Man vs. Nature: Crab Fishing in the Bering Sea

They use lockdown cameras for wide shots, point-of-view cameras strapped to the equipment, while the cameramen roam the wheelhouse and the deck.

So, the cameras were there when a deckhand mashed his finger and when another broke his ankle. They were also there when Edgar Hansen was hit in the head with a swinging steel hook.

"So, I had everybody in my viewfinder, and when that happened, I'm right on Edgar when he dropped to the ground, so it really worked out well that time," cameraman Eric Lange said. "Always keep rolling, always keep rolling."

Fishermen Until the End

People watch the show and think they know these guys.

The Discovery Channel

Frigid weather is only one of the hurdles Alaskan king crab fishermen face.

Harris says, "That's what people most of the time think, at least for me, that I'm always mad. And I'm never mad and I never yell."

That got a big laugh from his fellow captains and Sig Hansen, who added, "And we never drink!"

They do have a natural charm. Women are after them now, and so are advertisers. Harris has his own brand of coffee now, called "Deadliest Blend."

As for Hansen, he's been approached by a mattress company. "They wanted me to do a mattress commercial, and I said no way. I'm not going to do a mattress commercial," he said.

Colburn chuckled, "Why would they have a fisherman who's never in his bunk ... I don't get that."

Their lives have been changed, but their lives are also the same. One thing they know for certain: Just like good years of fishing, and bad, all this attention will one day end. Then it will be back to the Bering Sea, where once again, they will be the only ones watching.