Jojo Chang – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 14, 2025August 14, 2025

Jojo Chang: Let’s Drink Some Salt Water! July 14, 2025

Jojo poses for a photo at the rail of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. She wears a Teacher at Sea beanie, a long-sleeved Bell M. Shimada shirt, and she flashes a peace sign. In the background, we see the Golden Gate Bridge.

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jojo Chang

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

June 30 – July 15, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 2)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Date: July 14, 2025

a group photo of 11 people on the flying bridge of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. we can see the mountains and fog bank in the distance; the water reflects a white, cloudy sky. — Science team group photo

Weather Data from the Bridge

It is our last full day at sea, and the visibility is minimal. Currently, the bridge is reporting a temperature of 57.2°F and a wind speed of 19 knots. Our sky condition is OVC, with the entire sky filled with clouds; additionally, there is a lot of fog. Our OPS officer, Brandon Schleiger, emptied the mess hall of every human soul eating lunch when he reported over the loudspeaker, “There is a blue whale spotted port side, very close…maybe about 100 yards.”

Blue whale spotted port side of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

Surrounded by Salt Water

The number three is an important one for human survival. It has been said that humans will die after three minutes without oxygen, three days without water, and three weeks without food. On the Shimada, both oxygen and food have been plentiful, but the water situation is an interesting story. For a human stranded at sea, the ocean becomes a desert, and finding freshwater might require some unpleasant alternatives like eating fish eyeballs or drinking turtle blood—definitely (and thankfully) not on Chef Phil’s menu. Drinking salt water is generally a bad idea, as it can lead to further dehydration.

On board NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, desalination is happening all the time—like magic, but with a lot more plumbing. I interviewed Matt Swanson (First Assistant Engineer) about how this salt-to-sip transformation happens. The ship has two methods for converting salt water into freshwater: flash evaporators and reverse osmosis. Let’s talk about flash evaporation, which sounds like a superhero skill, but it’s just advanced engineering. First, there are two types of water involved with this: jacket water and salt water. Jacket water is water that’s purchased on land. It is dyed traffic-cone orange and used to cool down the ship’s engines, which get much hotter than an August car seat in Arizona.

Using saltwater for this function would be a one-way ticket to Rustville for the engine’s metal parts, so it’s 100% jacket water for Shimada’s engines. As it circulates through, it absorbs engine heat, becoming hot enough to help boil the nearby saltwater—but don’t worry, the two waters never actually touch. They’re separated by titanium plates like awkward dance partners at a middle school dance. When the steam turns back into water, voila! Shimada’s got distilled water that can be used for drinking, showering, and flushing toilets.

a blue water bottle placed into a water filling station mounted in the wall; it is being filled with water. — Desalinated water station

Home for me is on the island of Oʻahu. Here, we’re surrounded by saltwater on all sides—but surprisingly, we don’t have a way to convert seawater to drinkable water on a large scale. Hopefully, at some point in the future, this situation may change. Improvements in Hawaii happen slowly. Twenty years ago, a seawater desalination facility was approved by Congress. With a projected cost of $204 million, the Kalaeloa Seawater Desalination Facility is designed to produce 1.7 million gallons of freshwater per day, drawn and desalinated straight from the ocean. Oahu desperately needs this important resource for fresh water, but unfortunately, the project is still awaiting permit approval.

Science: Environmental DNA

the conductivity, temperature, and depth rosette rests on a black plastic mat on deck — The Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) rosette includes a ring of water sampling bottles.

Environmental DNA, or eDNA, is nature’s version of leaving fingerprints—except instead of prints, organisms leave behind tiny traces of genetic material in the water. Fish, mammals, birds… they’re all unknowingly contributing to a floating soup of clues. By collecting just a bit of water, scientists can discover the species that have recently passed through, like detectives reading the guest list to an underwater party.

Why take eDNA samples? NOAA reports that eDNA can identify species and characterize their role in the area’s food web and ecosystem. Also, it offers a powerful, non-invasive way to monitor marine life without disturbing it—no giant nets, no hake fish hauls mixed in with baby sharks called spiny dogfish. This new technology allows scientists to gather information without bycatch.

