‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Nick Mavar Dies

Nick Mavar — a popular deckhand for Sig Hansen's F/V Northwestern on Deadliest Catch — died after a medical emergency on Thursday (June 13).

Mavar was featured in nearly 100 episodes of the Discovery Channel show, suffering multiple injuries and at one point suing the boat's owners after a medical emergency was caught on camera.

• TMZ broke the news of Mavar's death, citing Bristol Bay Borough (Alaska) PD.
• No cause of death was given.
• He left the show in 2021.

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Season 20 of Deadliest Catch began this week. The show, narrated by Mike Rowe, has been a mainstay on Discovery Channel since 2005. It even filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, but that was the source of Mavar's medical emergency and eventual departure from the show.

In December 2020, his appendix ruptured on the Northwestern. Later he’d learn it contained a cancerous tumor as well, and during a dramatic moment he was medevaced from the boat to the a nearby hospital.

Later, he’d sue the Northwestern for failing to have him examined properly and for failing to have a plan in place for treating medical issues during the pandemic. Mavar sought $1 million but the boat’s owners turned around and sued Deadliest Catch producers.

It’s not clear how either lawsuit turned out and right now there’s no evidence that Mavar’s death is linked to that medical issue. About a year after the incident, he’d remarry and photos of him on his Instagram page are positive and casual. His last post was one with his father, shared in December 2023.

Nick Mavar was either 58 or 59 years old at the time of his death.

Billy Dukes is a Senior Editor and Executive Producer of Video Content at Taste of Country. He specializes in country music interviews, trend analysis and the Secret History of Country Music. Additionally, Billy covers Yellowstone, 1923 and related television shows through the Dutton Rules podcast. To date, he's written more than 13,000 articles for Taste of Country and produced over 3,000 videos for the Taste of Country YouTube channel.