‘Wicked Tuna’ Canceled, Captain Dave Marciano Reacts: ‘Opportunity of a Lifetime’

National Geographic has canceled fishing-focused reality series 'Wicked Tuna' after 13 seasons.

Nat Geo has canned Wicked Tuna. The fishing-focused reality series has been canceled after 13 seasons.

‘Wicked Tuna’ canceled after 13 seasons

Nat Geo’s answer to Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, Wicked Tuna premiered in 2012. It chronicled the lives of commercial tuna fishermen in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

“After 13 seasons on the high seas and more than 200 incredible episodes, the long-running series Wicked Tuna has concluded its run on National Geographic,” the network said in a statement to Variety, which was the first to report the news.

“The series celebrated one of America’s oldest industries since first premiering on National Geographic in 2012 and made internationally recognizable stars out of the intrepid commercial fishermen who brave the unrelenting North Atlantic waters to catch the elusive bluefin tuna,” the statement continued. “As we reflect on 13 great seasons and 200+ episodes, our appreciation for our production partners at Pilgrim Media Group, our cast and crew, the Gloucester community, and the show’s dedicated fans is hard to put into words. It has been an incredible journey together, and there are only two words that seem to fit the moment: Thank you.”

A Wicked Tuna spinoff, Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks aired from 2014 to 2021.

Captain Dave Marciano of ‘Wicked Tuna’ reacts to the show’s cancellation

Dave Marciano, one of the captains featured on the show, reacted to Wicked Tuna’s cancellation.

“It was opportunity of a lifetime. All possible because those of you whom. Watched. So thank you all,” he wrote on X.

“We had a great opportunity,” he wrote in another post. “No regrets. Very proud of what we accomplished and working with everyone involved on #wickedtuna and @NatGeoTV.”

Marciano urged fans who wanted to keep up with show’s stars to follow Angelica Fisheries on YouTube.

Why was ‘Wicked Tuna’ canceled?

A reason for Wicked Tuna’s cancellation was not given. But Variety noted that Disney, which owns Nat Geo, has been cutting costs on its linear TV networks.

Earlier this year, Nat Geo Wild’s long-running reality series The Incredible Dr. Pol quietly ended after 24 seasons. And in late January 2024, Brittany Rowland of the Life Below Zero spinoff Life Below Zero: Next Generation announced that show had been canceled.

“National Geographic has decided to cancel Life Below Zero’s spin off shows, including ours, Next Generation,” she wrote on Facebook. “Honestly, we don’t exactly understand why as NextGen has been wonderfully successful, other than there’s a new executive that wants to change things.”

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