The fishing fleet sets off to brave the deadly Bering Sea and cash in on king crab. First, the Northwestern must make some quick repairs. The Wizard trains two greenhorns, and the Time Bandit welcomes Johnathan's son, Scott.
The boats fight a fierce Bering Sea storm front as they stake their claim on coveted grounds. The Time Bandit pulls a prank on the Cornelia Marie, and one Wizard greenhorn starts to fall apart after only 48 hours. The Early Dawn crew must race to finish out their brown crab season and move on to reds before the grounds are completely fished out.
A mechanical breakdown presses Edgar to make a dangerous repair on the Northwestern while questionable counting makes Sig lose his temper. Hard work separates the greenhorns on the Wizard, and Phil's failing health impacts the crew of the Cornelia Marie.
Greenhorns, skippers and family fishing dynasties begin to crack. On the Northwestern, Sig and Edgar have a contest to see who can fish the longest without sleep. Johnathan has a brush with death on the Time Bandit, and Phil's son starts a new tradition on the Cornelia Marie.
Tempers flare aboard the Wizard and the Northwestern, and the Time Bandit has a dangerous electrical short. On the Cornelia Marie, Phil's health deteriorates. The Early Dawn runs headlong into high seas when its greenhorn falls asleep at the wheel.
With a few weeks left in king crab season, the fate of every deckhand's paycheck sits squarely on his captain's shoulders. The Time Bandit has had good fishing but a string of bad luck with the crew and boat. The Wizard found the crab early and never lost the scent, and the North American returns to duty.
As the king crab season ticks down, mass amounts of stinging jellyfish in unfilled pots add insult to injury. The Cornelia Marie faces losing their captain for good, and crew mistakes aboard the Northwestern could be costly. A last-minute addition to the fleet, the North American, scrambles to make up for lost time.
As the king crab season comes to an end, a deck accident slows down the Northwestern. A power outage comes at an inopportune time for the Cornelia Marie, and the North American makes a desperate play. The Wizard and the Time Bandit race for the String of the Week prize.
Opilio crab season begins, and a dual storm system challenges a patched Cornelia Marie and almost costs the Time Bandit two men. A medical emergency brings in the U.S. Coast Guard, but freezing spray puts everyone's lives at risk.
A routine Coast Guard rescue becomes a battle against nature. The Cornelia Marie heads to land for repairs while fatigue causes mistakes on the Northwestern. A greenhorn on the Wizard locks horns with the captain, and the Time Bandit heads for better grounds.
The Time Bandit's captain Johnathan joins the deck crew and promptly has an accident while showing off his skills. The Northwestern crew is irritating their captain, a deckhand on the Wizard barely escapes a huge wave, and a greenhorn on the North American is hazed.
Massive storm waves tear up the decks of the Early Dawn, the North American and the Northwestern. On the Cornelia Marie, Captain Phil Harris injures his ribs and begins coughing up blood, but he refuses to head in to port for medical attention until his crew refuses to work.
The Cornelia Marie's captain Phil heads for the hospital, so Murray struggles to take over the helm. The Northwestern strains its crane to the breaking point and destabilizes the ship. The Wizard springs a serious leak, and a greenhorn gets fired.
While the Northwestern fights the ice pack, the Wizard sets off from Dutch Harbor, Alaska, with tempers flaring and a new greenhorn. Captain Phil's future on the Cornelia Marie is in question, so the crew struggles on without their captain. The Time Bandit has a near-fatal mistake and then has to make a tough choice.
The Arctic ice pack descends as the fleet makes its final push. The Northwestern and the Wizard battle freezing spray. The Cornelia Marie's crew suffers from "Bering Sea dementia" while the Time Bandit's crew is at its breaking point.
The captains race to catch the last of their remaining quotas while battling ice and equipment issues. The Time Bandit's Scottie makes a near fatal mistake while working the hydraulic system, and an ominous message comes across the radio as the men head for home ports.