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Deadliest Catch cast members are remembering Nick Mavar following his death at age 59. 

Mavar died June 13 after experiencing a medical emergency at a boatyard in Alaska. He appeared in almost 100 episodes of the Discovery Channel reality series between 2005 and 2021. 

Sig Hansen of ‘Deadliest Catch’ pays tribute to Nick Mavar 

During his time on Deadliest Catch, Mavar worked as a deckhand with Captain Sig Hansen on the F/V Northwestern. After Mavar’s death, Hansen paid tribute to him in a Facebook post. 

“I have known Nick Mavar for my entire fishing career, he has worked on our family boat for 25 plus years,” Hansen wrote. “He was more than a crew member, he was a very good friend and a right hand man.” 

“The passing of Nick Mavar spread through the fishing community like wild fire,” he added. “This is no surprise because of how well known and respected he was by the fishing fleet.”

Fellow Deadliest Catch cast member Captain Keith Colburn echoed Hansen’s praise of Mavar.  

“He was one of the best,” Colburn wrote in a comment.

“Nick was a true fisherman through and through,” wrote Captain Wild Bill Wichrowski in a post on his Facebook page. “Was also a true friend. He will be missed by so many. Proud to have known you.” 

Jake Anderson remembers his late uncle

Mavar had a particularly close relationship with one Deadliest Catch cast member: his nephew, Captain Jake Anderson. Anderson was a greenhorn on the Northwestern before becoming the captain of his own boat, the F/V Saga. He has credited his uncle for helping him in his battle with substance abuse.

“He’s my uncle and I’m proud. I’ve looked up to him as a meteorologist looks up to the clouds … I love you uncle Nick Mavar you are the embodiment of [a] fisherman,”  Anderson wrote on Facebook in 2021. “Thank you for pulling me out of the mire so many years ago.”

After Mavar’s death, Anderson again took to social media to celebrate him. He shared a poetic reflection on his uncle’s legacy and “the amount of love he left this earth in the palm of just one of his hands.” 

Discovery Channel also honored Mavar in a post on the official Deadliest Catch Instagram account. 

“Nick Mavar was a treasured member of the Deadliest Catch family,” it read. “[W]e extend our deepest condolences to all those who loved him.” 

Deadliest Catch Season 20 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel. Episodes also stream on Max.  

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