Sig Hansen

Sig Hansen
Sig Hansen aboard the FV Northwestern
Born	Sigurd Jonny Hansen (1966-04-28) April 28, 1966 (age 50) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Occupation	Captain aboard the Northwestern, Author, voice over actor
Spouse(s)	June Hansen
Children	Nina and Mandy Hansen

Sigurd Jonny "Sig" Hansen (born April 28, 1966) is an American captain of the fishing vessel Northwestern. Since 2006, Hansen has been featured in all seasons of the documentary television series Deadliest Catch, for which he also serves as technical advisor for the production.

Sigurd Jonny Hansen was born the oldest of three sons (Sigurd, Edgar, and Norman) of Sverre Hansen in Seattle, descended from a long lineage of Norwegian-ancestry fishermen; his father and grandfather pioneered opilio crab fishing in Alaska as a way of giving crab boats a chance to earn money year-round rather than in short, mostly late-year seasons. He began fishing at age 14, working on his family's boat. After he graduated from high school, he began fishing year-round, spending on average 10 months per year in Alaska and the Bering Sea. Occasionally he also fished mackerel and cod in Norway during the summer. In his early years, he cut school so that he could go fishing.

Hansen started as a deckhand on his father's boat before his teenage years, working his way up the ranks. At age 22, he became a “relief skipper”, relieving other captains on the Northwestern, as well as doing short-haul stints on other boats in the fleet.

By age 24, he began running the Northwestern full-time. Over the years, the boat has become a top producer with an excellent safety record; it has never had a single death at sea in the nearly 20 years Hansen has been at its helm, and its serious injury rate is significantly lower than other boats in the Bering Sea fleet as well. In 2005 for King Crab and 2006 for Opilio, the Northwestern won the final derby seasons, taking home the titles for both the highest poundage caught and the highest dollars earned between the featured boats in the Deadliest Catch.

As of 2011, Hansen serves as the full-time captain during king and opilio crab seasons, as well as the pot cod fishery on the Northwestern. His younger brothers, Edgar and Norman, are deck boss and deckhand, respectively.