Deadliest Catch star Nick Mavar dies aged 59 following 'medical emergency'
Deadliest Catch star Nick Mavar has died at the aged of 59 following a 'medical emergency', police have said.
From 2005 to 2021, Mavar featured in 98 episodes of the Discovery Channel series.
The TV star left the show due to a health scare involving his appendix.
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Mavar reportedly suffered a medical emergency in the town of Naknek, Alaska, on Thursday (13 June), the Police Chief of the Bristol Bay Borough Police Department told TMZ.
Mavar was taken to hospital and died of natural causes, the chief said.
Shortly after leaving the series, Mavar sued Captain Sig Hansen and his wife June, claiming there was too much of a delay in getting him medical treatment during the pandemic.
The complaint alleged a 'delay in competent and adequate examination, testing, and diagnosis' led to his ruptured appendix, with medical professionals later discovering a cancerous tumour.
The complaint read: "The lack of a plan for outside medical care led to the 'failure to assure plaintiff was promptly taken to the Dutch Harbor medical clinic for an examination and assessment of plaintiff's medical condition."
Hansen said he was not solely responsible for the blame, and instead mentioned the production company and the medical subcontractor.
Northwestern’s owners began seeking legal and medical payments in relation to Mavar’s injuries in 2023.
Mavar leaves behind his wife Julie, after the pair married in August 2021.
This comes after this week's airing of the new season of Deadliest Catch.
Hansen, Jake Anderson, Steve ‘Harley’ Davidson and ‘Wild’ Bill Wichrowski returned for season 20 of the show.
The first episode was shown as a two-hour premiere on Tuesday (11 June) on Discovery Channel.
“I mean, we're fishing anyway — we’re not going to do anything else — and for me, it's kind of fun to do the show as well because with fishing, one year or one season to the next, you just don't know what's going to happen,” Hansen told PEOPLE.
“Expect the unexpected, right? This is more than just fishing to make money, it's a race against time," he said in a teaser for the new season.
"This year, we have to fish like every string is the last string we're ever gonna set," another captain is heard saying.
“It's not easy to do that job. It's very difficult and it's stressful,” Hansen added.
“I think that's one of the main reasons we’ve been on there for 20 years, they haven't replaced us or looked for other boats.
“I think it's because my recipe’s always been fishing first, cameras second. That priority, I think, is what really helped me.”
LADbible Group has contacted Bristol Bay Borough Police Department for comment.
Anish Vij