Massive storm waves tear up the decks of the Early Dawn, North American, and Northwestern. On the Cornelia Marie, Capt. Phil injures his ribs and begins coughing blood, after he tossed from his bunk due to a wave hitting his boat but he won't head in for medical attention until his crew refuses to work any more.

On the Cornelia Marie Captain Phil comes to grip with his son Jakes's drug addiction. Phil and a couple other skippers contemplate retirement and who can take charge of their legacy. Captain Sig has to deliver some hard news to a deck hand. The fleet returns to unload and is reminded that bad things happen in port too.

Josh remains behind to handle affairs on the Cornelia Marie as Captain Phil is medevaced to Anchorage. Captain Andy starts training Mike as relief captain, to the jealousy of the other deckhands. Word of Phil's stroke begins to reach the other captains, sending shockwaves through the fleet.

Drama dominates the crews of the fleet during the mid-season grind. Jake and Josh Harris suffer a new falling-out with their father's life hanging in the balance.

A power struggle for the captain's chair erupts between Mike and Scott on the Time Bandit; Edgar Hansen schools his greenest deckhand; ominous weather awaits the fleet while Phil Harris fights for his life.

With less than half a day left in the Alaskan king crab season, the crews race the clock to get as much crab into the holding tanks as they can. Bad luck and mechanical malfunctions still plague some captains, who need to land a certain number of crabs just to cover their operating expenses, much less to turn a profit for the crew.As the midnight deadline marking the end of season closes in, the battle to unload begins. Boats are unloaded at the processing plants on a first-come, first-serve basis, and a couple of minutes can mean the difference between unloading immediately, or waiting in the harbor for days.

Opilio crab season is about to begin, and the forecast is glacial and dangerous. On a cold, rainy January day — when sunlight lasts just six hours — 171 boats begin the journey out of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, sailing up to 450 miles northwest of the small town in search of crab. But shortly after he leaves port, smoke and heat force one captain to surrender valuable time to turn around for repairs, only to discover that an EIRB, or emergency signal, has rung out from a sister boat. Meanwhile, gale warnings buzz over the radio, alerting captains of treacherous ice conditions — ice that, if allowed to build up on the crab pots, could capsize a boat.Finally, at noon, the Opilio crab season begins, and the fleet is forced to put their emotions aside and begin fishing.

With one boat sunk and its crew missing, several Good Samaritan boats postpone their season to comb the frigid waters of the Bering Sea for survivors. The tragic news travels fast, but captains too far away to help with the search and rescue decide to concentrate on the baiting and setting of pots. As the remaining 170 boats in the fleet turn their attention to fishing, though, tragedy strikes again. A frantic call comes in over the radio from a boat whose deckhand has fallen overboard. The reality of another death strikes a nervous chord throughout the fleet and keeps everyone on edge as they continue to chase America's deadliest catch.

Less than a day into the Opilio crab season, the Bering Sea has already claimed six lives. Despite these losses, the rest of the fleet begins to pull the pots they set 12 hours before, their hopes high. As the weather turns for the better, fishing is made easier, and for the first time this season, there is a moment of calm on the Bering Sea.

Unseasonably warm weather and calm seas have contributed to three days of record catches for the fleet. It's not all smooth sailing for one boat, however, when an electrical fire breaks out in the engine room and its crew must scramble to fix the problem before safely returning to fishing. But as the fourth day of the season gets under way, the continued high number of crabs spurs rumors of an early closure, with every captain speculating on when the quota will be met.

Eighty-four hours into the Opilio season, the hunt for crab intensifies as rumors of a possible closure prompt the men to push even harder. Some boats are so successful their captains begin wondering where to put excess crab, while others, finally hitting the "honey hole", try to make up for their slow start. But throughout the fleet crews begin to fatigue as the pending season closure drives them forward. This is the last time they will fish in a derby-style competition, and everyone wants to make their final run a memorable one.

With the deaths of the Big Valley crew, this Opilio crab season has been a rough one. On every boat, crew members are reaching their limit, but are spurred on by the pressure to catch a year's wages in the next 24 hours. As the last hours of the season tick down, a new race begins: the race back to port. Since off-loading is done on a first-come-first-serve basis, captains must decide when and where to unload their catch, competing for the best spot in line at the processor. Crab can't last forever in a boat, so a few days waiting could mean tens of thousands of dollars.

Back out on the Bering Sea, the crews set sail for this round of crab fishing. With new rules and more time to fish, the stakes are still high.

With the weather calm on the Bering Sea the fleet takes full advantage. With a storm brewing out at sea, the decision to stay or run needs to be made.

With Mother Nature in full force, crews decide to stick it out in search of Alaskan Gold.

The crew of the Northwestern makes a profit at Akutan Island. They make the decision to head back out to sea in search of more King Crab.

The faith of the Aleutian Ballad is relived after being slammed by that 65 foot rouge wave. Meanwhile the crews of the other boats must endure the terrible weather conditions.

With the fierce arctic storm continuing, the Time Bandit pushes through the ruff waters with a limited amount of bait. While the Rollo and the Maverick drop their posts quickly to avoid rolling into the sub-zero waters. Meanwhile, a frustrated Cornelia Marie is stuck at port and the Northwestern sticks with what works, Cod.

Fights break out on the Maverick and the Rollo, due to fact of fray nerves that is being caused by two factors, bad crabs and long days. Meanwhile the Time Bandit, despite the artic onslaught, presses northward and Sig wakes up from a short nap to find out that his ship is lost.

Fights break out on the Maverick and the Rollo, due to fact of fray nerves that is being caused by two factors, bad crabs and long days. Meanwhile the Time Bandit, despite the artic onslaught, presses northward and Sig wakes up from a short nap to find out that his ship is lost.

The freezing weather and the dangerous icing takes its toll on board the Cornelia Marie, when one of its deckhands, Dave Gilbert becomes the first victim, by falling on the deck. Also the Time Bandit atempts to navigates the northern ice pack and the Maverick must attempt a jury-rig repair of the shattered stiff arm.

The Rollo and the Maverick have off loaded their crab, a miscalculation sends a Captain into a frenzy. A race back to the crab grounds is underway to see who can bring home the crab.

The end of the Opilio season is upon the fleet, and crews push hard to bring in the last of the crab. With the crab tanks full, the next task is to make it back to port…in one piece.

The 2006 Crab season is underway in Dutch Harbor, Alaska. Fishing vessels and crews are preparing for the harsh conditions they will endure. Fierce seas, high winds, and ice build-up will make this season of Deadliest Catch…deadly.

Fishing is put on hold for boats in the area of where a fellow vessel sank, fellow fishermen search with the Coast Guard to locate survivors. Between faulty equipment and bad fishing crews are struggling with a rough start to the 2006 season.