We journeyed along the route, now zig-zagging our way west and then north through the Barents Sea, back to Longyearbyen. By now, we had become confident in our work, the distances between the trawling stations were longer than in the beginning, giving more time to relax and enjoy the experience. By this point, we had enjoyed many delicious meals, including freshly boiled snow crab and shrimp from our catches. Time seemed to be running faster now.

We watched the Winter Olympics and enjoyed the sea ice while it lasted. At times it felt like looking out onto a different planet, a black mass with a white crust. No polar bear sightings yet, but we spotted a couple of walruses bobbing up through one of the cracks in the sea ice. As we closed in on Svalbard again, the distance between trawling stations shortened once more. The workload increased, but we were ready for it and well on our way.

Up towards the crow’s nest on the ship, there was a nice cinema-like room, but the view was out over the bow. A headlight illuminated a path towards the ice ahead. In the dark and quiet ambience of the room and the view, it was easy to imagine some mythological sea creatures, waiting beneath the surface, preparing to challenge our advance through the cold icy blackness. This, I think, is one of the reasons why I felt drawn to marine biology in general. I’ve always been fascinated by the sense of mystery the ocean depths bring, the hidden and the unknown, waiting to be discovered.