Author: Dennis Starkey

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Dennis Starkey
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 16 – August 4, 2006

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: July 21, 2006

Gathering Pollock Data and “Getting Slimed” 

Science and Technology Log 

My job on board is to work closely with the fisheries biologists to collect specific information from the sample of the fish we catch in our nets. The first step is to dress in boots and full rain-gear attire. They don’t call the area we process Pollock in the, “slime lab” for nothing! All the fish in the net are accounted for in some way.  Different species are separated at the sorting table first. Each kind of fish species we catch is also weighed and recorded even though they are not our target species. After separating the kinds of fish, we count off about sixty Pollock at a time into what look like heavy-duty laundry baskets. We then take them over to a scale that is networked with computer software program call FSCS. This program specializes in data collecting, coordinating, and reporting.  After the contents of the trawl are weighed, a workable representative of the sample is collected from the entire catch.  The biologists determine the amount of Pollock to be “worked up” based on the large or small volume of fish caught. The unneeded fish are deposited overboard to either swim away or return to the sea expired as potential energy for the food chain.

Roughly five baskets containing about sixty mature fish each are then checked for gender. We do this by making an incision into the abdomen and find either two yellow egg sacks on a female or a ribbon like vessel that is the testes on the male.  From personal experience, I’ll tell you this can get extremely difficult in the small immature Pollock.  The egg sacks almost become invisible and the testes become nearly non-existent!

The gender specific baskets are separated into separate containers and are moved over to the measuring device.  Again, this measurement technology is tied into the FSCS system for ease of data entry. We use a device called an Icthystick to enter this data.  It looks like a space aged metal tray that is about 90 centimeters long with blinking lights.  It works by using an electro magnetic current to mark the length of the fish in centimeters.  It has a stylus that attaches to a person’s finger that contains a small magnet.  When the stylus momentarily stops where you want it, at the fork of the fish’s tail, a tone is heard and the length is noted on the computer screen.  The software is set to record all of the males, and then the females, as we work toward processing them all.  At this point it may have taken an hour and a half to process about 400 fish.

Occasionally we catch different size and aged Pollock.  When this happens, a sub sample is collected.  This is pretty labor intensive because the three age classes are separated before being processed with the steps mentioned above.  “Ones” are first years, “seconds” are two-year growth, and “three” are mature and up.  Smaller fish tend to come in larger amounts and take twice as long to determine gender.  Each age class is also weighed to find a general ratio between ages found in the school.  When there are smaller fish it can take as long as three hours to perform all the required steps!

“Brain” Surgery 

After that, a representative number of fish of each age category are randomly selected to have their individual weight, length, gender, and age confirmed.  This is usually done by two people. One person weighs, determines length and gender, and then makes an incision on the top of the fish’s head near the brain to remove two otolith ear bones from each side of the brain.  The second person extracts them, washes them, and puts them in a capped vial. These two white half-crescent shaped bones are defining factors for determining the age of the fish.  Length of the fish is an estimated measurement for age.  The otolith bones are marked with microscopic growth rings that show if they are one or two years of age. After they are inserted into a specimen vial they are preserved with alcohol, and are brought back to a laboratory on land for final confirmation.  By this time the slime lab is very messy.  Scales and certain organ parts fall from the fish cavity during this process. Everything gets hosed off, even the “touch” monitors and people!  The sea birds that follow us love it when the big red fire hose comes out to blast the “slime lab” clean again.  They pick up tidbits and small fish when they get carried over the side of the ship.

Personal Log 

Our shifts are broken up over a twenty-four hour period.  I am ready to work from 4 a.m. to 4 p.m. every day.  It is not like I must work that entire time but I need to be ready to process the fish. Sometimes there is a catch ready at 4 .am. and other days there are back-to-back hauls. I actually had one day where we didn’t have a trawl at all. I try to take a nap right after supper and wake up to catch a movie. Then it’s right back to sleep. My sleeping quarters are warm, I rarely use any covers!

Did You Know? 

Since the MILLER FREEMAN was commissioned as a government work ship it has been watched continuously for years! What this means is that an officer is on watch any time the ship is in the water. That includes out at sea or at port. Even when repairs are needed and the ship is dry-docked, there is a responsible person to administer to the ship at all times. How would you like that babysitting job? Actually, it is an act of ultimate respect and security for the ship affectionately called “SALLY” by the office staff on board.

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Dennis Starkey
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 16 – August 4, 2006

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: July 18, 2006

“Way Out There!” 

Science and Technology Log 

We are now 529 nautical miles out into the Bering Sea.  I thought there would be an occasional sea bird of some kind.  I was mistaken.  There are tons of sea birds to see!  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is also conducting a survey of the density of bird life in the Bering Sea. Tamara, our bird Biologist, spends daily shifts on the Captain’s deck recording the birds that she sees in a 300-foot swath in front of the ship’s path.  She has been busy. She enters the species and numbers of birds on a computer program that works in conjunction with the ship’s radar. Some of the common species are, Northern Fulmars, Murres, Kittiwakes, and my favorite, Puffins.  The results give an impression of the density, or how many of each kind in a specific section, for the Bering Sea area. Tamara informed me that the last survey of this kind was in the 1980’s.  The weather looks calm and “beautiful sailing” conditions prevail.  There is a stratus cloud cover, but the sun has peeked out on occasion.  The temperature is currently 8 degrees Celsius.  The overall temperature range has been a bit warmer than this and has been comfortable to dress in a sweatshirt.

