I think we all felt privileged, being assigned our own private cabins for the duration of the research cruise. We had TV for entertainment and to keep ourselves up to date by tuning in to real-time cameras and monitoring systems, watching the trawl descend and ascend while we rested between the catches.

Most of our time awake was spent in the lab. Here, we gradually became more familiar with the instruments and tools, weighing the fish, measuring length, taking tissue samples, otoliths and so on. We used different digital tools to organize the collected data. It was a bit stressful, learning the routines while fish kept rolling in like clockwork, but good leadership and willingness to learn got us up and running fast.

As we got more familiar with the work, we got more relaxed and curious about the ship and its hidden gems. Tight corridors, navigation by the wall-mounted art, we arrived at a nice on-board gym, a huge TV room adorned with large windows and tens of large comfy lounge chairs. The Helipad and its surprisingly ambient lighting, where we could enjoy the front view and hear the sea ice crack beneath us, as we pushed through it.