Jojo, in a Teacher at Sea beanie, orange coat and overalls, and black gloves, holds up a small shark for a photo. a woman in orange overalls stands next to her, smiling. — Jojo holds a spiny dogfish

Spiny dogfish are sticky! This large haul of hake fish was so stuck together with the dogfish that we had to pull out the fire hose to get them out of the hopper.

Maddy and Sam are eDNA NOAA scientists. According to Sam, there are about 100 specific sampling stations along the U.S. West Coast (excluding Alaska), where water is collected and sampled for ocean species each year. In 2024 alone, the Pacific NOAA team took approximately 2,500 water samples.

portrait photo of two women dressed in warm jackets leaning toward one another and smiling for the camera; words superimposed on the image read Sam and Maddy, Environmental DNA — NOAA scientists Sam and Maddy study environmental DNA.

Despite being a non-invasive way to sample species, there are a few drawbacks to this research method. According to Maddy, there is no way to currently assess the age or sex of the fish being surveyed through eDNA methods. This limits a scientist’s ability to know the health and future of a species. As eDNA improves, it may be possible to create a full picture of a fish population. For now, eDNA and fish trawling surveys are working together to get a better picture of what is happening under the sea.

Visual Art and Music in Seafloor Mapping and Acoustics:

Oceantransect lines

During a “leg” at sea, NOAA scientist Rebecca Thomas (respectfully called “RT” by her science crew) calls herself a “fancy fish finder.” She is not only using sound equipment to locate hake fish underwater, but she is also presenting this information in both visual and musical forms.

Take her ocean floor maps, for example. Mapping the depths of the ocean floor is a remarkable human accomplishment, and knowledge of these depths is important to Rebecca’s work. Rebecca even customized the color palette to match her mental map of the sea—deeper water in darker tones, shallower areas in lighter ones. As she puts it, “It just made more sense.” And it works—the color gradient helps her instantly read depth and spot the elusive “hake snake,” the long, wriggly trail of fish she’s after.

photo of a computer screen displaying a bathymetric map of Monterey Bay. the map is color coded by depth, ranging from dark blue or purple at the deepest to white at the shallowest. the map counters reveal Monterey Submarine Canyon. — Bathymetric map of the seafloor in Monterey Bay

photo of a computer screen showing backscatter from acoustic survey — This is an example of what the “hake snake” looks like on the sonar data. The green wavey line represents what the scientists are looking for. When they see this, they will make a decision on deploying the huge nets to fish.

But she didn’t stop there. Rebecca’s also experimenting with turning sonar data into sound, essentially making music out of marine science. Here she explains a composition she created that includes music for a CTD going down into the ocean, an alarm clock waking her up, and a sunrise. While it’s not the catchy tune of Alan Menken’s, Under the Sea, it is a helpful way to form a greater understanding of an elaborate water world that is challenging for us, land animals, to understand.

Rebecca Thomas is explaining the sound and music she’s added to her sonar data.

Animals Seen Today: Humpback whales, blue whale, Pacific whiteside dolphins, hookarm squid, chili pepper rockfish, tiny octopus, hake, anchovy, purple striped jellyfish, lamprey, seabugs

Jojo and another science team member stand at the sorting table, filled with hake fish. Jojo wears her Teacher at Sea hat. Both women wear orange overalls and long orange gloves, and smile for the camera.

a woman in orange overalls and gloves holds up a red-orange colored fish for a photo in the wet lab

a woman in orange overalls and gloves stands near a sorting table filled with very large jellyfish

two small narrow lampreys on a white surface

close up view of orange-gloved hand showing the permanently open mouth of a lamprey, which is jawless

If possible, it was important to me to help our tiny creatures stay alive.
This octopus is an example of one of my favorite wet lab buddies.

Personal

Another thing—sleeping on this boat? It’s pretty great! In Hawaii, I opt for the ocean breeze over air conditioning, but out here, the cabin turns into an arctic tundra every night. So naturally, I’ve assembled a fortress of five blankets—a Shimada sea cocoon. Sometimes it feels like I’m gently swaying on a waterbed. Other times, it’s a full-blown rolling magic carpet ride through the waves. Either way, I’m snoozing like a champion, beneath a sky full of Pacific fog off the coast of California.

view of bunk beds (berths) in stateroom. they each have heavy sliding curtains. there is a line of drawers beneath the lower berth. — Stateroom

Works Cited

NOAA Ocean Exploration. “Environmental DNA (eDNA).” NOAA Ocean Exploration, 13 Sept. 2022, https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/technology/edna/edna.html. Accessed 12 July 2025.

