“I went to sea when I was 18 and was employed as a so-called ‘halvlotting’ on half-pay because of my lack of experience,” explains Marielle via a satellite line from the trawler out on the Halten Bank.
“But it was a real incentive for learning to repair nets and splice ropes, so it wasn’t long before I was as fast as the lads on board.”
“And then I was paid a full salary,” she smiles.
That was in 2013. Five years later, she was promoted to factory manager, which entails responsibility for the factory that processes the fish aboard the trawler. But it didn’t stop here. Mariell’s goal was always to get “up on the bridge”, so in 2021 she started training as a ship’s mate at the vocational college in Tromsø, and applied for a position at Lerøy Havfisk in 2023. She got the job in competition with more than 100 other applicants.
“Doggi’s” crew is made up of 15 people, but Mariell has only one female colleague.
“I don’t particularly think about the fact that I work almost exclusively with men, perhaps because I’ve done it for so long.
Enjoying the job is probably much more important than your gender. It suits some people but not others,” Mariell says. She goes on to say that the environment on board the vessels has become much gentler than when she started, and thinks this is because of a generation shift.
“This is something I’m really happy about. Because it’s not right that anyone should dread going on watch or be reluctant to go and eat. The work environment on board is fantastic, so although fishing is a tough job, it doesn’t mean the environment has to be tough too. Not to mention that Lerøy is a highly proactive shipping company when it comes to recruiting more women into the fisheries industry, and our numbers are increasing. I think that’s great,” she says.
Markus Bauer, HR Manager for Lerøy Havfisk, is happy to elaborate on how the company has been working to increase the number of women.
“We’ve been working actively on this because a better gender balance is good for both wellbeing and morale on board. The work has paid off, and since 2020 we’ve doubled the number of women in Lerøy Havfisk. Steps we’ve taken include female colleagues visiting schools and training and career fairs across Norway to promote working in the fisheries industry. Women with technical expertise and experience at sea can answer the questions other women may want to ask. Fishieries-related subjects at vocational colleges now have around 50% female students, so things are heading in the right direction. Being a ship’s mate, like Mariell, requires particularly good knowledge of Norwegian fisheries and familiarity with all aspects of the operations. A large part of the fish that Mariell and the rest of our fleet catch is delivered to our shore-based whitefish factories and safeguards year-round jobs for the local communities in Norway’s northernmost counties,” he explains.
Marielle loves her job: no two days are the same, and you never lose that thrill of finding the fish.
“Everyone wants to be the best, so there’s a bit of healthy internal competition now and then. To do well in this career, you need to understand fishery, weather, wind and current conditions. And the most important thing of all is having a good crew around you, so a sprinkling of good leadership skills helps too. That means being fair and making sure everyone is seen. I appreciate everyone who works on board. Although I’m safe and warm inside while I’m doing my job, it needs a lot of focus, but I also know how challenging it is to work on deck in cold and bad weather. There’s a hierarchy on board with the captain at the top and the rest of the crew by rank. That said, it’s a fairly tolerant set-up.”
“Anyone can come to me for a chat or to ask questions. I want to be a person they can rely on, and I always put the crew’s safety first. To build a good work environment, it’s important to respect and accept one another.”
Mariell says that her ambition is, of course, to become a captain one day.
“First and foremost, I want to go on being a good ship’s mate who’s reliable and who people can depend on,” she finishes. Siren Grønhaug, Group Director HR, is happy with the success stories Lerøy is creating to promote equality in the Group, but is also keen to highlight the opportunities within seafood and the marine industries. Lerøy has always attached importance to the individual’s skills, performance and responsibilities in recruitment, offering equal opportunities for all our employees, both men and women.
However, equality at Lerøy is about more than gender.
“We’re keen to promote diversity and inclusion through good gender balance but also in terms of age, ethnicity and cultural background. Lerøy’s workforce is made up of almost 80 different nationalities. We know that diversity is a strength for our business and will make us better.”
