil has to deal with an major engineering glitch that threatens Cornelia Marie's entire King crab catch.

An ice storm arrives on the winter crab grounds; skipper Phil Harris faces hefty repairs and untimely delays when the Cornelia Marie runs aground.

Ice bashing takes its toll on the fleet; an exhausted crew tries to keep up with the skipper's maniacal pace on the Northwestern.

The Coast Guard is summoned regarding a heart attack; the Time Bandit faces an emergency; the Cornelia Marie tries out difficult fishing grounds in the Bering Sea.

The Coast Guard helicopter continues an attempted a rescue in dangerous seas. The deck of the Time Bandit becomes a deadly gauntlet of heavy, falling ice chunks while on the Cornelia Marie, the skipper's son reveals a dark secret.

On the Cornelia Marie Captain Phil comes to grip with his son Jakes's drug addiction. Phil and a couple other skippers contemplate retirement and who can take charge of their legacy. Captain Sig has to deliver some hard news to a deck hand. The fleet returns to unload and is reminded that bad things happen in port too.

Josh remains behind to handle affairs on the Cornelia Marie as Captain Phil is medevaced to Anchorage. Captain Andy starts training Mike as relief captain, to the jealousy of the other deckhands. Word of Phil's stroke begins to reach the other captains, sending shockwaves through the fleet.

Drama dominates the crews of the fleet during the mid-season grind. Jake and Josh Harris suffer a new falling-out with their father's life hanging in the balance.

A power struggle for the captain's chair erupts between Mike and Scott on the Time Bandit; Edgar Hansen schools his greenest deckhand; ominous weather awaits the fleet while Phil Harris fights for his life.

Captain Phil Harris loses his battle for life while the boats - unaware of the news - battle the biggest storm of the season. Eventually, eldest son Josh breaks the news to the fleet and reactions are intense and unforgettable.

Saluting Capt. Phil Harris, who died on Feb. 9, 2010.

Tension runs high on the Northwestern, as Edgar Hansen is fed up with the 22 year marathon of pain, confronts his older brother Sig. Josh Harris returns to the Cornelia Marie and the Opilio Season ends with a harrowing mayday.