July 11, 2025July 11, 2025

Jojo Chang: See/Seafood, July 10, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jojo Chang

Aboard Bell M. Shimada

June 30 – July 15, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 2)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Date: July 10, 2025

portrait photo of Jojo wearing a Teacher at Sea beanie, a Teacher at Sea t-shirt, a raincoat, and gloves with cut off fingers. She's on the aft deck an flashes a peace sign with her right hand. — TAS Jojo Chang

Weather Data from the Bridge

It’s noon, and the weather is cloudy and foggy. We are passing the coastal city of Carmel, California, but only a tiny sliver of land is visible from the ship. We are sounding the fog horn and traveling slowly. Currently, the air temperature is 54.5 degrees Fahrenheit, and the wind speed is 14 knots.

Culinary: Art and Science

Let’s talk about Chef Phil, the Chief Steward on board. First things first: we are eating very well out here. And by “well,” I mean gourmet-level delicious. Chef Phil is a culinary artist, crafting remarkable meals that blend creativity and technique, even as the ship rocks and rolls like a theme park ride.

portrait photo of a man wearing a black baseball cap and a black and red apron. He stands in the mess hall with his hands resting on the backs of two dining chairs. Superimposed on the photo are the words: Phil / Chief Steward — Chef Phil Jones

His knife skills? Let’s just say they’re literally “rolling with it.” That’s how he describes chopping food at sea—adjusting in real-time to the ship’s motion.

Chef Phil has a rich background in the culinary world. He once spent six months perfecting the art of sushi rice with Morimoto, the world-renowned Japanese culinarian (made famous for his role on the TV series Iron Chef). Phil has also cooked for Disney at the Hilton Orlando and aboard multiple cruise lines.

Photo of a computer screen displaying the breakfast, lunch, and dinner menus in three columns. The dinner list is Louisiana themed: "duck & andouille gumbo, gator nuggets w/remi, blackened shrimp, dirty rice, cheddar grits, succotash" — Sample daily menu . YES! We did have real gator nuggets.

“I’m not looking for a Michelin Star,” he says. “I just love what I do.”

view of a metal cafetaria bar with the dinner items in removable metal trays. we can see gumbo, nuggets, shrimp, and other dishes beyond. — Louisiana dinner menu

And that love shows—every single day. His food doesn’t just nourish, it brings joy. Thank you, Chef Phil, for making this ship’s mess hall taste like world class cuisine. It’s not a Michelin Star, but I’d give you five Shimada Stars. Chef Phil is assisted by Ted in the mess hall, preparing three amazing meals every day.

portrait of a man wearing a blue baseball cap and making a shaka sign with his left hand. he is standing in the galley. — Ted Partosan: Kitchen assistant

Market Squid

In the wet lab, we encounter the ocean food web on a very real level every day with each trawl that comes up from the depths of the sea. It’s one thing to read about the food web; it’s an entirely different thing to see the organisms arrive in a basket for dissection and inspection. You should know that before I came on this boat, I had only dissected (reluctantly) one small frog in high school biology class. In college and graduate work, I studied education and American literature. There was nothing in my Captain Ahab/Moby Dick thesis paper that prepared me for this experience except background research into the Nantucket whaling industry of the 1800s.

Now, my scalpel skills have become quite remarkable. I have seen the insides of hundreds of hake fish and preserved many an ear bone for science. Inside, I’m telling myself, “I can do hard (and often gross) things.” When I say this is a life-changing experience, I’m not kidding. It is life-changing because of the wonder and amazingness of the life force of the underwater world, which is both fascinating and mysterious. I loved the ocean before I came out here, but now I’m just blown away by the life and living creatures that are under the sea.

One creature that comes into the wet lab regularly is the market squid. At first, they seem rather ordinary, but on further inspection, these creatures have the most beautiful pink, yellow, and brown random polka-dotted pattern. It turns out that this crazy cool feature is called chromatophores (cells that produce color) , and cephalopods use them to communicate, camouflage, and attract a mate.

