NMCSN Premieres Season Two of SHARK HUNTERS Tonight

Shark Hunters is back on NBCSN with new episodes and new crew members. The 60-minute outdoor fishing show features three long-standing East Coast shark tournaments and five captains pitted against each other to catch the heaviest shark. Peter "Pete" Brancaleone of Fish On and David O'Halloran of Bella Donna return and compete against three new boats aiming to catch the winning shark. The dramatic six-part series premieres tonight, July 30, at 9 p.m. ET on NBCSN. Episodes 2 through 6 will air on consecutive Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. ET through September 3.

The documentary-reality series highlights the five captains as they battle against each other, the sharks, and the elements. Anglers from all over the world venture to the Northeast Atlantic to compete.

Episodes 1 and 2 feature the 28th Annual Star Island Yacht Club Shark Tournament that took place in Montauk, N.Y. (June 13-14) featuring more than 100 boats chasing hundreds of thousands in prize money. Shark Hunters follows the pursuit of five boats:

• Captain David O'Halloran of Bella Donna - O'Halloran and his crew return this season with Bella Donna, a multi-million dollar, high-tech fishing boat. On land, O'Halloran runs Pinegrove Ranch and Family Resort in Kerhonkson, N.Y.
• Captain and Owner Peter "Pete" Brancaleone of Fish On - Last season, Brancaleone and his crew dominated shark fishing with both a first- and second-place shark. Brancaleone has been offshore fishing for more than 20 years.
• Captain Carmine Zoccolillo of the Canyon Bound - Zoccolillo is at the helm of Canyon Bound, which has the range and SPEED to fish the ocean's deepest waters for tuna, big game fish, and sharks. Zoccolillo has been working off the waters of Montauk for 15 years.
• Captain Jerry Passaretti of the Persuasion - A native of Brooklyn, N.Y., Passaretti has been fishing off of Montauk since he was 15-years-old. Passaretti and his crew have several major fishing championships under their belts including the 2013 Montauk Canyon Challenge.
• Captain Steven Forsberg of the Viking FiveStar - Forsberg comes from a legacy of four generations of Montauk fisherman. He took his first two-day trip at age five, and has been involved in the family business ever since.

In Episodes 3 and 4, the captains will compete in the J&B Tackle Annual Block Island Sharkfest in Block Island, R.I., (June 20-21), returning to Montauk in Episodes 5 and 6 for the 44th Annual Montauk Marine Basin Shark Tournament (June 26-28).

Each tournament featured on Shark Hunters has strict minimum weight requirements. Sharks that are too small for competition are released, and anglers can contribute to the scientific study of the shark by tagging them. Tagging the sharks helps provides the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration information they need to track them, learn more about their migration patterns, and become more educated about the species.

Shark Hunters is produced by Moonshot Productions.