How ‘Deadliest Catch’ Honored Todd Meadows in Season 22 Premiere After His Death

The Season 22 premiere of Deadliest Catch began with a tribute to Todd Meadows, a deckhand who died in February while working on Captain Rick Shelford‘s Aleutian Lady boat. Todd was just 25 at the time of his death.

The episode kicked off with footage of Todd as he told the cameras, “It’s been one of my dreams and goals to make it up here. I’ve been to Alaska before, but never to fish, just to vacation and hang out with family. Everything up here that I’ve experienced so far is just so much bigger. Everything’s scaled up. It smells different, feels different.”

While Todd acknowledged that “there’s a lot of risk” that goes into crab fishing, he added, “I just want my kids to know that I want them to work towards your dreams and goals, don’t let anything slow you down. It’s going to be fun. I’m just fortunate that I fell in love with it.”

The segment ended with a photo of Todd with the words, “In Memory of Todd Meadows 2000-2026.

Rick confirmed Todd’s death in a March 2 Facebook post, writing, “February 25, 2026 was the most tragic day in the history of the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea. We lost our brother, Todd Meadows.” He went on to explain that Todd was the “newest member of the crew,” but still felt like family.

“His love for fishing and his strong work ethic earned everyone’s respect right away,” Rick continued. “His smile was contagious, and the sound of his laughter coming up the wheelhouse stairs or over the deck hailer is something we will carry with us always.”

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Season 22 of Deadliest Catch was filmed in the fall of 2025, months before Todd’s death. It does not appear that the incident will be documented on the show.

Todd’s fellow deckhand John Green III told Page Six that the rookie went overboard into the Bering Sea while the water was only “a degree or two above freezing.” John explained, “It’s one of those things that none of us really understand. I don’t know what happened,” adding that Todd was “actually inside” one of the pots that catches the crabs when he died.

“He was a fighter because he made it out of that pot,” John recalled. After about three or four minutes, a rescue swimmer got Todd back on the boat, but his body was “lifeless,” and rescue efforts, which lasted 45 minutes to an hour, were unsuccessful.

His cause of death was later confirmed as “drowning with probable hypothermia” and “submersion of body in cold water.”

Deadliest Catch, Season 22, Fridays, 8/7c, Discovery Channel

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