Deadliest Catch star Nick Mavar dies aged 59 after ‘medical emergency’

Deadliest Catch star Nick Mavar has died after suffering a medical emergency. He was 59.

Mavar, who appeared on the popular reality series from 2005 to 2021, died on Thursday (June 13) after Bristol Bay Borough Police in Alaska responded to a 911 call, the police chief confirmed to The Independent.

Emergency medical services “responded and transported” Mavar to Camai Medical Center, where they performed “life saving measures,” before he was pronounced dead.

No other information regarding the former F/V Northwestern deckhand’s death has been shared; however, his death is being investigated.

Mavar featured in 98 episodes of the Discovery Channel series, which follows a group of king crab fishermen in Alaska as they embark on the perilous journey to catch the seafood delicacy in the Bering Sea.

He also starred in several spin-off series, including Deadliest Catch: Siberian Winter and Deadliest Catch: The Bait.

His time on the original show came to an end after his appendix ruptured onboard during a December 2020 voyage. Shortly after his medical scare, which was well-documented on the show, Mavar ended up suing the boat’s owners, Sig Hansen and his wife, June, claiming he didn’t receive prompt medical treatment during the pandemic.

In the lawsuit, he claimed that the delay in medical treatment resulted in serious complications, including a ruptured appendix that contained a cancerous tumor. Mavar sought $1m in damages.

The boat’s owners later filed a lawsuit against the production company behind Deadliest Catch and a subcontractor, claiming they were responsible for Mavar’s medical complications.

Hansen’s complaint claimed that Original Productions Inc of Burbank, Calif, the firm responsible for developing and implementing the crew’s Covid-19 protocols, failed to properly manage them.

It also named Tennessee-based company Trifecta Solutions LLC, which was hired to provide medical attention aboard the boat, accusing the company of not giving proper care. The lawsuit claimed that one of the company’s medics examined Mavar multiple times after he complained of abdominal pain. Hansen was suing for damages, legal fees and medical expenses related to Mavar’s injuries.

Mavar was preceded in death by former Deadliest Catch stars Mahlon Reyes and Nick McGlashan, who died within a few months of each other in 2020.

Reyes died in August 2020 from a heart attack at age 38. McGlashan died from a drug overdose in December 2020 at age 33.

Mavar was reportedly last seen captaining his own salmon boat around Alaska’s Bristol Bay.