/// NOAA CORPS — OPERATIONS BRIEFING ///
Good morning, Ensign. Welcome aboard.
We’re running an acoustic-trawl survey for walleye Pollock. To control the net for our midwater trawl, use the Seaview 38 echsounder system to locate and capture fish.
The echsounder will show you what is directly below Oscar Dyson.
Familiarize yourself with the trends you are likely to see.
SS1: a thin, scattered speckle of adults throughout the water column. There are fish to be caught, but it can take a while to fill the cod-end!
SS2: tall bright ribbons of juveniles between 2-3 years old; drop the net on those and the net fills fast.
SS3: clear water. Keep searching.
Fly the net on the warp: pay out wire to sink it, haul in to raise it. Tow speed only trims the depth — and decides how quickly the marks come at you.
The science team needs a quota Pollock in the cod-end — and the clock is running, so land them as fast as you can. Keep the footrope off the bottom: plough the seabed and you’ll part the gear, and the tow is lost.
That’s the job; good hunting.
— OFFICER OF THE DECK, NOAA CORPS
