The Emmy Award-winning series is back! King crab season kicks off with a 12-million-pound bairdi crab quota increase that causes a derby-style fishing frenzy, a boat is stolen the night before launch and the unlikeliest of alliances is born.
An additional 15 million dollars in crab sends the fleet into a fishing frenzy. To get ahead, the Time Bandit and Wizard must put a decade old rivalry behind them. Josh Harris learns a difficult lesson.
25ft waves test the mettle of rookie skipper Josh Harris, but it’s fire not water that threatens to sink his 128ft Cornelia Marie. On the Wizard, a mutinous crew faces off with Captain Keith. Sig Hansen gets an unwelcome surprise.
With the 800-mile Super-Typhoon Nuri closing in, Captains make hard choices to save their seasons. The Northwestern charges into the storm, the Cape Caution retreats to land, and the Wizard gets a replacement deckhand delivered on the high seas.
Super Typhoon Nuri swallows the fishing grounds. With lives & livelihoods on the line, Rookie skipper Josh Harris’s weaknesses are exposed, Captain Sig loses control of the Northwestern & Captain Elliott Neese steps down from the helm of the Saga.
Elliott's personal issues threaten to destroy his career on the Saga, while expectant father and Northwestern deckhand Jake Anderson advances his own future by taking on more responsibility. On the Wizard, Keith lays down the law when disloyal rookies complain about an injured deckhand making more money.
On the Northwestern Jake gets a Whiplash-style captaining lesson from Sig. A long trip and a prank threaten Captain Johnathan’s catch on the Time Bandit. To restore order on the Cornelia Marie Captain Josh must hit below the belt.
The captains scramble to collect their pots as the season's end draws near. Sig allows Jake to take another stab at manning the vessel while Casey pressures Josh to keep up his furious pace in order to score as much crab as possible before returning to port. Meanwhile, Monte Colburn feels his brother's absence on the Wizard as he struggles to fill his quota and gain the respect of his crew.
Captain Johnathan Hillstrand decides to take the Time Bandit out on Christmas Day but life on the boat is far from merry due to the erratic behavior of a veteran deckhand. Meanwhile, Jake Anderson anxiously awaits his baby's arrival but a call from the troubled Captain Elliott Neese may take him away from his new family.
Tensions explode on the Time Bandit when a rebellious deckhand antagonizes the crew. On land, Jake's baby arrives just as he's about to leave his new family for the tantalizing opportunity to skipper a boat. Meanwhile, an engineer is in hot water on the Cape Caution after an explosion takes out the hydraulics.
Jake Anderson fights internal doubts that he can skipper a boat after visiting his old boss Sig Hansen. On the Wizard, a female greenhorn tries to prove herself among an all-male crew while Wild Bill seeks revenge for a past prank.
A huge storm barrels down on the fleet in the middle of opilio season threatening the lives and livelihoods of everyone on board. The Cape Caution is pummeled by a rogue wave that damages the deck gear, while the Saga barely escapes being capsized by a 40-foot swell. On the Wizard, Keith contends with a large hole gushing water into the bowels of the boat.
The brutal arctic storm continues to devastate the fleet, but two captains risk it all and navigate straight into the squall. Captains Andy Hillstrand and Sig Hansen make the risky decision to continue crabbing on the Bering Sea instead of retreating to the safety of Dutch Harbor as per the rest of the boats. Back in Dutch, Josh Harris deals with his disgruntled crew and Jake Anderson feels the heat as a first-time captain.
The exhausted crews make up for precious lost time as the brutal storm persists. Wild Bill dozes off at the wheel while a rogue wave damages the deck equipment for a second time this season. On the Wizard, Greenhorn Amy Majors struggles as the only female deckhand and the rest of the crew is running out of patience. After pulling up a series of empty pots, Jake Anderson turns to his old boss Sig for help getting on the crab.
The crews show signs of burnout with sick and injured deckhands slowing the pace in the final days of opilio season. Wild Bill tries to determine if an ailing greenhorn needs to be medevaced off the Cape Caution or if he should fight through the pain and continue fishing. Jake Anderson is given a shot at redemption after ignoring Sig's advice once, but when he does it again he risks losing his mentor.
Captain Keith Colburn hopes to get his crew back to Dutch Harbor in time to see the Seahawks play in the Super Bowl, but an injured deckhand may thwart his plan. Tensions rise on the Cape Caution when the crew makes a rookie mistake that could lead to disaster, while it's smooth sailing on the Time Bandit as they enjoy an epic fishing streak.
The ice has arrived and the fleet races to reach their opilio quota before they are forced off the sea. Sig takes a calculated risk to offload his crab before heading back out to gather his remaining pots. Over on the Saga, Jake is on the crab but his crew doubts his leadership abilities after he delivers bad news.
The ice is now in sight as the fleet prepares to head back to Dutch Harbor. The Saga's Jake Anderson is on the crab but a strange banging sound coming from the bowels of the boat could spell disaster for all aboard. Meanwhile, Wild Bill is frustrated with his young greenhorn's overly sensitive demeanor and he's worried that the rookie will quit before bairdi season. On the Cornelia Marie, Josh Harris takes a big gamble in order to fill the quota and get back into Dutch for his deckhand's wedding.