Most days, we haul in 100s of these remarkable sea squids. The magic can be seen by tapping them lightly, and watching as the polka dots appear. The transformation is fleeting, but amazing. Unfortunately, it is an important feature for live squid, and as they die, they lose the chromatophores.

close up view of the skin of a squid; it has a translucent background but is covered in magenta spots of varying intensity — Chromatophores on market squid.

Video showing how the polka dots magically appear and disappear.

Fish Vocabulary

So, I have all these new science friends, and at first, they seem like totally normal ocean-loving people—you know, the kind who go on coastal vacations, talk about scuba diving, and swap fishing stories. But get them into the wet lab? Suddenly, it’s like flipping a switch. These folks light up over fish ovaries, otoliths, and fin clips like they just unwrapped an Apple Watch on Christmas morning—or scored Tiffany diamonds from a secret admirer. I’ve never seen someone so genuinely thrilled to dissect a hake fish. It’s both impressive and slightly shocking. However, what I see with everyone on board, from the deck crew to the engineers, is joy in their occupation. There’s a passion and a purpose to what they are doing that is both impressive and heartwarming.

Sabrina Beyer inspecting fish ovaries through a microscope.

two women in bright orange overalls stand at a metal table in the wet lab. they are both looking down and pointing at a wirebound fish field guide laying flat on the table. — Sabrina Beyer inspecting fish ovaries through a microscope.

Before arriving on this boat, I had never heard of an otolith, aka oties. This is a fish ear stone or ear bone, and is the most commonly used item for understanding the age of a fish. Scientists count the rings on a pair of otoliths to age a fish much like they count the rings on tree. Ear stones and tree rings are like nature’s timekeepers and just as trees lay down a new ring each year as they grow, many fish form growth rings on their otoliths. These rings can be counted to estimate the fish’s age, offering a biological calendar etched in bone.

extremely close up view of a pair of otoliths against a spongy green background. the otoliths are nearly mirrors of one another, very elongated, and we can see faint gray rings, like contour lines. against their white background. — A large pair of hake otholiths.
They look like feathers.

Jojo, wearing a jacket, a bandana, and a backpack, stands at a very large tree cross section, holding her hand up as if to present it. The tree cookie has been annotated with small metal signs noting major historical events in the tree's lifetime. — A large pair of hake otholiths.
They look like feathers.

Both items that appear in Mother Nature’s patterns reflect changes in growth rate, which are influenced by environmental conditions. For trees, wider rings typically suggest years of good rainfall and favorable climate, while narrow rings indicate harsher times. Similarly, in fish, the spacing between otolith rings can vary depending on water temperature, food availability, and seasonal changes. Scientists aboard NOAA ships collect fish oties because they tell a hidden story about the life history and environment of the organism.

These ear bones are important to living fish for other reasons. According to NOAA Fisheries, “Otoliths are part of the fish’s inner ear, allowing fish to hear and sense vibrations in the water and providing a sense of balance so they may better navigate their surroundings.” Once, when my children were small, we had a pet fish named “Bubbles”. Bubbles swam upside down. I guess he must have had an otie issue.

Animals recently spotted from the ship or in the wet lab

Common dolphin, Risso’s dolphin, rockfish, dogfish shark, strawberry squid, baby octopus, hake, butterfish, anchovy, market squid, king of the salmon

Live dogfish shark on board.

Three women work together to hold up a rather long, perhaps 4 ft, narrow fish with a large eye above a large bin of much smaller fish. The women all wear bright orange or yellow foul weather gear, personal flotation devices, and hard hats. Jojo stands at left and holds the fish's tail; the two other women hold the middle and the head. in the background, through a doorway, we see two other science team members and a portion of the trawl net. — Bringing in a ribbon fish known as king of the salmon. This is fish is not a salmon but is named such because of the legend that it leads salmon to its spawning area.

Works Cited

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “Age and Growth.” NOAA Fisheries, 28 Feb. 2025, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/science-data/age-and-growth.

July 9, 2025July 9, 2025

Jojo Chang: NOAA Corps – Making “Mission: Impossible” Possible, July 6, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jojo Chang

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

June 30 – July 15, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 2)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Date: July 6, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge

At 4:00 p.m., the temperature was 57.2°F (14°C). Our boat position was 35/17.2 North Latitude and 121/30.2 West Longitude. The sky was OVC 8 oktas, which indicates that all eight sections of the sky were filled with clouds.

