This supermoon is giving even the most seasoned Deadliest Catch captains pause.
During Tuesday’s all-new episode of the Discovery reality series, the captains of the Deadliest Catch have more than their crab quotas to deal with while sailing the Bering Sea. The supermoon has arrived, bringing with it unpredictable tides and massive waves.
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Narrator Mike Rowe explained the science behind this phenomena: “An extraordinary force of nature appears on the horizon for the first time in more than a century. The fleet braces for a once-in-a-lifetime supermoon.”
Rowe continued, “The gravitational pull of the moon causes ocean tides because this supermoon is closer to the earth than it has been in 150 years, it creates a violent tidal flow. When up against the deep low-pressure system, the clash of tide and storm can drive waves to 30 feet or higher.”
In layman’s terms, maybe Captain Jake Harris of the Cornelia Marie said it best: “Big seas, big tides… just everything has been out of whack,” he said, looking out at the massive waves.
Even Summer Bay Captain “Wild” Bill Wichrowski was nervous about what the supermoon would mean. “Supermoon! I’m f—ing scared s—less! Never been so frightened of a full moon before,” he said.
Northwestern Captain Sig Hansen has a more rational look at the lunar event, however.
“It does affect fishing, we’re talking about the animal kingdom here, you know? And the oceans and tides and currents and gravitational pull from the moon and [the] crab know it’s coming… good or bad,” he said. “We’ll see what it does.”
Prior to this season, Captain Jake Anderson of the Saga also opened up about the supermoon and its effect on his fishing in an exclusive interview with PopCulture.com.
“Our tides haven’t been this strong in 150 years,” Anderson told PopCulture. “So everybody in the fleet had something new to deal with that they never have dealt with before and probably will never see in their lifetime again.”
He continued: “Nobody goes out to a fast food chain when there’s a hurricane blowing, and that’s how it is for the crab. It made bad weather worse; it made crab fishing difficult; it made even fishing on the easiest of days very, very dangerous. And everybody will see that on this upcoming season.”
Deadliest Catch airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET on Discovery.
