‘Deadliest Catch’ Captain Phil Harris dies after stroke

Captain Phil Harris, from Discovery’s popular show The Deadliest Catch, has died after suffering a stroke in January.

Harris, 53, had a stroke while in port at St. Paul Island, Alaska offloading from the Cornelia Marie. Harris was flown to Anchorage for emergency surgery, and initially seemed to be recovering. His boys posted on his website that Harris had shown “some good signs of improvement, squeezing (their) hands and even summoning his trademark Captain’s bluntness by telling the doctors and nurses, ‘Don’t f*ck up.'”

Deadliest Catch is a popular Discovery show depicting the crab fishing industry in the waters off Alaska, and has been running for five seasons on the network. Harris himself worked on his first fishing vessel at the age of seven, becoming captain of his own ship at the remarkably young age of 21. On the Discovery website and Harris’ official site, his sons Jake and Josh released the following statement:

It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad – Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end. For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down. We will remember and celebrate that strength. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers.