Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: 8/8/13
Weather Data from the Bridge (as of 17:00 Alaska Time): Wind Speed: 15.72 knots
Temperature: 13.4 C
Humidity: 73%
Barometric Pressure: 1012.1 mb
I just read this heads up about the weather tonight.
Science and Technology Log:
We came. We fished. We measured, counted and weighed. Now What? We completed one last trawl on Tuesday night (August 6th). When we finished we had caught over 65,000 walleye pollock and a whole lot of POP (Pacific ocean perch) on this leg of the survey.
The scientists now process and analyze the data.
Darin Jones and Chief Scientist Patrick Ressler going over data collected.
Darin and Patrick will present at a public meeting when we are back in Kodiak on Friday. They will discuss what was seen and preliminary findings of the walleye pollock survey. Back in Seattle the MACE team will further evaluate the data along with data from the bottom trawl survey and determine the walleye pollock biomass for the Gulf of Alaska. This will then be taken under advisement by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
There is also the lab to clean. Even though we cleaned the lab after each trawl, it needed a good scrub down. There were scales and slime hidden everywhere. Just when you thought you were done, more scales were discovered.
Kirsten, Abigale and Darin cleaning the fish lab.
Did You Know?
The note on the white board stated that there will be beam seas tonight. What does that really mean? It means the waves are moving in a direction roughly 90° from our heading. So the water will be hitting us at a right angle to our keel. It will be a rocking boat tonight.
Darin took a sample of the salmon shark’s fin when we caught it. It will be sent to a scientist in Juneau who works at Auke Bay Laboratories (where Jodi works). The sample will be used to examine the population genetics of the salmon shark and other species such as the Pacific sleeper shark.
Personal Log:
In my first blog, I wrote about a childhood dream of becoming an oceanographer. After my third year of teaching in the Peace Corps, I decided education was my new direction. I was excited to taste that bygone dream aboard the Oscar Dyson. How do I feel now? I jokingly sent an email to my assistant principal telling her to look for a new science teacher because I love life at sea. I love collecting data in the field. Although I was not responsible for analyzing the data and I do miss my boys, I had an awesome cruise. So where does that leave me?
Heading to Kodiak across the Gulf of Alaska
It leaves me back in the classroom with an amazing sea voyage experience to share with my students. I will always long for that oceanographic career that could have been. But perhaps after my experience, I will inspire future oceanographers and fisheries scientists. And I would do Teacher at Sea again in a heartbeat. I will follow up with the outcomes and biomass estimates from MACE (Mid-Water Assessment & Conservation Engineering) and I will most definitely follow Jodi’s research on the use of multibeam sonar for seafloor mapping.
I want to say thank you to everyone who made my experience one of the best of my life and definitely the best professional development of my career. Thank you to Jennifer Hammond, Elizabeth McMahon, Jennifer Annetta, Emily Susko and Robert Ostheimer for the opportunity to participate in the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program. Thank you to NOAA for developing a practical and realistic opportunity to connect my students to ocean science. Thank you to the science team (Chief Scientist Patrick Ressler, Darin Jones, Paul Walline, Jodi Pirtle, Kirsten Simonsen, and Abigale McCarthy) aboard the Oscar Dyson for their willingness to train me, answer all of my questions, preview my blogs, and to allow me have a glimpse of their lives as scientists. Thank you to Patrick Ressler and XO Chris Skapin for promptly providing feedback on my blogs. And a special thanks to the night shift crew (Jodi, Paul and Darin). I was very nervous about adjusting to my work hours (4 pm to 4 am) especially after falling asleep that first night, but I am very grateful for colleagues who were fascinating and night-time enjoyable. Chats with everyone aboard the Oscar Dyson from fishermen to NOAA Corps to engineers to stewards to scientists were educational and pleasant. I met lots of people from all over the U.S. and some just from Newport (2 hours from Eugene).
WOW. How fortunate was I to be chosen? I am nearly speechless about what I saw and what I did. What a mind blowing three weeks. Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!
Now I begin the transition of living during daylight hours.
Here I am before the system hit us.
I hope everyone was able to sample a little of my adventure. I appreciate everyone who followed my blog especially Camas Country Mill folks.
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: 8/7/13
Weather Data from the Bridge (as of 21:00 Alaska Time): Wind Speed: 10.42 knots
Temperature: 13.6 C
Humidity: 83%
Barometric Pressure: 1012.4 mb
Current Weather: A high pressure system is building in the east and the swells will increase to 8 ft tonight.
