China’s first woman Arctic crab fisher, who works 12 hours a day on a “prison” ship for 130,000 yuan (US$18,000) a month, has been praised online for her resilience in the face of harsh conditions.
Liu Yifan, 30, from Guizhou province in southwestern China, left a secure job at a state-owned Chinese enterprise three years ago to join her husband in Tromsø, a port city in northern Norway.
She initially took up a hotel job but in January through the introduction of local friends, she decided to try crab fishing.
“The job allows me to wear cool uniforms, demonstrate my strength and it pays well, why wouldn’t I take it?” said Liu.
At first, she admitted being taken aback by the poor conditions and demanding work schedule.
The boat operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week and the job demands 12 hour shifts of its 30-strong fishing crew.
In a typical fortnight of work, they handle up to 200 tonnes of king crabs, working in a sub-zero temperatures sorting, chopping and packing.
At the end of a shift Liu said the tough conditions and strict work schedule left her battered and bruised.
A week after starting, Liu dislocated a finger but said there was no treatment available on board, so she had to keep working.
The vessels she works on are routinely likened to a “prison” isolated from dry land.
Liu also has to deal with racial discrimination.
She was told by an experienced colleague that she was the first Chinese woman to enter the industry.
Liu’s night shift manager constantly refers to her as “China girl” and greets her in Japanese and Thai.
At one point he even asked her: “Do you really eat dog meat?”
Liu confronted him directly: “Are you being racist? You’ve picked the wrong person. I won’t tolerate this.”
He then forced her to work overtime, suggesting she was slacking off and accused her of intentionally knocking over the crabs she had packed.
The bullying and abuse stopped when Liu threw a crab in his face and told him that surveillance cameras had recorded her completing her work.
In March, the fishing season finished and Liu shared her experiences on Xiaohongshu, China’s Instagram, where she quickly amassed 20,000 followers.
“Incredible! You are the coolest girl I’ve seen on the internet,” one online observer said.
At present, she is working at a travel agency and intends to return to crab fishing next season despite the difficulties because it pays well.
“Whenever difficulties come up, I ask myself, ‘What could be harder than crab fishing? If you can handle that, you can definitely handle anything else’,” she said.
