Nick Mavar Jr., Former Deadliest Catch Star, Dead at 59

Nick Mavar Jr., a former cast member of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch , died Thursday afternoon in Naknek, Alaska, TVLine has confirmed. He was 59 years old.

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An official cause of death has not been released. The Bristol Bay Borough Police Department has confirmed Mavar’s passing but is unable to share specific information about the medical emergency he experienced. His family has been notified.

Mavar appeared in nearly 100 episodes of the reality series — which chronicles the daily goings-on of multiple fishing vessels, including their personal rivalries — between 2005 and 2021. Mavar worked aboard the Northwestern under Captain Sig Hansen, but he parted ways with the show in 2021 when a case of appendicitis escalated to a far more serious situation.

The frightening ordeal was captured on camera, as seen in the clip below:

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According to his official Facebook page , Mavar “comes from a family of Croatian fishermen. He got started in 1976, fishing for salmon in Bristol Bay with his father and brothers. When he was 18, Nick signed up for his first crab fishing season.”

Deadliest Catch returned to Discovery for its 20th season on June 11. New episodes air Tuesdays at 8/7c on Discovery Channel.

TMZ was the first to report about Mavar’s passing. How will you remember him? Drop a comment with your memories of the longtime deckhand below.

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