NOAA Teacher at Sea
Guy Sturdevant
NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
June 21 – July 15, 2026
Mission: Summer Pollock Acoustic Survey, Leg 2
Geographic Area of Cruise: Bering Sea, Alaska
Date: June 25, 2026
Weather Data from the Bridge
N 58.00° W 169.68 °, 0 AMSL
Conditions: Heavy Fog, Seas at 8’
Visibility: < 1 NM
Wind: 130°/23 kt
Barometric Pressure 29.66 inHg
Dry Bulb Temp: 43 ° F
Science Log
If you’re anything like me, you’ve never given the pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) a second thought. However, the humble pollock, which occurs throughout the North Pacific Ocean and is especially common in Alaska, plays a linchpin role in the US seafood industry.
In 2024, pollock accounted for 43% of all seafood caught in the US by weight. That’s bigger than salmon, lobster, and tuna put together!
Clearly, pollock must be providing something of value; why is pollock such a large part of the harvest? Several factors contribute to pollock’s popularity with the fishing fleet.
1. Pollock are relatively easy to catch as they school densely in mid-water. Mid-water trawling can sometimes be much quicker and easier than other types of commercial fishing.
2. Pollock is a lean, lightly-flavored whitefish that can be used as whole cuts or processed into products such as surimi (artificial crab meat) and has been shown to be a good source of lean protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.
3. Pollock has a much smaller lifecycle carbon footprint than other protein sources. Due to the efficiency of mid-water trawling and industry innovations, you can hit your macros while leaving the carbon where it belongs, cycling through the ecosystem.
Pollock sure sounds like a great, sustainable protein source, but let’s take a step back and meet the fish behind the stick!
Pollock are a member of the same genus as Atlantic and Pacific cod, and grow to around 20 inches on average over their 15-year lifespan. Their Latin name, chalcogrammus, is derived from the beautiful copper patterns that adorn their dorsal sides.
In winter, pollock move closer to shore, gathering in large schools to spawn. In summer, they migrate farther onto the continental shelf, forming more dispersed schools.
The Midwater Assessment and Conservation Engineering (MACE) Summer Pollock Acoustic Survey helps NOAA track and manage this vital economic and cultural resource by monitoring the location, size, and well-being of the eastern Bering Sea pollock population. This summer, the scientists have extended some of the acoustic transect lines northward to ensure the survey captures a more holistic picture of the population distribution in the eastern Bering Sea.
Personal Log
As a guest of this crew, it has been great to get to know the science team, the NOAA Corps, and the crew that make Oscar Dyson run like a well-oiled machine. From Frankie in the mess (sooooo good), to the officers on the Bridge, it is evident that everyone WANTS to be here.
Wildlife sightings
🚨Charismatic Megafauna Alert🚨
Did You Know?
“For the 26th consecutive year, Dutch Harbor, Alaska, led the nation in seafood landed volume (780.1 million pounds, valued at $224.5 million)”.
From the library
“The war between water and land is never-ending. Waves shatter themselves in spent fury against the rocky bulwarks of the coast; giant tides eat away the sand beaches and alter the entire contour of an island overnight…”
– Corey Ford, Where the Sea Breaks Its Back
Sources
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (2026, March 10). Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; 2026 and 2027 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish. Federal Register, 91(46), 11750-11799. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/03/10/2026-04684/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-bering-sea-and-aleutian-islands-2026-and-2027
- “Frequent Questions: Annual Catch Limit Monitoring | NOAA Fisheries.” Frequent Questions: Annual Catch Limit Monitoring, NOAA, 22 Sept. 2025, www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/sustainable-fisheries/frequent-questions-annual-catch-limit-monitoring.
- National Marine Fisheries Service. Fisheries of the United States, 2023. U.S. Department of Commerce, NOAA Current Fishery Statistics No. 2023, Feb. 2026, https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2026-02/FUS-2023-web.pdf.
- Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers. “Sustainability.” Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers, https://www.alaskapollock.org/about-the-fish/sustainability