Last season, Deadliest Catch captain and Alaskan legacy fisherman, Josh Harris and his business partner, Casey McManus set out on a once-in-a-lifetime journey to the Big Island after discovering the late Capt. Phil Harris’ fishing charts.
The charts date as far back as the early ‘80s and show all the Hawaiian Islands, including one of the most premiere fishing spots in the world — the Kona coast. They are covered in Captain Phil’s handwriting, with detailed notes about fishing adventures and island life. Now, armed with new leads, Josh and Casey are heading back to the Big Island in hopes of uncovering Phil’s secret past.
The new season of “Deadliest Catch: Bloodline” premieres Tuesday on Discovery+.
Eager to reignite Captain Phil’s dream of fishing professionally in Hawaii, Josh and Casey expand their warm water business, setting their sights on the single largest purchaser of seafood in the world: Las Vegas, to fuel their growth on the island chain. Amid lower prices and general disarray in the Hawaiian seafood market due to COVID-19, catching fish isn’t the only problem — now, it’s selling the catch.
With exponential growth and millions in fish sales on the line, Josh, and Casey alongside Jeff Silva, one of the island’s top commercial fisherman enlist a fourth partner: Johnathan Hillstrand. With this wildcard in their ranks, the captains look to expand their fleet, their crew, and even sail their famed crab boat, the F/V Cornelia Marie, to Hawaii, all while following Captain Phil’s footsteps to build their business and continue to solve the mystery of Phil Harris’ secret past.
To help navigate these uncertain times Josh dives into Phil Harris’ past to find a way forward. The young legacy fisherman turns to brother Jake Harris for information, yielding new insight about Phil’s endeavors that point not just to the late patriarch’s fishing adventures in the Hawaiian Islands and Mexico, but also to his pursuit of a seafood market much larger than Hawaii — the mother of all restaurant markets — Las Vegas. Using Phil’s connections, Josh and Casey open the door to a potentially unlimited pipeline of demand for Hawaii’s fresh seafood — if they can catch it.
The 128-foot Cornelia Marie was a welcome sight in Kailua Bay last August and September while the crew filmed the second season amid the pandemic and related restrictions. Amid filming, the crew expressed their gratitude to the Aloha State.
“I can’t thank everyone enough that’s met us or that has had to deal with us — like for helping, showing us the right way it’s done out here. I love it. I appreciate it. I’m thankful for you guys. Thank you very much man,” Harris said. “Keep watching our show and we’ll keep respecting the island. Teach us, we want to learn and thank you for letting us be here.”
