Julia Harvey

July 31, 2013March 12, 2021

Julia Harvey: Determining Population Size/A Day in My Life Cruising, July 27, 2013

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Julia Harvey
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson (NOAA Ship Tracker)
July 22 – August 10, 2013

Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska
Date: 7/27/13

Weather Data from the Bridge (at 1:00 am Alaskan time):

Wind Speed = 3.52 knots
Air Temperature = 13.6 C
Humidity = 94%
Barometric Pressure = 1025.5 mb

Science and Technology Log:

How can you determine the population size of species?

You could count every member of the population. This would be the most accurate but what if the population moves around a lot? What if the population is enormous and requires too much time to count each and every one? Would you want to count all of the krill in the Gulf of Alaska?

Krill — The greyish fish are capelin. The pink organisms are krill.

You could mark and recapture. In this method you catch individuals from the population and tag them. Data are compiled from the recaptures and the population is mathematically calculated. Halibut and many other populations are monitored this way and require fishermen to report any recaptures.

Tagged Halibut
photo courtesy of Greenland Institute of Natural Resources

Another method is sampling. The organisms in a small area are counted and then the overall population in the entire area is calculated.

line_transect — Using a transect to sample a population.
Photo courtesy of http://www.kscience.co.uk/as/module5/succession/fieldwork.htm

This picture above illustrates the use of a transect line. On various increments along the transect line, samples of populations are taken. Imagine the Oscar Dyson’s path as the measuring tape and the trawl net as the sampling square.

The overall survey area of the pollock study this summer is the northern Gulf of Alaska between the shore and the continental break. Within this area transect lines were established. These are pathways that the Oscar Dyson will travel along and periodically take samples of the fish.

Transect Plan — The pollock summer survey is broken into three legs. I am part of leg 3.
Photo courtesy of NOAA

The current set of transects are 25 nautical miles (1 nautical mile is equal to 1 minute of latitude) apart and are parallel but transects in other areas may be 2 or 5 miles apart. Transects that we are following now are located on the shelf and are perpendicular to the coastline. Transects in inlets and bays may run differently and may even zigzag.

OD Current Cruise — Leg 3 left from Kodiak and is moving eastward for the survey.
Photo courtesy of NOAA

If fish are located through acoustics, the ship will break transect (a mark is made on the map) and the ship will circle around and a sample of the population is taken by trawling. The population of pollock can then be mathematical calculated. After trawling, the ship will return to the break and continue along the transect line.

This afternoon, we were working smaller transect lines near Amatuli Trench that were 6 miles apart. It is an area that has had good pollock catches. Just when we were going to fish, a pod of fin whales was spotted in the area. So we moved to another area and hauled in quite the catch of Pacific Ocean perch.

POP Haul — After fish are caught they are processed in the fish lab. Here we are processing the Pacific Ocean perch.

It is hopeful that the Oscar Dyson will finish a transect line by nightfall and then the ship can be at the next transect by sunrise. This maximizes the time looking for fish and trawling.

Personal Log:

I am settling into life on the Oscar Dyson and have established a routine that will support my night shift (4 pm to 4 am). So how do I spend 24 hours on the ship?

I wake up around 11:45 in the morning to be able to eat lunch that is served only between 11:00 and 12:00. Because of the shift schedules, some people are bound to miss one or more of the meals. I miss breakfast because I am sleeping. We are able to request a plate of food be saved for later.

Between the end of lunch and the start of my shift, there are several things that I can do. The weather has been very nice and so I often go on deck to soak up the sun and whale watch.

Whale watching — Can you spot the fin whales?

I may need to do laundry as my clothes start to smell fishy.

Laundry Room — We are lucky to have a laundry room on board. It meant I did not have to bring many clothes.

I will also workout in one of the two gyms. The gym at the back of the boat can’t be used when trawling because of the high noise level. There is a rower, two exercise bikes, two treadmills, a cross trainer, mats and weights. I got lucky and someone installed a makeshift pull up bar.

Front exercise room — This is the exercise room towards the bow of the ship.

Back Exercise Room — This is the exercise room toward the stern of the ship.

There is also a lounge where I can read or watch DVDs. Some of the movies are still in theaters.

An hour before my shift starts, I read and take a short nap. Then, I grab a cup of coffee at 4 pm as my shift starts. I listen as the day shift fills in the evening shift about the happenings of the last 12 hours.

