On Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch,” much attention is paid to the captains. Whether it’s stars like Sig Hansen or new blood like Jack Bunnell, captains invariably get the most camera time. Any seasoned “Deadliest Catch” fan knows, however, that the hardworking deckhands are the real lifeblood of the show. When one of them taps out due to illness or injury, it affects the entire ship’s ability to get a good haul.

On Season 19, Episode 16 of “Deadliest Catch,” Pascual “Oj” Ganuelas, a deckhand on the F/V Wizard, suffers debilitating chest pain and is rushed to the clinic in Dutch Harbor. There, it’s determined he needs additional medical assistance, so he travels via medevac to a hospital in Anchorage. While we still don’t know exactly what went wrong — Captain Keith Colburn guesses it was a minor heart attack — Oj is okay by the end of the episode. In Episode 17, he confirms that he’s on the mend but needs some time off to recuperate.

Oj’s health scare proves that crabbing-related accidents aren’t the only threat out at sea — though he’s familiar with those, too. In 2020, the F/V Wizard was pummeled by a 35-foot rogue wave caused by a super snow moon. The rare swell knocked Oj off of his feet, causing him to collide with a crab pot and hurt his leg.

For Colburn, dealing with Oj’s medical emergency meant balancing heartfelt concern with the logistical issues of finding a fast replacement. Luckily, he was able to enlist 20-year fishing veteran Tracy Paola.

Tracy Paola is an industry veteran – but a rookie crabber

When Oj Ganuelas had to leave his post as a deckhand, Captain Keith Colburn was desperate to find a replacement. “If we just get a body that can sort crab that will be enough,” he say in the Season 19 episode. Moments later, he lowers his standards even further: “All we need is a pulse.”

Colburn finds a ringer in the form of Tracy Paola, a local industry veteran with 20 years of experience on ships. Colburn’s hiring process was necessarily faster than usual — she was scouted in town and she agreed that day — but he vouched for her skills, having worked with Paola’s husband before: “I know this gal’s got the goods.”

Paola may have her sealegs, but she is used to working in the galley, not as a deckhand. Paola exhibits the usual greenhorn growing pains, struggling initially to keep up with the other deckhands as she baits traps and climbs into the crab pots. “I am not gonna be the same after this,” she says while trying to keep up with the crew.

Paola may have joined the F/V Wizard crew without much forethought, but she toughs it out when it comes to the ship’s rites of passage. She begrudgingly submits to some rookie Wizard hazing and drinks cod’s blood. In the background, the other deckhands chant, “One of us!” Thankfully for Paola, Oj eventually calls and declares that he’s being released to go back to work.