It's October in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and after a devastating 2011 Opilio season, every ship in the fleet — including two new boats — is looking to make a comeback in the 2012 King Crab season. But it won't be easy for any of them.

Keith and Junior form an alliance, but will it last? The Northwestern crew knocks out their rocky string but then faces a surprise challenge. Elliott finally debuts his new boat on the dangerous blue crab grounds.

On the blue crab grounds, brutal competition leads to more deceit amongst the captains. Serious injuries plague the fleet, and Junior's betrayal of his alliance with Keith comes back to haunt him with potentially lethal consequences.

On the crowded blue crab grounds, a high seas showdown between the Saga and Seabrooke takes an unexpected turn. On the Northwestern, Captain Sig must make a tough decision about his brother’s future, while the Time Bandit has a close call in False Pass.

Five weeks into the king crab season, change is in the air and on the Bering Sea. Big moves are made on some boats while it's the same old story on others. Still, the hunt for the elusive blue crab is on everyone's radar.

On the Northwestern, Jake's dark secret sets off a fistfight that throws Edgar's new captaincy into jeopardy. Tempers flare on the Saga and Seabrooke when Elliott grows wise to Junior's devious ways.

As King Crab season comes to an end, life-changing decisions must be made. The captains of the fleet pull up their last pots while young Jake Anderson struggles with his decision to leave the Northwestern, and Josh Harris plots to buy his father's old boat.

Chaos kicks off the 2013 Opilio season as these gladiators of the Bering Sea lace up for their biggest money season. An accident on the Time Bandit has the crew racing for shore, and Jake Anderson gets a not-so-warm welcome aboard his new boat, the Kiska Sea.

Survival is the name of the game as the fleet battles their way through a ferocious arctic storm. Junior takes a huge risk in order to get back in the game; two greenhorns struggle to fit in with their crews; and Elliott’s problems on land continue.

The fleet's weathered the storm, but the crabs are still off the bite. Desperate to make their offload dates the captains mercilessly grind their crews. Not making any money, the deckhands start to get sick of being bullied.

The crews and battered boats are feeling the brunt of one of the hardest Opilio seasons on record. While some crew members battle potentially catastrophic breakdowns to stay on the grounds and keep fishing, others throw in the towel and call it quits.

Midway through the winter crab season and the Bering Sea is taking its toll on the boats and the men. The northern-most boats are in a race to save their gear as the polar ice pack descends on the fishing grounds.

With only three weeks left in Opilio season, the fleet prepares to make the final push to wrap up their seasons. Captains battle weather, equipment and their own men in a sprint to the finish, but nothing comes easy.

After enduring months of mechanical breakdowns, sleepless grinds and infighting, the fleet is starting to crack. And when deckhands on the Wizard are unable to lasso a floating walrus carcass, one man takes matters into his own hands.

The younger generation is put to the test as the fleet races to finish a grueling Opilio season. As defiance on the Wizard turns brother against brother, an accident brings one crabber's career to a gruesome end.