‘Deadliest Catch’ Deckhand Nick Mavar Dead at 59
Nick Mavar Jr. of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch has died at age 59.
Mavar experienced a medical emergency on June 13 at a boatyard in Naknek, Alaska, Deadline reported. He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead of natural causes.
Nick Mavar left ‘Deadliest Catch’ in 2021
Mavar appeared in 98 episodes of Deadliest Catch between 2005 and 2021. He worked as a deckhand with Captain Sig Hansen on the F/V Northwestern. Mavar left the show after his appendix ruptured during filming. Doctors eventually discovered he had a cancerous tumor.
In 2022, Mavar sued Hansen and the other owners of the Northwestern for $1 million, claiming that there was not an “adequate plan in place” for medical care on the boat during the coronavirus pandemic.
“The delay in competent and adequate examination, testing, and diagnosis caused Mavar’s appendix to rupture resulting in horrendous and chronic infections, surgeries, and cancer treatment that would not have occurred had the appendix been removed prior to rupture,” according to Mavar’s lawsuit (via KTOO).
Hansen’s attorneys pointed the finger at Deadliest Catch’s production company, Original Productions Inc., saying the company was responsible for the COVID-19 protocols during filming.
After leaving Deadliest Catch, Mavar reportedly worked as the captain of a salmon boat.
Mavar’s death is the latest ‘Deadliest Catch’ tragedy
Mavar’s death is just the latest tragedy to strike the Deadliest Catch family. Over the years, several current and former cast members have died.
In 2021, deckhand Todd Kochutin was killed in an accident involving a crab pot on the F/V Patricia Lee.
“I mean, this is a cold hard reminder of what can happen,” Captain Bill Wichrowski said when he learned of Kochutin’s death (via YouTube). “I don’t know how many more of these we can take, man. It seems like every quarter we’re losing somebody.”
Captain Phil Harris appeared on six seasons of the fishing-focused reality series before he suffered a stroke in 2010. His death and the effect it had on his two sons, Josh Harris and Jake Harris, was documented on the show.
In 2020, F/V Summer Bay deck boss Nick McGlashan died of an apparent drug overdose. Earlier that year, Mahlon Reyes, a deckhand on the F/V Seabrooke and F/V Cape Caution, died of a heart attack caused by an overdose of cocaine.
Other Deadliest Catch cast member deaths include Justin Tennison in 2011 and Blake Painter in 2018.
Deadliest Catch Season 20 is currently airing on Discovery Channel.
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