FROM the classics to a big catch, Anthony Anderson swapped Shakespeare for a “sea of trouble”.

The English literature graduate left behind Twelfth Night for a trawler netting fish off the Australian coast.

Struggling to find a job in the economic downturn, Anthony decided to travel the planet and found work in the world’s most dangerous industry.

The 25-year-old from Chapel Park in Newcastle ended up on board a boat thrashed by the turbulent seas off Australia’s North East coast.

For three seasons he worked on prawn trawlers near Cairns, with ex-criminals toiling 52-hour shifts in an industry where more limbs are lost than any other.

Now, he has recorded his experiences in an absorbing book – Travelling, Trawling and the Utterly Appalling – which will make anyone who has ever complained about working an hour’s overtime cringe with shame.

Anthony got himself a top position aboard a trawler called The Karumba Pearl and on day one found himself thrown into life on the ocean waves.

His first task was to tackle a huge sawtooth shark snared in the trawler’s nets.

“The only time I’d seen a shark before was at a sea life centre in Whitley Bay,” said Anthony. “I said: ‘You want me to get in with it and cut the net?’

“The crew was reluctant to take me on, but I think they were desperate.

“Maybe the shark was an initiation test but I worked hard to prove myself.

“You’re out there without seeing shore for weeks so you have to.

“During my first week we found a huge boil of prawns and we had a 52-hour shift without rest.”

He enjoyed his eight weeks so much – and the accompanying £12,000 – he went back in 2010.

“There was a cyclone coming in from the north before we set out,” he said, “but my captain was pretty insistent that we got out on time. He said we’d whip round it.

“I don’t know much about cyclones, but I don’t think you should whip round them.

“The waves were 30ft high. It was scary but we survived.”

On top of that, he earned another £11,500 in 12 weeks, prompting him to go back one last time in 2011.

On the eight-man boat, stingray barbs were never far away and sudden cyclones are known to sink ships.

But if the risks are great, so are the rewards.

In just a single season, lasting between eight and 12 weeks, even the lowliest deckhand can earn up to £15,000. “It was living outside the rule book,” said Anthony. “You sink or swim. You’re testing yourself to every limit but that’s the appeal.”

:: Travelling, Trawling and the Utterly Appalling is available on the website www.amazon.com  now.