Science and Technology Log:
Before I begin, I must thank Paul for educating me on the calibration process. Because calibration occurred during the day shift, I was not awake for some of it.
The EK60 is a critical instrument for the pollock survey. The calculations from the acoustic backscatter are what determines when and where the scientists will fish. Also these measurements of backscatter are what are used, along with the estimates of size and species composition from the trawling, to estimate fish biomass in this survey. If the instruments are not calibrated then the data collected would possibly be unreliable.
Calibration of the transducers is done twice during the summer survey. It was done before leg one in June, which began out of Dutch Harbor, and again now near Yakutat as we end leg three and wrap up the 2013 survey.
As we entered Monti Bay last night, Paul observed lots of fish in the echosounder. This could pose a problem during calibrations. The backscatter from the fish would interfere with the returns from the spheres. Fortunately fish tend to migrate lower in the water column during the day when calibrations were scheduled.
This morning the Oscar Dyson moved from Monti Bay, where we stopped last night, into Sea Otter Bay and anchored up. The boat needs to be as still as possible for the calibrations to be successful.
Monti and Sea Otter Bays Map by GoogleEarthSite of calibration: Sea Otter Bay
Calibration involves using small metal spheres made either of copper or tungsten carbide.
Chief Scientist Patrick Ressler with a tungsten carbide sphereCopper sphere photo courtesy Richard Chewning (TAS)
The spheres are placed in the water under transducers. The sphere is attached to the boat in three places so that the sphere can be adjusted for depth and location. The sphere is moved throughout the beam area and pings are reflected. This backscatter (return) is recorded. The scientists know what the strength of the echo should be for this known metal. If there is a significant difference, then data will need to be processed for this difference.
The 38 khz transducer is the important one for identifying pollock. A tungsten carbide sphere was used for its calibration. Below shows the backscatter during calibration, an excellent backscatter plot.
Backscatter from calibration
The return for this sphere was expected to be -42.2 decibels at the temperature, salinity and depth of the calibration The actual return was -42.6 decibels. This was good news for the scientists. This difference was deemed to be insignificant.
Personal Log:
Calibration took all of the day and we finally departed at 4:30 pm. The views were breathtaking. My camera doesn’t do it justice. Paul and Darin got some truly magnificent shots.
Goodbye Yakutat Bay
As we left Yakutat Bay, I finally saw a handful of sea otters. They were never close enough for a good shot. They would also dive when we would get close. As we were leaving, we were able to approach Hubbard Glacier, another breathtaking sight. Despite the chill in the air, we stayed on top getting picture after picture. I think hundreds of photos were snapped this evening.
The Oscar Dyson near Hubbard GlacierLocation of Hubbard Glacier. Map from brentonwhite.comMany came out in the cool air to check out Hubbard GlacierI even saw ice bergs floating byLots of ice from the glacier as we nearedNear Hubbard GlacierAnd there it is: Hubbard GlacierHubbard GlacierHubbard Glacier
Did You Know?
According to the National Park Service, Hubbard Glacier is the largest tidewater glacier in North America. At the terminal face it is 600 feet tall. This terminal face that we saw was about 450 years old. Amazing!
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: 8/5/13
Weather Data from the Bridge (as of 17:00 Alaska Time): Wind Speed: 9.54 knots
Temperature: 15.7 C
Humidity: 83 %
Barometric Pressure: 1017.9 mb
Current Weather: The winds have decreased and we are not moving as much. The weather report calls for an increase to the winds with 7 ft swells on Wednesday. But maybe it will die down before it reaches us.
August 6th sunset
Science and Technology Log:
We only will fish during daylight hours. The sun is now setting before 10:00 pm and rising around 5:30 am. And even though we are not fishing between sunset and sunrise, science continues. At nightfall, we break transect and Jodi begins her data collection.
The Sustainable Fisheries Act mandates an assessment of essential fish habitat. This is in conjunction with stock assessments of groundfish. Jodi’s research involves integrating multibeam accoustic technology to characterize trawlable and untrawlable seafloor types and habitat for managed species.
Species that are part of the groundfish survey. Photo courtesy of Chris Rooper (Alaska Fisheries Science Center) from the Snakehead Bank multi-beam survey
A bottom trawl survey is conducted every other year in the Gulf of Alaska. The goal is to better identify seafloor types using multibeam acoustics. This would help improve groundfish assessment, and limit damage to habitat and trawling gear.