During my shift, there are several things that I may do. If we have fished, there will be pollock and other organisms to process.

Processing pollock — Here Jodi, Kirsten and I are processing the pollock by determining their sex. Then, they will be measuresd weighed and their otoliths removed.

After processing, we need to clean up the fish lab which involves spraying down everything include ourselves with water to remove scales and slime.

I also keep an eye on the acoustic monitors, to see what I can recognize. Paul and Darin are always willing to answer my questions (even the ones I already asked).

Acoustics Screens — The four screens of acoustic data. From these screens, Paul will determine whether to fish.

I may look at trawl camera footage or observe camera drops. Drop Camera

I also have time to work on my blog.

Work Space — I have set myself up an area in the “Cave” to write my blog.

Dinner is served at 5 pm but the mess is always open and is filled with snacks such as sandwich fixings, ice cream, yoghurt, a salad bar and pop tarts.

Whenever I get hungry at night, I just head for the mess. It is a time that I am able to chat with the crew and NOAA Corps as they come in for snacks too.

At 4 am, I make it a point to head directly to my stateroom and go to sleep. The room has a window but I can close the curtains on the portlight (window) and around my bed.

There are no weekends out here. Everyone works 7 days a week for the duration of the cruise.

Did You Know?

Usually fin whales show only their back as they surface for air. Check out my video clip and see if you can spot the whale. It wasn’t too close.

July 24, 2013March 12, 2021

Julia Harvey: Yakutat or Bust, July 23, 2013

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Julia Harvey
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson (NOAA Ship Tracker)
July 22 – August 10, 2013

Mission: Walleye Pollock Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska
Date: July 22, 2013

Weather Data from the Bridge: (7/23/13 at 11 pm)
Wind Speed = 13 knots
Air Temperature = 12.7 C
Humidity = 93%
Barometric Pressure = 1017 mb

Science and Technology Log:

There is a great deal of hope to complete the survey, which is supposed to end near Yakutat in the southeast of Alaska. It began near the islands of Four Mountains during leg 1. We are on leg 3, the final leg this summer. Leg 3 began in Kodiak. Three Legs of the Survey

Gulf of Alaska Map — Kodiak Island is the green marker and Yakutat Bay is the red.

The purpose of this cruise is to survey the walleye pollock (Theragra chalcogramma) in the Gulf of Alaska. Pollock is a significant fishery in the United States as well as the world. Pollock is processed into fish sticks, fish patties and imitation crab. Last year, about 3 million tons of pollock were caught in North Pacific. The scientists on board will collect data to determine the pollock biomass and age structure. These data are used with results from other independent surveys to establish the total allowable pollock catch.

According to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, pollock can grow to about 3 ½ feet and weigh about 13 lbs. More typically the pollock are approximately 50 cm (20 in) and weigh .75 kg (1.7 lbs). They live in the water column and feed on krill, zooplankton and other crustaceans. As they age they will eat juvenile pollock and other small fishes such as capelin, eulachon and herring as well. Sexual maturity is reached around age 4. Spawning and fertilization occurs in the water column in early spring. The eggs stay in the water column and once hatched are part of the zooplankton until they are free swimming.

The general process used to catch the pollock involves multiple parts. I will break down those steps in a series of blogs. But basically, acoustics are used to locate fish in the water column. Once the scientists have located the fish along the transect (transects are the paths that the ship will travel on so the scientists can collect data), the Oscar Dyson sets out a trawl equipped with a camera. The trawl is brought in and data from the catch is documented. And then the ship continues on.

Trawling is usually completed only during daylight hours. Fortunately the sun does not set here in Alaska right now until after 10 pm. When it is dark, work aboard the Oscar Dyson continues. Jodi is documenting the sea floor with a drop camera. She is looking at life that is there as well as potential threats to the trawl nets for the bottom trawl surveys.

Questions:

How do scientists use acoustics to locate pollock?
How are the transects locations determined?
How are pollock and the rest of the catch processed?
What information is retrieved from the trawl camera?
What is a bottom trawl and how is it different from a mid-water trawl?

Personal Log:

We left Kodiak at 1 pm on July 22 heading southwest.

We had 8 hours of travel time before we would reach our first transect. But before we got too far away from Kodiak, we needed to practice the three drills for the safety of everyone. The fire drill and man overboard drill required me to report to the conference room and meet up with the rest of the science team. Patrick, the lead scientist, then reported that we were all accounted for. The crew had more complex tasks of deploying a small boat and retrieving “the man overboard”.