“How Do You Know There Are Fish Down There?” 

You see, we are not catching tons of fish. We do this on purpose.  In the past, fishermen would report catch amounts and that information would be analyzed and that was about all. This left speculation as to many variables that were not consistent.  Reports were not always accurate, locations were not disclosed, and weights weren’t reliable.  By having a research vessel conduct the survey, the results can have reliability and consistency measures.

To go out into the Bering Sea and drag nets all over the place does not make economic sense. A better solution is to find traditional fishery areas in the Bering Sea and survey those areas. Those areas happen to be along the continental shelf.  This is a comparatively shallow area of the ocean where currents of warmer and cooler water converge and circulate, allowing ideal conditions for life to flourish.  This is an area rich in phytoplankton (plants or algae) that are producers of food, which can feed lower end primary consumers (krill), that feed secondary and tertiary consumers and so on.  The Pollock find this area a favorable habitat for this reason.

So, you can’t catch them all, especially with one or two boats, so what do you do? Use technology! The computers, program software, and technology devices used make the survey possible. Echo sound is proving to be a fantastic way to find and quantify data.

Consider this scenario: It works sort of like this: You are in your bedroom reading when you hear a truck outside. You think, “It’s a big truck,” based on the type of sound and your experience listening to sounds. You knew it was a truck even though you never saw it. In order to confirm what you were hearing was a truck, you tell your mother to look out the window and let you know if it is a truck.  She might yell back, “It’s a fire truck at the neighbor’s house next door!” After she physically sees it, she can provide you with the details by providing color, length, and function of the truck.  The echo-scientists can’t exactly see each individual fish as we go by at 12 knots, but what they can do is be reasonably sure that different sound frequencies bounce back to the sonar equipment in a predictable fashion based on species. I’m informed that the fish’s swim bladders are the telltale sign. They do see a mass of colors and bunches on the computer monitor, but you can’t measure that information yet until confirmed.  Even jellyfish have their own particular patterns as do krill, and whales for that matter. The next step is to have a system to indeed find out for sure that the fish are there.

This is the part where mom is your eyewitness.  Fisheries scientists then return to the site by using satellite technology to where the characteristic patterns are detected.  Then a trawl net is lowered and dragged. What is caught is recorded.  My experience here in four trawls has shown 100% accuracy each time!  We take the collected specimens and put them on a 10ft x12ft x10-inch table for sorting.  We sort by species, gender, weight, and other collectable characteristics requested by the lead biologist. We now have the specifics of the truck, and the Pollock for that matter, based on circumstantial and physical evidence. Sounds a bit like CSI doesn’t it? A sample of less than four hundred fish is desired to make the data collection a success.  Often we get more.  The sorted data is entered in the computer and the information is combined with the cumulative data of the survey to demonstrate trends and density results for the Walleye Pollock.

Personal Log 

The MILLER FREEMAN doesn’t turn off the engine.  This diesel-powered ship runs all the time!  As we transect the grid course day in and day out, the boat maintains a rate of about 12 knots. The only time it slows is during trawl operations.  Trawling occurs when the chief scientist feels it would be good to get a sample of what she sees on the four sonar frequencies. The result to your ears is comparable to a commercial jet airliner from inside the coach.  I’d say the crew is totally used to it.  It actually seems to help me sleep!

I have participated in four Pollock hauls now.  They have all been successes!  It takes about two, to two and a half hours to conduct the scientific processing of a catch.  It is pretty slimy business!

Did You Know? 

British Scientists are researching the slime found on fish to develop a drug that would defend the body against diseases. The hope is to replicate the protection properties that fish provide to trout on our bodies. Could you imagine your roll on slime dispenser? I’m sure that’s not what they have in mind!

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Dennis Starkey
Onboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 16 – August 4, 2006

Mission: Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Bering Sea
Date: July 17, 2006

Science and Technology Log 

We made a krill trawl today to check the sonar equipment.  It was a check on one of the primary food sources of the Pollock and it helps the echo-integration specialists hone their skills at identifying Pollock versus other schools of marine organisms.  The trawling device was designed to catch a small bucket of krill of which it did. The specimens were weighed and then photographed on a scanner for later base study analysis. The greatest thing about the cruise so far is the warm, helpful welcome I received on board and the willingness of everyone to spend some time with me to share conversation, and bring me up to speed on what is taking place.

Personal Log 

I had a few days to visit Dutch Harbor while the scientific staff rotated and the ship restocked. The most impressive observation for most people living in the lower forty-eight states must be the abundance of our national bird, the Bald Eagle.  They congregate here for the free fish that spill overboard at one of the many fishing plants. They are rather like pigeons here. The harsh climate does not suit trees well so the eagles perch on the hillsides and, more often, on the store rooftops and streetlights right in town.

Living on the 205ft MILLER FREEMAN takes some getting used to.  I am not accustomed to the small living quarters on board yet.  I am rooming with the two Russian scientists in a “cozy” 54 sq. ft. bunkroom. I sleep on the top bunk and have been pleasantly lulled to sleep by the drone of the engine the past two nights.  The sea has been calm but overcast.  I have had the chance to see Minke whales, Dall’s porpoises, fur seals, and incredible amounts of sea birds!  I have been getting used to the many hatches, decks, and stairways. I still find myself laughing out loud when I come to a dead end or the wrong deck just trying to get to my room.