How To Survive The Regime On A Fishing Boat

Don’t take anything personally

There will come many situations where your boss or some of the more experienced crew members will give out to you for one thing or another. You might feel it is not fair; life is not fair. The best way to deal with it is to ignore them and just keep at your work. Work as hard as you can. Even when it hurts and even when you think you can’t push yourself any harder. You will come to the point where you will be good or even better than them at the certain skill; the moment you can be ‘unfair’. The ones who take mocking and insults personally do not make it very far. If you find something sufficiently serious and unfair, and you would like to complain, fill out Hurt Feelings Report displayed below.

Concentrate on yourself

I worked in a freezer hall. The shift before ours always worked on the closer/easier side. Because of them I had to run for the entire eight hours to and from the further side of the freezer. The point I’m trying to make? The fact that you have it tougher makes you stronger. Never mind it, just concentrate on yourself. You’ll find work is going to get much easier for you than for those that made it easier for themselves to the detriment of others. The worst thing you can do is to start complaining.

Do not defend yourself if your boss doesn’t ask you for it

There will be a few occasions where you will get something wrong. Others will make sure you eat it up. Remember the two points discussed above and learn from your mistakes. When you know you did something wrong and your boss asks you for explanation, admit your fault and accept all responsibility that comes with it. It is the quickest way to earn his trust. The bonus is that your boss knows that you are not scared. If he sends you home, that is just the way it should be.

There is no room for fear on board

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If you want to earn more money, you have to learn. If you want to learn, you have to push for new positions yourself. One of my co-workers simply waited until he was asked to do a different job in the factory. He waited so long, that they sent him home after the second trip and he did not earn anything as a result. He worked, but did not learn. When you are new, you are slow, it takes much self-denial as a result. By learning new jobs, you slow down the whole process, and for that others will give you a hard time. On the other hand it is a good way to show others that you are not scared. The ship is really the last place where you want fear or even pain to control you. You’ll lose out on much money and respect.