Rick went on to celebrate his mate\u2019s \u201ccontagious\u201d smile and infectious laughter \u2013 but most of all, his love for his young family.<\/p>\n
\u201cTodd\u2019s love for his children, his family, and his life was evident in everything he did,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Captain Rick Shelford confirmed Meadows’ death, praising his work ethic and love for his family. Photo \/ Facebook<\/p>\n
\u201cHe worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him. Right now, our hearts are broken in a way that words can\u2019t fully express.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although no cause of death has been confirmed, a source claimed to TMZ that Todd died during a \u201cfishing-related\u201d incident while cameras were rolling. It is unclear if any of the footage was captured on camera.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson also issued the following statement to the publication:<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are deeply saddened by the tragic passing of Todd Meadows. This is a devastating loss, and our hearts are with his loved ones, his crewmates, and the entire fishing community during this incredibly difficult time\u201d.<\/p>\n
Filming for the current series has paused and a GoFundMe<\/a> has been set up for Todd\u2019s wife and children.<\/p>\n \u201cAny donation, no matter the size, will go directly toward honouring his life and ensuring his boys are cared for in the way he would have wanted,\u201d the fundraiser page reads.<\/p>\n \u201cIf you are unable to give, please keep our family in your prayers and his name alive like he wanted.\u201d<\/p>\n Deadliest Catch premiered on the Discovery Channel in April 2005. <\/p>\n Todd\u2019s death isn\u2019t the first for the series, whose 21st series aired in August 2025. Other stars who have gone before him, devastating the fishing world, include Nick McGlashan, Nick Mavar, Mahlon Reyes and Blake Painter.<\/p>\n Sign up to Herald Premium Editor\u2019s Picks<\/a>, delivered straight to your inbox every Friday. Editor-in-Chief Murray Kirkness picks the week\u2019s best features, interviews and investigations. Sign up for Herald Premium here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Rick went on to celebrate his mate\u2019s \u201ccontagious\u201d smile and infectious laughter \u2013 but most of all, his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":310440,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[17311,23738,1068,89083,76386,634,7126,2026,156,99278,1357,128347,13617,117,111,139,69,6045,1963,418,2737,5436,22505,5839,6123,102],"class_list":["post-310439","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-17311","tag-brightest","tag-catch","tag-channels","tag-deadliest","tag-death","tag-dies","tag-discovery","tag-entertainment","tag-filming","tag-lived","tag-meadows","tag-name","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-reality","tag-series","tag-shows","tag-star","tag-stars","tag-todd","tag-tragically","tag-while","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310439","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310439"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/310439\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310440"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310439"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=310439"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310439"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}