‘Deadliest Catch’: Where Is F/V Lady Alaska?
Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch Season 19 shows captains taking their fishing vessels into the Bering Sea. But there are several fishing vessels that fans haven’t seen in several seasons or even years. So, what happened to the F/V Lady Alaska? Here’s what we know.
Where is the ‘Deadliest Catch’ F/V Lady Alaska in 2023?
The F/V Lady Alaska led by Captain Peter Liske was featured early on in Deadliest Catch, but fans haven’t seen the 31-year-old boat in years. So, what happened?
Deadliest Catch producers never mentioned why they no longer feature the vessel, but fans have their ideas. Many fans on Reddit believe that producers only wanted the Lady Alaska for a short stint on the show, thus not featuring it in later seasons.
“There were lots of boats in and out for a season or two early in the show, either the producers didn’t want them back or they didn’t want to be on the show again (or they quit fishing),” a fan on Reddit explained. “I liked it. It wasn’t the same boats doing the exact same thing like the show is now.”
Another fan mentioned that the Lady Alaska was no longer in use for crab fishing. “The Lady Alaska was parked indefinitely shortly after rationalization and was only used as a salmon/cod tender,” they wrote.
“Quick search on Alaska codec website shows that it is still getting licensed in Alaska. Probably just a tender these days,” another fan explained.
MarineTraffic gave more specific information regarding where the vessel is currently located (and has been located for quite some time). “Fishing Vessel LADY ALASKA is currently located at ALASKA – Gulf of Alaska at position 57° 47′ 01.4″ N, 152° 25′ 30.7″ W as reported by MarineTraffic Terrestrial Automatic Identification System on 2021-06-16 23:07 LT (UTC -8) (1 year, 11 months ago).”
The Lady Alaska captain, Peter Liske, was charged with catching undersized crabs
Peter Liske isn’t featured on the F/V Lady Alaska in Deadliest Catch Season 19. And fans seem to have divided opinions of the captain. Liske was certainly outspoken when it came to crab fishing, and he once got in trouble for catching undersized crabs.
Elliot Neese, 32, and Liske, 66, were called into court in 2014 for keeping undersized crabs while fishing. Liske was found with a catch that was 2.7% undersized in October 2014.
“You’re supposed to measure the crab, right? And you should stick every crab,” Sergeant Robin Morrisett with the Alaska Wildlife Troopers said, according to KUCB. “Now, if you watch the Deadliest Catch … they drop a big pile of crab there — you can see ‘em, they go, yep! And they go – whoop, and they swoop ‘em all in. Who knows if there are any females in there, or undersize? It’s just an average, boom, and the whole pile goes in.”
The captains faced thousands of dollars in fines from the charges.
Peter Liske was vehemently against the Bering Sea crab plan passed by the U.S. Senate in 2004
F/V Lady Alaska Captain Peter Liske also had an issue with the Bering Sea crab plan that the U.S. senate passed in 2004. The Deadliest Catch captain told the Alaska Journal of Commerce that it marked the “end of an era,” as fishing would be different moving forward. The new plan dictated where fishermen would be able to sell their catch.
“I can’t sell where I want to? It’s a total violation of the American spirit and free enterprise,” Liske stated at the time. He then called it “totally illegal,” “immoral,” and “against the principles of God.”
“How are they going to track all of this crab and where it goes and who gets it?” the captain continued. “What happens if St. Paul freezes up and we can’t deliver our crab there? All of us should be able to sell to whoever we want.”
Deadliest Catch Season 19 airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET on Discovery Channel.
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