Deadliest Catch‘s Phil Harris, the captain of the Seattle-based F/V Cornelia Marie, died today over a week after suffering a massive stroke.

The Discovery Channel star - who had been hospitalized in Anchorage since January 29 - was initially put into a medically-induced coma to reduce brain swelling. News of his passing comes just days after Harris started showing signs of improvement.

The announcement of his death was confirmed tonight through a statement by his sons. “It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to our dad - Captain Phil Harris. Dad has always been a fighter and continued to be until the end. For us and the crew, he was someone who never backed down. We will remember and celebrate that strength. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts and prayers,” Jake and Josh Harris said on the show’s website.

“Discovery mourns the loss of dear friend and colleague Captain Phil Harris. He was more than someone on our television screen,” the channel wrote in response. “Phil was a devoted father and loyal friend to all who knew him. We will miss his straightforward honesty, wicked sense of humor and enormous heart. We share our tremendous sadness over this loss with the millions of viewers who followed Phil’s every move. We send our thoughts and prayers to Phil’s sons Josh and Jake and the Cornelia Marie crew.”