NOAA Teacher at Sea
Mechelle Shoemake
Onboard NOAA Ship Oregon II
June 19 – 30, 2010
Mission: SEAMAP Groundfish Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Northwestern Gulf of Mexico
Date: Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Weather Data from the Bridge
Time: 0000 hours (12:00pm)
Position: Latitude = 28.45.067 N; Longitude = 091.35.189 W
Present Weather: cloudy
Visibility: 6 nautical miles
Wind Speed: 8 knots
Wave Height: 4-6 foot swells
Sea Water Temp: 29.8 degrees Celsius
Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 27.3 degrees Celsius;
Wet bulb = 26.2 degrees Celsius
Science and Technology Log
The Groundfish Survey’s purpose is to find out what species are here in the Gulf how many, and their size, sex, and maturity status. On average the trawl produces at least 20-40 different species on each tow. The type of trawl used on the Oregon II is the Bottom Otter Trawl. The deck hands put the net out, it trawls for around 30 minutes, and it is then pulled back in by the deck hands. The catch is then placed in basket where it is weighed and then separated by species Each species is then individually weighed, measured, and sexed.
We caught a nice red snapper that will be sent back to the lab for testing. It will also be determined if the oil spill had any effect on the fish, shrimp, crabs, and other species we caught. We also took some more water samples using the CTD to determine how much oil is in the water. We We used the Neuston net and the Bongo nets to gather plankton, which is also being collected for testing. The Neuston gathers plankton on the surface while the Bongo nets gather plankton all the way from the bottom of the gulf to the surface. This plankton is then placed inglass jars with a preservative Twenty-four hours later the plankton is transferred to a lesser preservative. The initial set sample is too strong for long storage. The plankton samples are then sent to Poland to a specialized plankton lab. In this lab, the plankton is identified to the family level. It is then sent back to the NOAA labs where it is identified to the species level. It was amazing to see all the little critters in the jar. There were so many of them.
Later in the day, we did another trawl….the catch of the day. Well it was a tire! It did have two little critters living in it, though. They were both identified and weighed and then frozen and packaged for the lab. The speculated reason for the trawl producing so few specis what’s called hypoxia. Hypoxia is the depletion of the oxygen in the water. If there is no oxygen,the fish and many other species cannot live. You can read more about hypoxia at http://www.ncddc.gov.
To the right is a frog fish that we found living in the tire. It has a trick to catch its food. The tentacle on the top of the head acts as a lure to attracts its prey. When a smaller fish comes by to eat what it thinks is food at the end of the frog fish’s lure…..well it gets caught and the frog fish eats the little fish. This frog fish still had its dinner in its mouth.
To the left is a picture of the last trawl that my shift made. You can see that this catch was full of shrimp and little crabs. We had to turn back towards Texas due to Tropical Storm Alex, which is forecasted by NOAA’s National Weather Service to become a hurricane by tomorrow. It’s too dangerous for the ship to be out in weather like that.
Personal Log
Well, I can say that this has definitely been an adventure of a lifetime. I have enjoyed my voyage with all of my new NOAA friends. They have taught me a lot. As I am writing this, we are sailing back to port in Galveston, TX. As I said earlier, we had to cut our trip short due to Tropical Storm Alex. Believe me, I know he is out there. Our ship is rolling with the waves. I had a quick lesson in securing my belongings. You never know what you might encounter when you go to sea. Thanks to NOAA for giving me this opportunity.