The Gulf of Alaska survey area is divided into square grids.
Trawlable or Untrawlable?
On this cruise we are conducting multibeam mapping in trawlable and untrawlable grid cells. A grid cell is divided into 3 equidistant transects for a multibeam survey. Jodi directs the ship to follow these smaller transect lines. While the ship is following the transects lines, the multibeam sonar is active and data is collected.
Multibeam sonar Photo courtesy of Tom Weber (University of New Hampshire)Jodi monitors the screen during ME70 activity.
The SIMRAD ME70 is the multibeam sonar that Jodi is using for her research. There are 6 transducers on the ship that will send out a fan of 31beams of varying frequencies. The strength of their return (backscatter) can be analyzed for sea floor type. Looking at the diagram below, you can see the differences in backscatter clearly in the range of 30 to 50 degrees (away from straight down).
Silts will have a very weak backscatter and rock will have a strong backscatter.
Substrate differences when looking at 30 – 50 degrees. Courtesy of Jodi Pirtle
After the transects are completed, Jodi and Darin complete 1 – 3 camera drops to record visually how the seafloor appears. This camera below will be lowered to the ocean floor and video footage will stream to the computer for 10 minutes. Then the camera is brought up.
Drop Camera
An example of an untrawlable area. Photo courtesy of Jodi Pirtle.
Last night, Darin gave me the opportunity to operate the camera drop. After a bit of instruction, it was showtime. I am very grateful for the chance to explore the seafloor.
I operated the drop camera. Photo by Darin Jones
Here is what I saw at 190 meters.
Fish and rocks on the seafloor.I saw a flatfish right in front of the camera.
For more photos of my drop camera experience, see the end of this blog.
CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) drops are conducted in the grid as well. Data that are gathered are used to correct for the speed of sound under varying conditions of the ocean.
CTD drop to record physical oceanographic data
The next day, Jodi processes the data from the ME70. The bottom detection algorithm (a series of calculations) removes backscatter from the water column (from fish).
Each frame product represents 5 minutes of seafloor. The following are outcomes from the algorithm and represent angle dependent data. The images below, show backscatter on the left and bathymetry on the right.
This represents a homogenous sea floor.This represents a heterogenous sea floor.
Then Jodi takes into account a number of factors such as results from the CTD, motion of the boat (offset, attitude, pitch, roll), and tides. These uncertainties are applied.
Uncertainties Photo courtesy of NOAA
Then she mosaics the data.
Results Photo courtesy of Tom Weber
The color image above represents the depth and the bottom image provides information on seafloor substrate.
The footage from the camera drops is also reviewed for more evidence of the seafloor substrate and to look for objects that would snag trawl nets.
I really appreciate Jodi taking the time to educate me on her research. Her passion for her work is evident. I look forward to seeing where her research leads.
Personal Log:
So who actually works the night shift (4pm to 4 am) in the “cave”. Jodi Pirtle, Paul Walline and Darin Jones are the three scientists I have been lucky to work with during my cruise.
I discussed Jodi’s work on the ship in the science section. She has an extensive educational background. She earned a BS in Biology from Western Washington University in Bellingham and then a MS in Environmental Science from Washington State University in Vancouver. Then she earned a Ph.D in Fisheries from the University of Alaska at Fairbanks. Her thesis was on ground fish habitat on rocky banks along the US west coast. And her dissertation was based on red king crab nursery habitat. She just finished her postdoc at the University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping where her work applied multibeam acoustics to study trawlable and untrawlable seafloor types and groundfish habitat in the Gulf of Alaska. She is now working on groundfish habitat suitability modeling after she was selected to be a National Research Council NOAA postdoc at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center Auke Bay Lab in Juneau. Jodi continues to integrate multibeam acoustics in her research at ABL.
Jodi was born and raised in Cordova, Alaska which we came near when we were in Prince William Sound. I have enjoyed listening to her speak of growing up in Alaska. There are no roads out of Cordova, so imagine traveling with a sports team in high school? I will not forget how she described the Exxon Valdez oil spill to me from the eyes of herself at 11 years old.
I have greatly appreciated her knowledge of the creatures we bring up in the nets. She has an eye for finding the hidden gems like the chaetognath (arrow worm).
Jodi with a lumpsucker fish
Jodi enjoys cross country skiing, snow boarding, berry picking, hiking and yoga. She introduced me to beautiful ripe salmon berries back on Kodiak.
