No part of me thinks that it was staged. His behavior was very dangerous and I don't think for an instant anyone would create that amount of danger out there for the show. Maybe the way it was edited made it seem that way, but no way do I believe that anything was staged.

Word on Facebook is Tony Lara, the captain who ran the Cornelia Marie after Phil died and got into a screaming match with Josh on an episode of 'After the Catch' died in his sleep recently. Dude wasn't that old, either.

http://www.deadliest-fans.com/site/news_item/39

For those who asked earlier:

Apparently O'Donahue and\or the owners had no interest in being on the show. Source.