The purpose of this guide is to establish rules & restrictions to help you roleplay as a commercial fishing boat captain of one of the smaller boats. If you’re the type that wants to “win” the game and upgrade to the largest fishing vessel as fast as possible and become a fishing billionaire, this guide probably isn’t for you.

OBJECTIVE: Establish a ruleset to enable roleplaying and immersion, building on what the game developers have already given us. Every one of these suggested rules is optional. If you disagree with any of them, disregard them and only use the ones you like.

• Use first person as much as possible. If third person is used, make it fast (quickly checking the map, storage, etc)
  
• No fast travel, except when you need to quickly get to a port to end your play session.
  
• Save the game manually by getting up from the captain’s chair and going to a specific place on your boat (the location is up to you). When you reach that position, save the game, and get back to your captain’s chair.
  
• Listen to your own music while playing (streaming internet radio is recommended because it mixes with game sounds), which makes real time boat travel far more entertaining and relaxing.
  
• Take screenshots using F12 during your journey. Only review them using the Steam Overlay (shift-tab) while sitting in your captain’s chair.

• Must have running lights on whenever the engine is on
  
• Must turn off running lights when turning off the engine
  
• Must have cabin lights turned on when traveling between 5 PM and 6 AM (based on input from Wolfar)
  
• Must turn on work lights for safety reasons when a crew member is gutting, cooking, long line hauling or net hauling
  
• Must use search light in straight-ahead position when traveling in low visibility or between the hours of 5 PM and 6 AM.
  
• If trying to pick up nets or longlines at night or in low visibility, use the search light to find your buoys.

• Must be seated in the captain’s seat to view the map (“M” key)
  
• Can get up from the captain’s seat at any speed if the cabin door is closed.
  
• If the door is open, the boat must be traveling at less than 10 knots in order to exit the cabin and walk around the boat.
  
• When walking around the boat, make sure work lights and interior lights are turned on.
  
• Must reduce boat speed to less than 10 knots if a crew member is at a work station.
  
• If a nearby whale is spotted coming up for air, power down your boat engine and drift, waiting for it to exit the area. When safe to proceed, divert your course away from the whale’s intended path. (In real life, many whales are injured by boats that fail to keep their distance.)
  
• If caught in heavy waves or an unexpected storm, consider using the radio for a tow to safety. At the very least, head to the nearest port immediately.

• All communication with crew members while in the wheelhouse cabin must be performed in first person using the phone in the wheelhouse, not the V key.
  
• If there are no jobs to do, crew members who are not tired must idle in repair or gutting when not performing any jobs. This simulates navigation assistance and routine tasks.
  
• Once tired, crew members should be set to rest and given food. When their energy bar is filled, they should be re-stationed.
  
• To properly sell fish at a port, station a crew member to idle in the gutting workstation before docking. This simulates them helping you unload your catch at the fish market.

• Punctuate long journeys by stopping the boat engine halfway to your destination, exiting the cabin, and walking around the vessel to simulate an inspection. Remember to turn on work lights for safety. This is also a great chance to experience the Barents Sea scenery.
  
• Simulate setting the boat to “auto-pilot” by exiting the cabin while the engine is running. For safety reasons, you can only do this for 1 km at a time, so set a 1 km waypoint first.
  
• Also consider performing a multipoint inspection before leaving the port. Simply click “Go Fishing” but don’t start the boat, then walk around the perimeter of the boat to simulate checking lights and workstations.

• Use waypoints, but don’t fast travel.
  
• Check the map in the cabin and course correct (if necessary) to hit all of your waypoints.
  
• Explore the coastal areas, bays, and islands and name them something you’ll remember easily, ideally based on the shape, terrain, or visible structures.
  
• If you name a peninsula, island, gulf, bay, or shore area, take a screenshot of your map and caption it.

• Only look at the species hot spots on the map briefly after leaving the port, then turn them off and use your memory to set your nets and long-lines in the right places.
  
• Alternatively, use only your sonar to find good spots. Cruise at low speeds with the sonar on, and find a spot that shows 2 or more fish species on your monitor.
  
• Try to associate hot spots in relationship to coastal areas or scenery to help you remember the best spots.
  
• If you want true realism, don’t use hotspots at the map at all. Only use the sonar to determine where to drop your long-line or net.

• Go fishing only 3-5 days per week. Take the other days off by speeding up time at ports.
  
• Try to leave the port at the same time everyday, and dock 8-10 hours later. This simulates a real work day.
  
• Additionally, take 1-2 weeks off per season. This will help you get through the seasons faster.
  
• Relocate to a new port each week. If you spent the week fishing around Hammerfest and selling your loads there, commit to selling at another port the entire following week.

• If you’ve advanced to the certificate, boat, and equipment that you want, consider slow-playing by using smaller equipment or only dropping 1-2 long-lines / nets per day instead of always maxing out your storage capacity.
  
• Alternatively, intentionally avoid hotspots and fish in non-hot spot areas. The yields are much lower this way. I know it’s counterintuitive, but the massive hauls you get from hotspots are overkill.
  
• To further nerf the massive payouts from the fish markets, consider avoiding gutting entirely, or only providing gutted fish to a certain port.
  
• Alternatively, only gut fish that are in high demand. Lately, I’ve been selling off cod, pollock, and haddock ungutted and hoarding redfish. When I’m 75% full of just redfish, I gut them and sell them off.
  
• After dropping your fishing equipment, go on excursions to unexplored areas or use the sonar method described above to find your own potential “hotspots” for future fishing.

This guide is a work in progress, and will be updated to include any additional tips or suggestions provided by the community. Please provide feedback in the comments. Thanks for reading.