Delicate salmon berries
Darin is a MACE (Midwater Assessment & Conservation Engineering) scientist who earned his BS in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington and then his MS in Fisheries Resources form the University of Idaho at Moscow. His master’s work involved disease resistance in bull trout. He spent 5 years collecting fishing data as an observer aboard commercial fishing boats in Alaska. He also tagged cod on George’s Bank and worked at several conservation fish hatcheries before moving to Seattle to work for MACE. Darin is part of the team to assess the biomass of the walleye pollock in the Gulf of Alaska.
Darin filets some of the fish caught.
I have heard that Darin played in a band with some MACE colleagues but they broke up because one of them moved. Maybe there will be a reunion tour.
Darin measuring a spiny dogfish
He is a surfer and has surfed on Kodiak but his favorite surf spot so far was in Costa Rica. Darin is an easy-going guy who I often call Scott because he reminds me so much of a colleague at school. Darin has patiently explained my tasks to me and helped me learn what I am really doing. And he supported me as I did my first camera drop.
Darin watching me control drop camera. Photo by Jodi Pirtle
Paul is a native of Washington state and completed his academics there as well. He earned a BS in Oceanography and a Ph.D in Fisheries Oceanography from the University of Washington. For 20 years he worked at the Israel Limnological and Oceanographic Institute. He was involved in managing the water quality in Lake Kinneret. His role was to estimate the number of fish to determine their affect on water quality. Paul accomplished this by developing acoustics surveys of fish stocks in Israel. Lake Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee, provides Israel with 40% of its drinking water.
Lake Kinneret Courtesy of GoogleEarth
In 2000, Paul moved back to Seattle and is working as a fisheries biologist for MACE.
Paul reading echograms and deciding to fish
I have been fortunate to see photographs that Paul has taken both on this trip and elsewhere. He has an incredible talent for finding beauty.
Paul Walline
I am writing this as we are tossing and turning in ten foot swells. According to Paul, it doesn’t matter if the swells get any bigger because the effect is the same. His calmness, knowledge and expertise remind me a lot of my dad.
As you can see, I worked with amazing, brilliant individuals. The night shift rules. We had awesome teamwork when a haul needed to be processed.
Jodi weighs and measures the pollock. Darin removes otoliths and I packaged them up
And then we slept through the fog and awoke to beautiful sunsets (on some days).
Sunset by Yakutat Bay
Did You Know?
Glacial runoff changes the color of the ocean. Compare the two photos. The one at the bottom is near a glacier.
The ocean with no glacial runoff.The ocean with glacial runoff.
Animals Seen Today:
The bottom trawl that was brought up right when I began work, contained three types of sharks. The smaller ones were spiny dogfish and spotted spiny dogfish. The big one was a salmon shark. Check out the video.
To read more about salmon sharks and to monitor their migration pattern, check out the content on Tagging of Pacific Predators website. Click here: TOPP
My Drop Camera Experience
Checking out the bottom with the drop camera. Photo by Jodi PirtleJodi and I monitoring the drop cam. Photo by Darin JonesJulia bringing drop camera aboard. Photo by Darin JonesSea urchin in color.Fish hiding on the left.Another sea urchin
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: August 3, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge (as of 00:00 Alaska Time): Wind Speed: 26.5 knots
Temperature: 13.6 C
Humidity: 84%
Barometric Pressure: 1014.6 mb
Weather Update: A low pressure system is in the north Pacific and we are having increase winds and swells.
Science and Technology Log:
We listened. We fished. Now what?
Before reporting to the fish lab, I must gear up. Slime gear keeps the scales and goo off of my clothes.
Preventing head to toe slime.That is me holding coral while in my slime gear.
Fish are emptied out of the net and onto the table outside the fish lab.
The fish caught in the trawl net are emptied onto this table.
We can control how many fish land on the conveyor belt by raising the table and opening the door.
As Darin opens the door, the fish will slide from the table to the conveyor belt.
The fish on the conveyor belt are separated by species.
As the fish come off the table, Jodi and I separate the species while Darin weighs them.
In this blog we will focus on the pollock that were caught.
Sorting pollock
Pollock are gathered into baskets and weighed.
Basket of pollock ready for the scale.
We group the pollock into 3 groups; age 1, age 2 and age 3+. Each group as an entirety is weighed. Each age group has a somewhat different protocol for processing. Fifty specimens that are age 1 will be measured with the ichthystick and 10 will also be weighed.
