In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, there are virtually no businesses or facets of live that have remained unchanged. Though the new season of Bering Sea Gold was filmed in its entirety before the nationwide shutdowns began in March of 2020, Emily explained that the next season of Under the Ice was in the filming process. 

"We were actually filming an Under the Ice mining season when things began to escalate around the rest of the country and shutdowns began happening," she said. "We were still shooting and we were looking at it like 'wow, there's a pandemic happening and we're out here on a frozen patch of ice on the Bering Sea trying to film this show.'"

Of course, production eventually shut down when it became clear just how serious the virus was, and when flights out of Nome were getting canceled for production members.

"We went from mining for gold for the foreseeable future to shutting down and getting out of there," Emily recalled.  

Since production went on hiatus, the captain has been quarantined in her cabin in Alaska and she's ready to return to work. But, she noted that other elements of the gold mining operation have been affected indefinitely. 

With many small businesses closed, including the hardware stores, Emily can't get parts for her boat in a timely manner. The Nome harbor has also been closed, meaning that outside boats can't come in to drop certain things off. But, because of the nature of her job, she'll be able to get back on her boat soon.

"The nice thing about being a gold miner right now is that we’re naturally isolated from other people to do our job. I’m grateful for that and for the chance to work," Emily said. 

But, she explained, her industry has never been for the faint of heart. While the weather and other outside forces have threatened to derail her summer dredging season, Emily is at peace with it all. 

"It's an impossible business to have any kind of ego about because you can't compete against the unpredictability that is Mother Nature," she said. "You have to lick your wounds and go back for another day. It's a lot of mental hoops that you have to jump through."

Bering Sea Gold airs on Fridays at 8 p.m. ET on the Discovery Channel.