Deck and Fishing Hands
Perform a range of maintenance and lookout tasks and operate deck equipment aboard marine vessels, and catch fish, crustacea and molluscs in ocean and inland waters.
A morning on the water
You are a deck hand on a small boat that takes passengers out to fish and hauls its own pots, working with a skipper named Lou. It is 5:30am. The boat is at the wharf, twelve passengers are due in twenty minutes, and a southerly wind is picking up.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
I need you at the bow for lookout once we leave the harbour. The sun is in my eyes and there are a few small boats around. Shout if you see anything that looks close. Got it?
Watch, but stay quiet unless you are sure it is a problem
You see a small boat and wait to be certain, and by the time you call out it is close. Lou has to turn sharply. Calling out early is better than being right late.
Watch carefully and call out as soon as something looks close
You spot a kayak low in the water ahead and call it early. Lou slows and gives it room. Nobody gets alarmed. A lookout's shout is most useful when it comes early.
Spend the time getting the bait ready, and glance up every now and then
A buoy drifts near the bow and you only see it as it passes. It is a near miss for the boat's propeller. A lookout can't do two jobs well.
Hi, I'm a bit seasick, so I'm going to sit up here on the side where it's cooler. There isn't much room. Is it alright if I rest my arm on the rail while I look at the horizon?
Tell him the rail is fine, and let him stay there on his own
A wave shifts the boat and he lurches, grabbing the rail with one hand. Nothing happens, but you were not watching him. A seasick passenger can be unsteady, and should not be alone at the rail.
Tell him to go inside the cabin where it's warm
The cabin is stuffy and he feels worse. You've taken him away from the fresh air he needed. Care is about the right fix, not just the nearest one.
Help him to a seat in the middle, in the fresh air
He sits where the boat moves least, you hand him water and he feels better within the hour. Looking after passengers is as much a part of the job as the fishing.
The pots are up. There's a few crabs in there that look under the size limit, and a good fish I think is protected. We're short on the day's count. Can we keep them anyway? Who'll know?
Return the undersized crabs and the protected fish, and log it
You put them back gently and log the numbers. Lou nods, a bit reluctantly. The size limits are there so there will be crabs next year too, and fishing inspectors do check.
Keep them, since Lou is the skipper and the call is his
A fisheries officer boards the boat at the wharf and finds them. Lou is fined and the boat's licence is at risk. Following an instruction doesn't remove your own responsibility.
Say nothing and quietly toss them back when Lou isn't looking
They go back, but Lou finds out later and is annoyed that you went behind his back. Doing the right thing is part of it, and being open about it is the rest.
How it went
The boat returns to the wharf by midday with happy passengers and a clean log. Deck and fishing work is physical, weather-driven and about watching, listening and following the rules even when nobody is checking. Could you enjoy working on the water in all kinds of conditions?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The line on the cleat
A fictional case set in a small coastal boat that runs fishing trips for passengers and hauls its own pots, working out of a harbour at dawn.
The situation
Amina was a deck hand on a small fishing charter boat. At the wharf one windy morning, passengers were stepping aboard as she handled the mooring line. The skipper, Lou, was at the helm waiting to depart, and a gust pushed the boat sideways against the wharf. One passenger, keen to get on, started to step across the widening gap before Amina had finished securing the line.
What they did
Amina put out her arm and told the passenger to wait one moment, then took in the slack on the line and held the boat still against the wharf. She helped the passenger across when the boat was steady, and then checked that the others waited for the signal. She told Lou what had happened once they were underway and logged the weather.
How it turned out
The trip left a few minutes late and nobody was hurt. Lou changed the briefing to say passengers board only when the deck hand calls. Amina says the hardest part of the job is saying wait to a happy, excited person.
What would you do?
- How would you say wait to someone who is excited?
- What might happen if a gust arrives while a passenger is mid-step?
- Why would a skipper want to know about small things like this?