To measure a pollock put his head at zero and use the magnetic reader to mark his fork length.
Fish that are age 2 are processed as age 1 but are also sexed.
When measuring a pollock on an icthystick, one measures from the head to the fork in the tail. The icthystick (a magnetic board for measuring fish) is connected to a computer that automatically records the data.
The larger pollock are grouped by sex. To do this, we cut open their abdomen and look for ovaries or testes.
The abdomen must be opened to determine the sex of the pollock
Then all of the fish (or at least 300) are measured on the icthystick. Forty will be measured and weighed and set aside for otolith removal.
Otoliths are removed.
Otoliths are made of calcium carbonate and are located directly behind the brain of bony fishes.
These are otoliths that were removed from an adult pollock.
They are involved in the detection of sound and the process of hearing. The age of the fish can be established by counting the annuli much like one does when counting tree rings.
Scientists can count the rings of growth.
This age data allows scientists to estimate growth rates, maximum age, age at maturity, and trends of future generations. This data is vital for age based stock assessment models. These fish are weighed and measured. Otoliths are removed and placed in jars with glycerol thymol.
The jars have bar codes on the side so that the otoliths are linked to the fish’ weight, length and sex.
The otoliths are sent to Seattle for more detailed analysis of age. These results will be used to correspond length to age in the stock assessment report.
Sometimes, ovaries are removed and sent to other scientists for further histological study.
Other organisms that are caught alongside the pollock are counted and measured as well. The catch might include Pacific ocean perch, salmon, herring, viper fish, lantern fish, jellyfish, squid, and capelin. Below are a few of the normal finds and the rest can be found in my personal blog account “the beautiful, the odd and the interesting”.
capelinherringPacific ocean perchsquid
Personal Log:
The beautiful, the odd and the interesting
This trip is not just about pollock. When we bring any of the nets in there is the possibility of weirdness and other things that catch my eye. Jodi is always filling me in on the uniqueness of our discoveries. And Darin lets me save organisms for photographing later.
My favorite find so far is the lumpsucker. As Jodi says, they have gentle brown eyes and they do. They also have suckers on the bottom that allow it to stick to substrate.
Close up of lumpsucker
The Methot trawl went close to the bottom and picked up a handful of brittle stars. At first, when they were mixed with all of the krill, it looked like a bunch of worms.
Brittle star collected from a methot trawl.brittle stars
Pollock do eat young pollock. We found evidence of this when Darin opened the stomach of an adult and discovered partially digested age 1 pollock.
This pollock had feasted earlier on young pollock.
Lanternfish (Myctophids) make up a huge amount of the deep sea biomass. They have photophores along their sides for producing light.
Lanternfish
The adult Pacific sandfish bury themselves in the sand with only their mouths protuding.
This sand fish was not happy with me.
Prowfish lack pelvic fins. They have continuous teeth to feed on jellyfish.
prowfish
When I think of deep ocean fish I think of the viperfish with its needle sharp teeth.
Viper fish with finger for scale.
This cute mud star came up with the brittle stars. It was also referred to as the cookie cutter starfish because it resembles a shortbread cookie.
Mud star
Salmon are good swimmers and usually escape the net. A few are caught at the surface.
sockeye salmon
When we were in Kodiak, I would watch the moon jellies drift by. Now we are catching several different species of jellyfish like this sunrise jelly.
One of many species of jellyfish I have seen.
Jodi always has a keen eye for finding nearly invisible creatures. The arrow worm is a voracious predator. They immobilize their prey with neurotoxins.
arrow worm
I had never heard of a sea mouse before this cruise. Now I have. Except it is not a rodent. It is a carnivorous worm that feeds on hermit crabs and other worms. It is also a scavenger like a vulture.
Sea Mouse
Some isopods are parasitic and will feed off of the blood of fish in the gill chamber. I prefer their cousins the pill bugs.
parasitic isopodsea penssea anemones
Did You Know?
When we are all measuring and weighing away in the lab, it sounds like a video game. Each machine has it’s own unique sound effects. This allows scientists to have confidence that their data was recorded.
Scanning the bar code.All machines have unique recording sounds
Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska Date: 8/1/13
Weather Data from the Bridge (as of 00:00 Alaska Time): Wind Speed: 12 knots
Temperature: 13 C
Humidity: 97 %
Barometric Pressure: 1021 mb
Science and Technology Log:
The main goal of Leg 3 of this mission is to use acoustics and trawling to survey the mid-water portion of the pollock population along the Gulf of Alaska starting near Kodiak to Yakutat Bay.
