After working her way up from the deck, Elise Kristin Kuntze has become the first female mate working on a Lerøy Havfisk vessel. These days she’s in the wheelhouse of Lerøy’s trawler Doggi, where she’s also the ship’s safety officer – responsible for the safety of ‘the boys on deck’.
She’s enjoying the move to the wheelhouse, as no day is the same as the one before and she’s doing what she likes – spending time at sea and catching fish, and a big bag of fish provides an adrenaline rush like no other. All the same, there are time when she admits to missing the more physical work on deck, especially when the sea is calm and the sun shines. When she first started training for her officer’s qualification, it took her a while to adjust to the idea of sitting in a chair and it made her wonder if this was what she really wanted.
‘Not being as physically active as when you work on deck turned out to be more rewarding than I had thought at first. Your mind’s working the whole time as you’re constantly figuring out where to go and which areas are best for fishing.’
The only female member of Doggi’s crew, Elise Kristin Kuntze enjoys a good working relationship with her male colleagues.
‘Fishermen are people who are solution-oriented and willing to co-operate. We solve problems together, everyone is helpful and there is a low threshold for asking for help,’ she said and added that all the same, it was new for her colleagues to have a woman in charge.
‘To start with, I think my colleagues thought it was a bit strange that a woman should be their boss, but it has gone very well and they got used to it,’ she said.
On the other hand, there’s no denying that stereotypical prejudice appears from time to time.
‘Often it’s the older generation who are sceptical, and people ashore who have no knowledge of the fishing industry. I have experienced remarks such as ‘women should stay at home, cook, wash and look after the children’ and ‘fishing is for men’,’ she said – and commented that she has seen a positive change in attitudes, particularly among the younger generation. She believes this is due to their upbringing with the idea that women and men can work well together.
As winter dawns, the sunny days on board Doggi come to an end. The storms start to blow, it’s wet and cold, and the job becomes more challenging.
‘Being a fisherman is about the ability to face these challenges, regardless of gender. It calls for strength and good physical shape, while at the same time you have to remain positive and co-operative,’ Elise Kristin Kuntze said, commenting that she has no regrets about going to sea as a fisherman, and that her ambitions are to move on to larger vessels and eventually to sail as skipper.
