An Old Episode of the ‘Deadliest Catch’ Has Fans Wondering About How Much Littering the Crew Did in the Ocean

The television show Deadliest Catch has been airing on the Discovery channel since it debuted in April 2005. During that time, there have been nearly 21 seasons, and loads of viral moments that have been viewed and shared by fans of the series. But in the age of streaming, some people are getting reacquainted with the series, or else watching it for the first time, and they've spotted some questionable things on their TV.

At least, that's how one conversation kicked off on a subreddit dedicated to the series, where an eagle-eyed fan posed a question about the Deadliest Catch crew littering while at sea.

The responses to the OP's question led to some very interesting points about the vastness of the ocean, as well as some commentary on exactly how corrosive it can be.

Redditor DryWitness5898 explained how they were new to the reality series, which follows several different boat's worth of crab fishermen as they cruise the Bering Sea during snow crab and Alaskan king crab fishing seasons. These crews face some of the harshest and most dangerous conditions known to humankind, and regularly put their lives on the line.

"I’m watching The Deadliest Catch and I’m very surprised to see the cast throwing trash into the ocean," the OP wrote. "The guitar neck that was giving them bad luck?! Also I know their cigarettes butts go in there too. Love the show, just wondering how they feel about polluting the ocean that gives them their livelihood."

The question was in regard to the season seven, episode five, where a lackluster run had the crew of the Wizard stressed out, according to the OhRant blog.

The crabbing wasn't good during their time at sea, and they were in danger of losing the very few crabs they had managed to catch while they sailed around looking for more. As such, the crew searched the ship for the source of their bad luck, and decided that it had to be the neck of a guitar, which was all that remained from a bar fight involving the crew of the ship.

While littering is never the answer, several people on the subreddit jumped in to explain what likely happens to the trash that comes off of crab boats like the Wizard. "If its not plastic or some kind of chemical/oil its legal," one person wrote.

Another person said that they've always wondered what happens to the trash from these boats, asking, "What do they do with all the trash. Do they toss some of it overboard?"

Yet another person pointed out that the guitar neck was hardly the worst thing they've ever thrown overboard, and told the OP how in one season they actually dump a whole vehicle into the drink, writing, "The TB put an entire car shell (frame) in the ocean! I thought the same thing! Back then, nobody was extremely concerned with the ocean and stuff like nowadays."

It sounds like some Redditors were at least half right about their theories. According to the Boat U.S. website, there are some instances where sea fairing vessels are legally permitted to toss their trash overboard, even if it's not the best decision for the environment. According to the law, once you are 25 miles or more from the sea, you can legally dispose of any trash that doesn't include plastic.

As for the car, one Redditor pointed out that as long as the engine and all of the pieces other than the metal frame were removed from the car, it was likely to serve as a great place for fish to live until the corrosive nature of the ocean eventually ate away at it until there was nothing left.

While Green Matters doesn't condone littering, it is interesting to learn why the crew was willing and able to toss their trash into the sea like that.