The other drill was the abandon ship drill. We are assigned to a lifeboat and I reported to my muster on the portside of the trawl deck with my survival suit, long sleeve shirt, hat and life preserver. We will have drills weekly at anytime.

For the last two days I have been becoming oriented to the ship and to my responsibilities to the science team. Jodi, a post doctorate from Juneau gave us a tour of the boat on the first day we arrived in Kodiak. I then practiced finding all of the key parts of the ship I will need to access. I now am confident that I can find my stateroom, the mess, laundry room, both exercise spaces, acoustics lab, and fish lab. For other sites, I wander around for a while until I locate it.

A Door — Many doors on the the Oscar Dyson are water tight. They must be latched after passing through them.

My first shift began at 4 pm on Monday. There are two shifts for scientists. Some work 4 am to 4 pm and the others work 4 pm to 4 am. I work the night shift. I never drink coffee but today I realized that I needed it. My shift includes scientists Paul, Jodi and Darin as well as a survey tech named Vince. We all share staterooms with people who work the opposite shift.

Science Team in Cave — The night shift science team includes Paul, Darin and Jodi (left to right). They monitor the fish in the acoustics lab also known as “The Cave”.

The ocean is very calm but most of us took Bonine (a seasickness medication) anyway to acclimate to the movement. Hopefully we will be adjusted to the motion before the seas get very rough if it does. The rocking of the boat does make one very sleepy.

Cruising the Gulf of Alaska — The sea have been very calm for us.

Did You Know?

The requirements for joining the NOAA Corps include a bachelor’s degree in science, math or engineering and a 5 month program at the US Coast Guard Academy in New London, CT. This is Abby’s second cruise with the NOAA Corps. She has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and just completed her NOAA officer basic training.

Something to Think About:

What is a day in the life aboard the Oscar Dyson like?

July 19, 2013March 12, 2021

Julia Harvey: A Dream Revisited/Getting Ready to Sail, July 18, 2013

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Julia Harvey
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson (NOAA Ship Tracker)
July 22 – August 9, 2013

Mission: Alaska Walleye Pollock Survey
Geographical Area: Gulf of Alaska
Date: July 18, 2013

My name is Julia Harvey and I currently teach biology and environmental science at South Eugene High School in Eugene, Oregon. Eugene is at the southern end of the Willamette Valley and just a short drive from the Pacific Ocean. I have taken many trips over the coastal range to Florence and the beautiful Oregon Coast.

And while the weather is not always cooperative, the ocean is always gorgeous. This last spring I took a group of students on a short marine discovery cruise out of Newport, where NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has based their Marine Operations Center for the Pacific.

Marine Operations for the Pacific — Marine Operations Center for the Pacific located in Newport, Oregon
photo courtesy of noaa

It was my dream since 2^nd grade to become a marine biologist. Mrs. Hellwege inspired me to learn more about the ocean as we studied marine mammals. My career path remained unchanged as I attended Occidental College and spent time on the college’s boat the Vantuna. I put my academic education on hold after graduating to serve in the Peace Corps. My passion for the sea continued while I was stationed in the South Pacific on an island in the Kingdom of Tonga. But as I became a teacher, I realized the perfect career would combine my love for biology and my new love of teaching. 22 years later, I now have to opportunity to revisit my childhood dream.

I learned about the NOAA Teacher at Sea program as I was taking an Oceanic Studies course. I decided to apply last October because I wished to connect my students directly with current research that is impacting our ocean environment. I also wanted to learn first hand how oceanic data was being collected since I have been out of the lab setting for quite some time. I was ecstatic when I learned in February that I was selected to sail. I am truly honored and appreciate the opportunity to involve my students in oceanic research and to present to them potential oceanic careers.

I will be sailing in the Gulf of Alaska aboard the Oscar Dyson and participating in a Walleye pollock fish population survey. Walleye pollock is the largest fisheries in the United States and one of the largest in the world. These fish become fish sticks, fish sandwiches and imitation crab. I am looking forward to learning more about the science involved in assessing a fish population. What makes fisheries healthy and sustainable?

My bags are packed with clothes, cameras, workouts, books and lots of enthusiasm. I am excited beyond description. I will be blogging several times a week and I hope you will continue to follow my journey at sea.