NOAA Teacher at Sea
Sinh Nguyen
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
July 7, 2025 – July 24, 2025
Mission: Larval Bluefin Tuna Slope Survey
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Ocean, Slope Sea
Date: July 11, 2025
Location: Norfolk, Virginia
Science Log
Uplift Education, Mighty Primary students: Happy Friday! There’s still a month of summer break left, but that doesn’t mean the learning stops. Today, I’m writing about our science mission. A mission is a special job or task that people work hard to complete. Let’s keep growing our brain today by learning more about bluefin tuna.
Have you ever heard of bluefin tuna before? What do they look like? Where might it live in the ocean? Go ahead and visualize, or imagine, the answers in your mind.
Now, let’s learn about bluefin tuna.
Did you know that some bluefin tuna are as long as a small car and can weigh over 1,000 pounds? That’s heavier than a big bear! But, when they’re born, they’re super small. Only about the size of a grain of rice.
When they’re babies, they’re called larvae. Scientists have found a new place in the ocean, called the Slope Sea, where many larvae are born and grow. This area is near the Northeast coast of the US, between the land and a strong ocean current called the Gulf Stream.
Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries
Scientists are excited because this new discovery helps protect bluefin tuna and understand how they grow. They used special nets to catch the tiny larvae and studied their bones to learn how fast they grow. This research helps us take better care of these incredible ocean animals.
So, what is our mission? We know that tuna are big fish, but they start out super tiny when they are larvae. Scientists want to know how many bluefin tuna live in the ocean. To do this, they look at larvae and try to match them to their parents using something called DNA, like a puzzle piece from your family. Everyday, we will look in the ocean for larvae. If we find a lot, we’ll stay there. If we don’t, we’ll try a new spot. This helps us learn how to protect tuna and keep them safe.
Uplift Education, Mighty Primary students and parents: if you’re interested in learning more about this research, please find more information here: https://www.whoi.edu/press-room/news-release/evidence-bolsters-classification-of-a-major-spawning-ground-for-atlantic-bluefin-tuna-off-the-northeast-u-s/. Can you point to the pictures of the bluefin tuna larvae?
One of the scientists on our ship is Dave Richardson, who wrote the paper you just read about. He’s the Chief Scientist of this mission. This means that he’s the leader of all scientists on this mission. Dave’s an expert in bluefin tuna, and he knows a lot about how they live and grow! In the next few blog posts, I’ll tell you more about him and the amazing team of scientists working with him!
Personal Log
Sometimes, even when we plan a lot, things don’t go the way we want. This happens in our classroom when we learn new things. It can also happen on a boat! A few hours into the sea, our boat had to come back to the port in Norfolk, Virginia. For the last few days, lots of people have been working hard to get the boat ready to sail again. I’ve learned that being flexible, which means being okay with change, is very important on a boat because things can change anytime.
We can practice being flexible every day, just like on the boat! Can you tell your parents about a time when you had to be flexible or change your plans? How did it feel?
I know the scientists worked hard to plan this mission, so I practiced being flexible by staying calm and understanding when the schedule changed. When we had free time, I tried to help whenever I could. For the last few days, we’ve been staying outside of the ship. This gave us lots of time to bond, which means getting to know each other better. On our science team, there are a total of 9 people. I’ve really enjoyed spending time exploring the city with everyone. Bonding with your teammates is important because it helps us build trust, feel appreciated, and work together as a team when the hard work starts!
The following pictures show us exploring Norfolk. The weather here feels just like a Texas summer: hot and humid! We saw big naval ships and visited a cool place called the Nauticus Museum. There, we learned all about the history of Norfolk and the many different ships that have sailed in the past. It was a fun way to learn while exploring.
Did You Know?
Bluefin tuna are fantastic swimmers! They can swim as fast as a car driving on the highway, up to 40 miles per hour! That helps them catch their food and travel across the ocean.