NOAA Teacher at Sea
Joshua Gonzalez
Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada
August 11 – August 23, 2025
Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 4)
Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast
Today’s Date: August 13, 2025
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Latitude: 42° 06.3’N
Longitude: 124° 35.0′ W
Wind speed: 2.4 kts.
Wave height: 1-2 ft.
Air temp.: 12.3° C (54° F)
Sky: Fog
Science and Technology Log
While I was sleeping, the net that we helped set out was brought back in with a haul of hake. Exactly what the morning crew was looking for! It was almost entirely hake, which made the processing extremely straight forward. Some might be inclined to think that this is exactly what science is supposed to look like.
Fast forward to my shift again and shortly after we woke up, there was a haul that was ready to be brought in. We were all very excited for our first chance to process a catch. Well, this time when the net was brought up, it was awfully full. We were excited about the possibility of going through the catch and finding our target CPS, Coastal Pelagic Species. However, it was almost entirely full of krill, and did not have a single specimen of what we were looking for. Now, some might think that this means our haul was a failure and/or it was bad science.
Those people would be wrong. While the first two hauls of this leg of the survey are diametrically different, they are both good. Science requires good data. Data is good when it is reliably accurate. It doesn’t matter if it is larger numbers or zeros. So, in our case, while we didn’t get the information we were looking for, we now know that what we did had a result of zero for our targeted CPS . We also know that where we fished resulted in a catch of krill. This is knowledge that we can use next time to help us get what we are after.
In the second catch we did get a few different species. We caught: North Pacific krill, moon jellyfish, and a handful of eulachon. The eulachon were all weighed and measured for length.
Personal Log
Today is my brother’s birthday. Happy birthday! I am feeling much better. I continue to take the sea sickness prevention medicine, but I think I have found my sea legs. I am starting to feel like I know my way around NOAA Ship Shimada more and more, or at least the places I am supposed to go. 🙂 I was happy to make it from my bunk, down past the wet lab and acoustics lab, through the hall, past the mess, down some steps, through a room I never need to stop at, and to the laundry on my very first try! Our ship even has two places to work out. I am not brave enough to try a treadmill when the boat is rocking, but I did take an opportunity to do some jump rope.
I am amazed by the engineers who think through everything that needs to be done to make a ship like ours work. It is a maze of rooms, cords, and more, but all of it is well thought out and has a purpose.
I was a little disappointed today. We had a little extra time in between work during my shift so I went out to check on the stars, but it was foggy out so I could only see a few feet away. But I am learning a lot and having a ton of fun. It will be interesting to see what it will be like when we are getting more and larger hauls in a single shift.
Also, it’s a big deal back in Milwaukee, but the Brewers have won 11 games in a row. One more tonight means free burgers in the city! When I spoke with my wife and kids, they were definitely hoping for a win tonight. Let’s go Brew Crew!
Did You Know?
The eulachon is also known as the candle fish. It got the name from the fact that it is so oily that if you dry the fish out, you can light the tail on fire and it will burn like a candle. In the past, the eulachon was prized for its oil. The oil will even be solid at room temperature, similar to butter.
Can you identify this species?
You guessed it: Eulachon!