NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jennifer Fry
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman (tracker)
July 14 – 29, 2009
Mission: 2009 United States/Canada Pacific Hake Acoustic Survey
Geographical area of cruise: North Pacific Ocean from Monterey, CA to British Columbia, CA.
Date: July 21, 2009
Weather Data from the Bridge
Wind speed: 10 knots
Wind direction: 011°from the north
Visibility: cloudy
Temperature: 16.2°C (dry bulb); 14.9°C (wet bulb)
Weather note: When you speak of wind direction you are talking about the direction in which the wind is coming.
Science/Technology Log
You can see by the weather data above that the seas were much calmer today. We were able to conduct 3 fishing trawls amounting to several thousand kilograms of hake. Once the fish were hauled onto the deck, we began measuring, weighing, dissecting, and removing otoliths, ear bones, for age analysis. I removed my first pair of otoliths today. The best part of the day was the last and final trawl. We collected approximately 3,000 pounds of Humboldt squid which equals 444 squid. The math problem to calculate is… “How much would one squid weigh in our catch?”
Personal Log
What strikes me today is just how dedicated the scientists and crew are to their jobs. Everyone has a specific job aboard the Miller Freeman that they take seriously.
Question of the Day
Can you use squid ink as you do regular ink? Is there a market for squid inked products such as cards?
New Term/Phrase/Word
Cusk eel
Animals Seen Today
Fish: Humbolt squid, Hake, Iridescent Cusk eel (see photo), Myctophid
Birds: Shearwaters, Albatross, Gulls
The Squid
The squid come on little tentacled feet
Falling, splatting, rolling, and sliding out of its netted jail.
Free at last
To be weighed and measured
Sitting on a strong mantle in a flowing liquid of ebony and midnight.
Your silent escape goes unnoticed.
The Clouds
The clouds slither on little squid tentacles
The midnight inky darkness envelopes the sky and warns us of foreboding
It sits looking over ships and sea lions
Its silent mantle quietly slides away.
(Inspired by Carl Sandberg’s “The Fog”)
