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'Deadliest Catch': Jake Anderson on loss, substance abuse and pal Jake Harris
Last season on Discovery's "Deadliest Catch," a lot of attention fell on F/V Cornelia Marie deckhand Jake Harris, whose father, Capt. Phil Harris, suffered a stroke and eventually passed away in an Anchorage, Alaska, hospital.The younger Harris, who had a close but contentious relationship with his father, revealed to him -- and viewers -- that he had drug issues, which later sent him into rehab.
Much of the new season, which launches Tuesday, April 12, will likely focus on Jake and his older brother, Josh, and the future of their father's Bering Sea crab-fishing vessel.
But there's another Jake on "Deadliest Catch," Jake Anderson of the F/V Northwestern, captained by Sig Hansen. Phil Harris and Hansen even swapped their Jakes for a while last season.
Fans know that Jake Anderson suffered through the disappearance of his father, Keith, who has been missing since January 2010 (his father's truck was found, but the case is still open, and Anderson says no arrests have yet been made). The news came while he was away at sea, a blow for a young man who has battled alcoholism.
This came on top of the death of his beloved sister, Chelsea, in February, 2009, after a long illness. The news also came while Anderson was at sea, with his wrenching reaction caught on camera audio.
"It was horrible," he tells Zap2it. "Sometimes I don't know how I did it. ... As an alcoholic, it's been tough."
Anderson reveals that an injury during his skateboarding days sent him on a downward spiral into alcohol, drugs and even homelessness.
"When the stuff happened with my dad," he says, "I had worked so hard to be with my family again, [that] to go out and drink or smoke pot or whatever, it was just fruitless. Now, I was the only man in the family, with my sisters and my mom, it didn't even really bother me to think about that. That was the furthest thing from my mind."
But at the same time, his pal Jake Harris has struggled, before and after his father's death.
"Well," says Anderson, "I know Jake's having a tough time. I've tried to suggest things to him, but you have to really want it. A person has to want it, do it themselves, and they have to understand that what they have is a disease.
"I don't want to call Jake a drug addict; he might have the symptoms. I see the symptoms in him."
When the show premieres, viewers will get to see Harris' progress and his return to the deck of the Cornelia Marie, but his issues aren't unique in the fleet.
"Especially in the crab-fishing industry," says Anderson, "we're notorious for being alcoholics and drug addicts and gamblers and liars and cheats, so it goes with the trade. Alaskan fishing is the last frontier. It's the Wild, Wild West. You go out there, and there's nobody who can control you, except for the Coast Guard."
According to Anderson, that makes it hard to return to the quiet life.
"The funny thing is," he says, the whole thing on our boat is we just wish we could work at WalMart and be satisfied, but once you go fishing, especially Alaskan king-crab fishing, you have gained this knowledge of excitement and extremism.
"So when you go home, and you go from doing everything full-bore, to coming home and sitting and watching TV, everything is just dull after that. After big waves and intense feelings, it feels empty when you get home. So a lot of guys spend their money, do a bunch of drugs, drink a bunch of alcohol."
But with increasing regulation in the fishing industry, including quotas that require record-keeping on deck, Anderson says it's a little harder to be a cowboy.
"Not all of us are bad," he says. "There are a lot of professionals up there now, especially with IFQ [Individual Fishing Quota]. You can't get a job unless you're professional."
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Photo/Video credit: Discovery Channel
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Sorry Jake being an alcoholic or a drug addict IS NOT A DISEASE it's a choice and I made the choice my self to do it years ago and I made the choice to stop doing it years ago. Saying it's a disease is an excuse to make it not your fault. Man up and take responsibility for your actions.
Wow Jim! Are you sure about your assessment of alcoholism. You must have years of study as a doctor to make such a bold claim. I think it's pretty sad that your comment towards a recovering alcoholic is negative. Whatever makes him not drink is all that matters. Also, telling HIM to man up! Wow again! He lost his sister and father is still missing, yet he still goes out Crab Fishing. Could you really do that??
I loved both of the Jakes. There struggles were real and it brought an entirely different side of humanity to the show. It was heart-breaking to watch Anderson learn not only of his sister's death, but of his father's disappearance....but Jake, you're still standing, and THAT is what matters the most! And when Phil passed I cried like he was my own father, so I can't imagine what it would be like for Jake or Josh, but you have to find it in yourself to rise above it all. Don't be a statistic, we are all made for victory!
Can't wait for the new season, this is my favourite show.....but I'm also partial to Alaska (lived in Kodiak and Ketchikan) and my dad was in the CG.
I've met Jake before, he's a really nice kid. I do hope they find his father so the family can have some closure. I still cry when I see the episode where Jake learns of his sister's death. Keep fighting the good fight Jake, you are worth it.
Jim, you are wrong! Addiction is a disease. You and I are very lucky in that we could use all we wanted and just wake up and stop, no big deal. However, my wife suffers from the disease alcoholism. She is completely different from you and I. She is sober 23 years now and attends meetings daily still. She is there and strong for others who are suffering. She is the strongest, most caring and loving woman I know. Please do not denegrate the hard work she has done for so very long with your ignorance of the issue. Thank you.
@Jim--Obviously you've never had a problem with any REAL substances. It's only a choice until you've gotten hooked on something that has a physical hold on you. Being a pothead or a coke-fiend doesn't count. And while we both probably have the same views on groups such as AA and other self-esteem robbing groups like it, that doesn't mean it isn't a disease, It fits with the definition.
Jake- you are an amazingly strong man.
Keep your chin up, remain positive and continue to take one day at a time.
Everything in life happens for a reason and wile I don't even know you, I am so very proud of you for all that you have overcome.
Bless your heart and soul.
((Hugs))
I loved both of the Jakes. There struggles were real and it brought an entirely different side of humanity to the show. It was heart-breaking to watch Anderson learn not only of his sister's death, but of his father's disappearance....but Jake, you're still standing, and THAT is what matters the most! And when Phil passed I cried like he was my own father, so I can't imagine what it would be like for Jake or Josh, but you have to find it in yourself to rise above it all. Don't be a statistic, we are all made for victory!
Can't wait for the new season, this is my favourite show.....but I'm also partial to Alaska (lived in Kodiak and Ketchikan) and my dad was in the CG.
@Jim I disagree it is a disease. It is a scientic fact that most addicts lack the normal number of dopamine receptors and it is genetically linked to certain chromosomes. Now with that said, the first drink, the first time smoking pot or shooting up is an irresponsible and personal choice, but after that it becomes a disease thT requires management. Management should be a combination approach- choice decide to control it, medication depending on the addiction, counseling, peer group/ buddy system or twelve step program , learning why you do it, your triggers and knowing it will kill you if left uncontrolled. It is a choice but it is a disease as well and requires a multiple prong approach to control it.
Btdt and never want to go back
Jim, I think you need to man up. Where in this article did he blame anyone else? Here is the part about a disease ("but you have to really want it. A person has to want it, do it themselves, and they have to understand that what they have is a disease.) Sounds like he took care of his own problems. Sounds like you still have some. Get over yourself!