Leg 3 began east of Kodiak and will continue to Yakutat
Pollock live in the an area between the middle of the water column and the seafloor. Sometimes we sample the mid-water and sometimes we will sample the bottom.
Location of Fish in Water Column
The Oscar Dyson carries three different types of trawling nets for capturing fish as part of the mid-water survey: the Aleutian Wing Trawl (AWT), a mid-water trawl net, the Poly Nor’Eastern (PNE), for bottom trawls and the Methot, which is for gathering samples of very small ocean creatures such as krill. I will focus on the AWT, although some of the video footage is from a bottom trawl.
Scale model of the Aleutian Wing Trawl (AWT) net courtesy of NOAA Scientist Kresimir Williams
When the net is deployed from the ship, the first part of the net to hit the water is called the codend. This is where most of the fish end up after the trawl. The mesh size of the net is smallest at the codend (about 1 cm) and gets larger as it approaches the doors (about 1 m).
A Cam Trawl goes in the water next. This is a pair of cameras that help scientists identify and measure the fish that are caught in the net. This technology can also be used to help scientists validate their biomass estimate from trawling sampling counts. This piece of equipment has to be clipped into loops on the trawl each time.
The trawl camera is attached to the net to monitor the fish entering the net.
The next piece of the net to hit the water is the “kite” which is secured to the head rope. Here, a series of sensors is attached to help the scientists gather data about the condition of the net including depth, size, and shape underwater. The major acoustic sensor, called the “turtle,” can tell if the fish are actually going into the net.
Close-up view of the AWT scale model to highlight the kite and the turtle that ride at the top of the net. The third wire holds the electrical wires that send data from the turtle to the bridge (courtesy of Teacher at Sea).
Once the kite is deployed, a pair of tom weights (each weighing 250 lbs), are attached to the bridal cables to help separate the head rope from the foot rope and ensure the mouth of the net will open. Then, after a good length of cable is let out, the crew transfers the net from the net reel to the two tuna towers and attach the doors. The doors create drag to ensure the net mouth opens wide.
The scientists use acoustic data to determine at what depth they should fish, then the OOD (Officer on Deck) uses a scope table to determine how much cable to let out in order to reach our target depth. Adjustments to the depth of the head rope can be made by adjusting speed and/or adjusting the length of cable released.
The scientists use the acoustic data sent from the “turtle” to determine when enough fish are caught to have a scientifically viable sample size, then the entire net is hauled in.
The turtle that can relay information to the science team about the number of fish collected.
Once on board, the crew uses a crane to lift the cod end over to the lift-table. The lift-table then dumps the catch into the fish lab where the fish get sorted on a conveyor belt.
Net with haul
Personal Log:
The Oscar Dyson needed to pick up materials for a net repair so we headed into Prince William Sound towards Valdez. The area was spectacular.
Here I am in Prince William Sound
The sun was out and the skies were blue for most of the day. Although we have had very calm seas, we have been under clouds for most of the last few days.
A handful of people gathered at the bow of the ship to enjoy the sun and the sights.
The absolute highlight of the day was spotting Dall porpoises and filming them bow surfing.
Here are snapshots of the day. The area was so impressive that I have several hundred pictures. Here are just a few:
Still shot of Dall porpoiseVerification that I did see sea ottersThe sun shining bright on the Anderson glacier visible as we left Prince William SoundThe ship was just close enough to see Columbia glacier.
Look close to see the wall of ice of the Columbia glacier at the water’s edge.Prince William SoundPrince William SoundPrince William SoundPrince William Sound
I am reminded of the Exxon Valdez oil spill devastation.
Did You Know?
The Exxon Valdez (oil tanker) ran aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 24, 1989.
This is the location where the Exxon Valdez hit the Bligh Reef.
The amount of oil spilled into this pristine environment exceeded 11 million gallons of crude oil and affected over 1300 miles of shoreline. According to OCEANA, as many as 2,800 sea otters, 300 harbor seals, 900 bald eagles and 250,000 seabirds died in the days following the disaster.
Jodi, who works the night shift with me, grew up in Cordova, Alaska and as a child remembers the smell of the disaster and the fears in her town (many were fishermen).
Has the area recovered? Part of the settlement with Exxon established a fund to support research. Read more.
