A rookie deckhand on a fishing vessel featured in "Deadliest Catch" is dead ... and it happened at sea. Todd Meadows died Wednesday aboard the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea ... according to a Facebook post from "Deadliest Catch" star Captain Rick Shelford. Sources told TMZ the deckhand died in a fishing-related incident during filming, though it's unclear if the cameras caught the incident on tape. Captain Shelford called the fatal incident the "most tragic day" on his boat ... and he says Todd earned everyone's respect right away with his love for fishing and a strong work ethic. He says Todd's "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." Captain Shelford adds ... "Todd?s love for his children, his family, and his life was evident in everything he did. He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him." Todd was only 25.
Todd Meadows was the youngest member of the Deadliest Catch crew (Picture: Facebook)

A member of the Deadliest Catch team has shared what happened in the build up to Todd Meadow’s tragic death.

Deckhand Trey John Green III has revealed that Todd, 25, was standing ina 900lb crabbing pot when he went overboard.

According to Green, the boat’s crew members were taking it in turns to get getting into the pots to sift for crabs brought up from the ocean floor.

However, for unknown reasons the pot Todd was in went over the boat rails and into the freezing water of the Bering Sea.

Green, 30, told Page Six that the crew screamed as Todd went into the water which was ‘only a degree or two above freezing.’

‘It’s one of those things that none of us really understand. I don’t know what happened,’ Green explained.

15614377 Deadliest Catch star's bunkmate breaks silence on death and reveals incident was filmed
Trey John Green III has shared what happened in Todd’s final moments (Picture: Trey John Green III / Facebook)

‘The pot [was] sitting in the launcher, and Todd was actually inside the pot.

‘We’re like, “Holy cr*p, he’s gonna sink to the bottom. We’re not gonna have any way to get this pot back up.”‘

Green recalled that Todd somehow managed to swim out of the pot despite the cold, adding he was a ‘fighter’ and ‘trying to hang in there’.

He claims that Todd has only been in the water for three to four minutes before the team’s rescue swimmer, Steve Porter, managed to get his body back on board.


The exact cause of death isn’t known (Picture: Captain Rick Shelford / Facebook)

The crew then spent the next 45 minutes doing ‘everything they could do’ trying to revive him before making the tough decision to store Todd’s body in a freezer and make the 12 hour journey back to Dutch Harbor.

Green was keen to emphasise that Todd was doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing when the accident happened.

According to Green everything that was caught on camera by the Discovery Channel crew, who were on board to film the finals episodes of season 22.

Todd’s mother has has asked Deadliest Catch producers not to air her son’s death.

A rookie deckhand on a fishing vessel featured in "Deadliest Catch" is dead ... and it happened at sea. Todd Meadows died Wednesday aboard the Aleutian Lady on the Bering Sea ... according to a Facebook post from "Deadliest Catch" star Captain Rick Shelford. Sources told TMZ the deckhand died in a fishing-related incident during filming, though it's unclear if the cameras caught the incident on tape. Captain Shelford called the fatal incident the "most tragic day" on his boat ... and he says Todd earned everyone's respect right away with his love for fishing and a strong work ethic. He says Todd's "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." Captain Shelford adds ... "Todd?s love for his children, his family, and his life was evident in everything he did. He worked hard, loved deeply, and brought joy to those around him." Todd was only 25.
Todd’s mother has asked that her son’s final moments not be shown on TV (Picture: Facebook)

‘We don’t want to see any footage of the accident and do not want Discovery to air any of that footage or make money off of our son’s death,’ she told TMZ.

Instead, his family has asked they show footage of him crabbing and doing what he loved is shown, adding: ‘We hope they only air good things of Todd on that boat.’

A GoFundMe has also been launched to support Meadows’ family, which includes his three young sons, with funeral costs and other expenses.

The US Coast Guard is still investigating the cause of Todd Meadows death.

Metro has reached out to Warner Bros. Discovery for further comment.

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