''Bering Sea Gold'' (also known as ''Gold Divers'' in the UK) is a
reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
series set in
Nome, Alaska
Nome (; , , also ''Sitŋazuaq'', ''Siqnazuaq'') is a city in the Nome Census Area, Alaska, Nome Census Area in the Unorganized Borough, Alaska, Unorganized Borough of the US state of Alaska. The city is located on the southern Seward Peninsula c ...
, on
Norton Sound
The Norton Sound ( Inupiaq: ''Imaqpak'') is an inlet of the Bering Sea on the western coast of the U.S. state of Alaska, south of the Seward Peninsula. It is about 240 km (150 mi) long and 200 km (125 mi) wide. The Yukon Riv ...
, that airs on
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
. It is from the creators of the ''
Deadliest Catch
''Deadliest Catch'' is an American reality television series that premiered on the Discovery Channel on April 12, 2005. The show follows crab fishermen aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea during the Alaskan king crab and snow crab fishing ...
'' reality TV show.
The show is divided into the summer dredging season (aired in the spring), under the title ''Bering Sea Gold'', and the spring dredging season (aired in the fall), under the title ''Bering Sea Gold: Under The Ice''. For the first three seasons, this distinction held; in the 2015 4th season of the spring ice dredging season, the title card changed to "Bering Sea Gold", making the title identical to the original summer dredging season show. This continued with the 2016 5th seasons.
The show follows boats equipped with various setups to achieve gold mining in a summertime, cold northern latitude, shallow water, ocean environment. The fleet each typically consists of a
sluicing apparatus, a means of
paydirt collection (
dredge
Dredging is the excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial use; constructing ...
), and a cold-water-diving life support system. Conflict issues include choppy seas, poor underwater visibility, inconsistent fuel delivery, personnel issues, mining location rights, sufficient paydirt discovery, diver safety, and ocean-damaged equipment failures. Each season of episodes follow the current fleet of dredges.
The "ice" series follows
dredges
Dredging is the Digging, excavation of material from a water environment. Possible reasons for dredging include improving existing Water feature, water features; reshaping land and water features to alter drainage, navigability, and commercial ...
housed in temporary shelters set up over ice holes. Several crew members have appeared in both the summer dredging and spring ice dredging seasons.
History
In 2012, one of the featured divers on the show, John Bunce, committed suicide during the course of filming the season. The incident aired in 2013.
On March 11, 2020, it was announced that the fourteenth season will premiere on April 1, 2020.
The Martinson mining family, shown as background characters on Bering Sea Gold,
was featured in Gold Rush: Freddy Dodge's Mine Rescue.
Cast
Season 1
Season 1 ICE
Season 2
Season 2 ICE
Season 3
Season 3 ICE
Season 4
Season 4 ICE
Dredges
''Under The Ice'' dredges
Series overview
Gold totals
Season 1
Season 1 ICE
Season 2
Season 2 ICE
Season 3
Season 3 ICE
Season 4
Season 5 ICE
Season 6
Season 7 ICE
Season 8
Season 9 ICE
Season 10
Season 11
Season 12
Season 12 ICE
Season 13
Syndication
Season 1
*
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
''Bering Sea Gold''
*
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
''Gold Divers''
*:
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
''Morze złota''
*:
DMAX ''Goldtaucher der Beringsee''
Season 2
*
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
''Bering Sea Gold''
*
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
''Gold Divers''
*:
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience.
It init ...
''Morze złota''
*:
DMAX ''Goldtaucher der Beringsee''
Legacy
With the popularity of the show, it has inspired many people to head to Nome, and suction dredge in
Norton Bay. In 2015, over 100 gold dredges operated in the summer sea mining season, significantly more than before the TV show started.
See also
*
Gold mining in Alaska
Gold mining in Alaska, a state of the United States, has been a major industry and impetus for exploration and settlement since a few years after the United States acquired the territory in 1867 from the Russian Empire. Russian explorers discover ...
References
External links
Official Discovery Channel - Bering Sea Gold - web pageBering Sea Gold: Under the Ice - web pageDiscovery Channel Canada - Bering Sea Gold
*
{{Bering Sea Gold
2010s American reality television series
2012 American television series debuts
Discovery Channel original programming
Television shows set in Alaska
Television series by Original Productions