Giant Lobster Hunters
Upcoming episodes
Apr 21st
300a
Episode 1
Aussie Lobster Men face their greatest challenge. The international lobster price has crashed, triggered by a global pandemic. Skipper Squizzy is $150,000 down in revenue for the month. With the lobster price at an all-time low of $30 per kg, he’s hemorrhaging money before he even leaves port. In the hope of securing a higher price, he’s banking on selling his catch direct to the public. It’s a first for Squizzy - and a massive gamble. Dinghy Skipper Cracker managed to secure a wholesale buyer, but he has to deliver 1000kg of 1.5 kg plus lobsters, otherwise the $50,000 deal is off. In Western Australia, Skipper Jay and his two deckhand nephews have spent seven weeks without pay. He’s over $200,000 in the red and his buyer has given him a narrow window to catch a heavily reduced order, but all that’s about to change as they head to sea.
Apr 21st
400a
Episode 2
The global market meltdown has hit hard. Aussie Lobstermen right across the country are struggling to stay afloat. Tough times calls for radical thinking about how to sell into the depressed local market. Get it wrong and it’s game over. Greenhorn Skipper Bryce is up to his eyeballs in debt. After buying a new boat for $150,000 and spending a further $90,000 refurbishing it, the cash-strapped rookie can't afford a deckhand and embarks on his maiden voyage solo. Skipper Squizzy and Tabor are halfway through their five-day run. Squizzy’s had to re-mortgage his house to keep his business afloat. They have just 48-hours to hit their target – and then comes the hard part, selling 500 kilos of lobsters direct to the public. West Australian Skipper Jay gets the okay to pull his lobster pots. After eight weeks of no-action this will be Team Corado crew’s first paycheck.
Apr 21st
500a
Episode 3
The hunt for red gold heats up. The Aussie Lobstermen are forced to put it all on the line to stop their businesses from going under.
Rookie Skipper Bryce is three days into his nightmare maiden voyage. He borrowed $150,000 to buy his first boat just before the market collapsed. So far, he's only caught ten kilograms of lobsters and needs at least 100 kilos more to break even. Skipper Cracker’s $50,000 deal to supply 1000 kilograms of big reds is on shaky ground when he and Scotty discover their secret fishing spot has been invaded by other boats. 500km to the north, in the Bass Strait, Skipper Danny and deckhand Macca are heading to sea even though fish buyers are refusing to take orders. Danny is taking a $27,000 gamble, hoping to catch 1000 kilograms of lobster. But if he doesn’t find a buyer, it’ll all be for nothing.
Apr 28th
300a
Episode 4
Fortune favours the brave. The Southern fleet is facing a nightmare scenario.
Veteran Skipper Squizzy throws Greenhorn Skipper Bryce a lifeline. With Tabor injured and stuck at port, Squizzy enlists Bryce to learn the ropes and how to win in the lobster game. Skipper Cracker and deckhand Scotty have spent the last six days risking their lives dinghy fishing - to make good on their $50,000 deal. Cracker makes a call to his buyer, hoping to top-up his existing order and deliver a much-needed $55,000 payday. In Western Australia, Skipper Jay has been given a fast turn-around order for 250 kilograms. With flights out of WA about to close, this might be his last chance to earn a pay-check for the season. But mechanical issues on the Corado threatens to prevent him from delivering his live lobsters in time to the last flight out of Australia bound for China.
Apr 28th
400a
Episode 5
It’s crunch time for the Southern fleet.
The William Norling is seven days into a nine-day run and Skipper Danny is no closer to finding a buyer for his 1,000-kilogram haul of lobsters. He’s run up $27,000 worth of operating costs so far and desperately needs an off-take to stay afloat. Skipper Squizzy’s radical plan to combat the market crisis involves spending more to make more through downstream expansion. He’s entered into a 50/50 joint venture with his wholesale fish buyer, Blakey, to sell lobsters to the public from a new mobile lobster van. It’s a last-ditch roll of the dice to try and stop his business from going under. And Greenhorn Skipper Bryce is attempting to turn his disastrous maiden season around by hiring a new deckhand. The trouble is his deckhand is as green as he is. It’s a case of double-trouble at sea.
Apr 28th
500a
Episode 6
It’s a shock return to sea for the crew of Ansons Bay.
The Jager family lobster boat has been grounded at port for more than three months now. Skipper Glenn is $260,000 down in revenue for the quarter and needs to earn money. This time, he’s taking his young son out with him. But it’s a shaky re-start for cash-strapped Skipper. An ocean predator has put their first major haul in doubt. Skipper Squizzy is on a four-day run to re-stock his mobile lobster van with 500 kilograms of fresh lobsters. But the financial pressures of the market crisis and unexpectedly rough southern seas are taking an emotional toll on the veteran Skipper. In Western Australia, Skipper Jay experiments with a close-to-shore run in a bid to save fuel and reduce costs, but the strategy backfires leaving the Corado crew deeper in the red.
May 5th
300a
Episode 7
The pressure’s on as the Aussie lobster men face some of the greatest challenges of their lives in the hunt for rock lobsters.
Tensions hit boiling point onboard the William Norling - Deckhand Macca makes a monumental blunder that threatens to sink the career of Skipper Danny. Tasmanian Skipper Bryce goes head-to-head with the mother of all storms and because his deckhand Lachy is sick in bed with a stomach bug, the Greenhorn Skipper has to handle it all on his own. In Western Australia, Skipper Jay has been given an 11th hour order to catch as many lobsters as he can. He has five hours to pull it off but an engine misfire on the Corado puts the crew at risk of missing their buyer’s deadline - and they desperately need the pay-cheque.
May 5th
400a
Episode 8
The Southern fleet risks it all in the wildest of seas. Greenhorn Skipper Bryce makes a final sink or swim play to turn his fortunes around. He’s motoring towards his mate’s secret hunting ground. Friendships are on the line. On board the Bold Contender, morale is at an all-time low as Squizzy faces a massive bill to replace a faulty genset – it’s the last things he needs right now. And to make matters worse, the Tasmanian Marine Police is waiting at Port for him to interrogate his latest catch. The Jager brothers up the ante with a dingy challenge that backfires badly and threatens to derail Skipper Glenn’s much needed comeback. But there is some good news. After a gruelling pandemic-fuelled season, there’s finally a glimmer of hope that might boost to the bank balances of the crews.
May 5th
500a
Lobster Men vs The Machines
Skippers reveal their most-guarded secrets as they take us inside their world.Theengine fails, thenewtechnology,theexpensivemachinery,the terrifying nearmissesand theepicseadisasters. It’s the lobster men versus the machines.‘Lobster MenvsThe Machines’exploresboats, machinery,technology andtheepicequipmentand mechanicalfailuresat sea. Fromthe latest technologyboosting catchratesandnear-fatal engine failsto themost dangerous partsof thevesseland theshocking injuriesat sea.Incorporating historicarchivefrom the earliest days of theindustry tonever-before-seen footage of theinner-workings of thevessels,this is ashowforviewers who want to know everything about lobster boats, heavymachineryand how the best laid plans can go horribly wrong atsea.Lobster hunting is one ofthe deadliest jobs in the world.