In case you’re a fan of Deadliest Catch, Discovery Channel’s Harpoon Hunters is a must-watch. The brand new collection follows fishermen throughout the summer season months on Cape Cod the place they’re in search of Atlanta bluefin tuna. The clock is ticking with solely a lot time and quota allowed every season. Many of those waters have invested a lot with hopes of securing massive fish, which may very well be value upwards of $10,000 or extra.
It’s make or break for a lot of of those fishermen, and Captain Nicholas “Niko” Chaprales is amongst these feeling the stress. Aboard the Ezyduzit, the 37-year-old has adopted in his dad Invoice’s footsteps. After his father handed away in 2022, Chaprales, who additionally competes in Robust Man competitions and is a championship powerlifter, continued to hold on the household legacy. He’ll have quite a bit to dwell as much as on the boat, which has a observe document of touchdown 50 bluefin per season.
Right here Chaprales previews what’s to come back this season.
How did you come to be a part of the present?
Nicholas “Niko” Chaprales: It’s humorous as a result of I did three exhibits for Discovery again within the early 2010s for “Shark Week,” so I used to be already of their rolodex of business fishermen. My deckhand Thomas discovered a casting name on Fb for Harpoon Hunters. He’s like, “That is us proper.” I believed we’d attain out and see. Earlier than I might even attain out, I had one of many expertise individuals from the community give me a shout. They stated they have been sending a expertise scout to Sandwich, Massachusetts in January. I made a decision to fulfill up with him, and all of it type of snowballed from there. It has labored out fairly nicely I believe.
Your dad was an enormous a part of this trade. What has it been prefer to preserve the household enterprise afloat and thriving?
It has positively been an adjustment and fairly powerful. On the Ezyduzit my father was the captain my whole life. I began fishing with him after I was 9 harpooning bluefin tuna. That’s the place I obtained my schooling within the trade. Not solely does my father have an important status as a fishermen, however he additionally has a status so far as the entire conservation efforts for the fishery. He was an enormous a part of the aerial survey to disprove the idea that bluefin needs to be placed on the endangered species checklist. He has performed a number of tagging initiatives with the Division of Fisheries service and New England Aquarium. To should step into that function and dwell up a legend like that was a whole lot of accountability and stress. I really feel like I positively gave it every part I’ve this season. I really feel like I did a fairly good job entering into that function of captain and producing for the boat and the crew.
Discovery Channel
How a lot of your background in powerlifting and strongman performs in harpooning?
Simply the side of being a vicious competitor carries over much more than the bodily facets. Whereas I’ve a fairly distinct edge in power and pace and whatnot, it’s not that massive of a bonus. Bluefin harpooning, the technical abilities are much more vital than the bodily benefits. The power to throw a harpoon and the accuracy it takes positively retains others within the sport. Then the place there’s somebody like me who’s an expert athlete, that offers me a slight benefit. It’s positively one thing I’d fairly have than not. I don’t suppose it provides me that massive of a bonus over the opposite guys.
Except it’s from an intimidation issue as a result of they take a look at you and suppose, “Oh man, I don’t need to get this fish. I don’t need to get this man on my unhealthy facet.”
[Laughs] That’s true.
Discovery Channel
What has it been like having the cameras round?
The primary couple of weeks we have been fortunate sufficient the place the producers of this present additionally produced Depraved Tuna. Loads of our shooters had labored on Deadliest Catch too, so we had some actually skilled guys. These guys are so skilled. After they noticed how we go about doing issues and the place they need to be and shouldn’t be, it actually was simply enterprise as traditional. I believe the fascinating factor about this specific present is whenever you take a present like Depraved Tuna, a whole lot of the motion occurs within the cockpit the place the rod is.
When it comes to with the ability to seize every part, Depraved Tuna had one cameraman on the boat and 5 or 6 fastened GoPros. We had about 11 or 12 fastened GoPros, cameraman and a drone man. Each hour every vessel was on the water, we had 13 or so hours of footage to undergo. I believe on the finish they’d nearly 8,000 hours of footage to make 9 42-minute episodes. These editors have an unbelievable job choosing out the elements they need to have to inform this story. I believe they’ve a lot unbelievable footage. Every part within the present is simply essentially the most unbelievable footage on the ocean you’ll ever see.
What’s the most important fish have you ever caught?
Me personally, the most important fish we caught was 116 inches and nearly 700 kilos. The massive factor with the harpoon fishing is we’re utilizing electrical harpoons the place as soon as we dart the fish, a cost is shipped to kill the fish immediately. It’s essentially the most humane method of doing issues. Once you battle a fish on a rod, that fish is struggling that entire time you’re preventing it. That raises the inner temperature of the fish. The lactic acid builds up within the muscle tissue, which may compromise the standard of the meat. So whenever you’re speaking about premium grade sushi, you need to use {an electrical} harpoon as a result of that fish could be dispatched instantly.
Once you loin that fish up the standard of the meat nearly seems to be like watermelon. It’s that good lovely shade within the meat. That’s what you need to see whenever you make a premium grade sushi roll. These fish previously, they’ve gone for as a lot as $40 or $50 a pound. It actually will depend on the way you handle the fish and high quality of the fish. That’s what will get you the excessive worth. You additionally hear the primary bluefin landed yearly is sort of like a clout factor in Japan for these guys to purchase the primary fish. So this 12 months the primary fish harvested in 2025 introduced like $1.3 million. That’s extremely uncommon. We’ve by no means obtained costs like that. The primary fish of the 12 months is like custom in Japan. It’s like a luck factor. It’s like who has the most important pockets to purchase that first bluefin of the 12 months. They’re extremely beneficial.
What did you stroll away with after filming?
I’m simply so grateful for it as a result of I really feel like my father gave his life to this trade. This was his true ardour. I want he was nonetheless round to be part of it, however to have the ability to inform that story and the story of the Ezyduzit and story of that fishery, every part my father, myself and our boat gave again to the trade. With the ability to inform that story to the world, it’s a privilege I’ll all the time be thankful for. I’m so grateful we had the chance to do that. We would like everybody to tune in so now we have the chance to do that for years to come back.
Harpoon Hunters premiere, January 24, 9/8c, Discovery Channel