The whole thing is a bit rough. She says she's a mass murderer but it's to save the species. Greater good and all that.
It's a fishing vessel but it was built specifically for scientific research so there's labs on board and stuff. I'm not sure how big it is compared to commercial boats though.
Yes, she goes out to sea with them for about 3 weeks at a time. Saying that, it's a long story but she's been asked to manage the lab on the Sir David Attenborough (Boaty McBoatface). So we'll be moving to England in a month. :-( But she'll be working in Antarctica again. :-)
I'll ask her about the monkfish and let you know.