Career Log: NOAA stands for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Onboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada are nine officers serving in the NOAA corps. This is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States government. NOAA Corps is a non-military branch that works to assist with ocean and atmospheric research. There is an application process to join NOAA Corps, and once selected, training is facilitated at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. According to the Commanding Officer Jeff Pereira, NOAA Corps’ job on this mission is to keep the crew and ship safe on the open waters at sea and to navigate the boat, ensuring success in both research and operations.

portrait photo of a woman wearing a navy blue NOAA Corps t-shirt (over a black long-sleeved shirt) and sunglasses, standing on the aft deck of the ship. Words superimposed on the photo read: Sanam / Ensign / NOAA Corps — Sanam, NOAA Corps Ensign

portrait photo of a man wearing a navy blue sweater, standing on deck. Words superimposed on the photo read: Aras / NOAA Corps / Senior Watch Officer — Sanam, NOAA Corps Ensign

Additionally, onboard there are many amazing deckhands who help with the challenging and somewhat dangerous operation of bringing the fishing nets in and out of the ocean.

portrait photo of a man wearing an orange t-shirt and a baseball cap, standing in the mess hall. Words superimposed over the photo read: Randy / Acting Chief Bosun

portrait of a man wearing a balck jacket and black overalls standing in a hallway, holding a cup of coffee and pointing upward slightly to acknowledge the photographer; words superimposed on the photo read Jimmy / Assistant Bosun

portrait photo of a man wearing a gray hoodie sweatshirt. it is hard to make out the background, but he stands on deck in front of gray skies and gray sea. words superimposed on the photo read: Shawn / Fisherman

portrait photo of a man in a beige t-shirt, standing in a hallway of the ship. words superimposed on photo read: Roy / Vessel Assistant

One particularly notable (and somewhat cinematic) event during our time at sea was the mid-cruise transfer of an additional crew member by small boat. Due to an unexpected medical emergency, one of the originally scheduled crew members critical to deck operations was unable to join the expedition, leaving the ship shorthanded for round-the-clock fishing and research duties.

view over the railing of an upper deck of a small vessel approaching the larger ship. we can see land not far away. the water is teal blue and the sky is mostly clear.

view over the railing from an upper deck at a small boat pulled alongside the larger ship. crewmembers on the vessel wear bright orange float coats.

To remedy this, a coordinated transfer was executed involving a small Coast Guard vessel and the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. The NOAA Corps officers navigated the maneuver with impressive precision, transforming what could have been a logistical headache into what felt like a scene straight out of Mission: Impossible. The transfer was successful: the new crew member leaped—quite literally—onto the Shimada. With his arrival, we were once again fully staffed for 24/7 scientific operations.

Mammal Watch

The flying bridge is at the very top of the boat, so we get to see some interesting things up there. One fantastic and rare sighting happened when we spotted several humpback whales united in coming up to the surface to feed. According to fish biologist Sabrina Beyer, whales will make a circle around the fish and then travel up through the circle for an awesome meal.

This behavior is further explained by Augliere¹:

Around the world, humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) use bubble-nets to trap certain prey such as krill, herring, and young salmon, sometimes in coordinated groups and at times alone. The whales dive down below their prey and swim in circles while releasing bubbles from their blowholes to create a rising curtain. The curtain creates a visual barrier that tricks the prey into thinking there’s no escape. Once the prey is tightly corralled, the whales lunge through the bubble-net with open mouths to swallow their meal.

photo of three humback whales, mouths agape, breaking through the surface of aquamarine water. they are surrounded by feeding gulls. — Photo by Roland Schumann on Unsplash

Additionally, one important part of the scientist’s job is called “mammal watch.” This is usually done from the bridge before fishing nets are placed into the water. Watching the ocean helps reduce the chance that a mammal like a dolphin or a whale gets stuck in the fishing nets. Last night, we had many dolphin sightings and had to move the boat to another location. This delayed fishing for several hours.

Did You Know?

Did you know that there are 15 NOAA ships in operation? Being from Hawaii, I’m particularly interested in the vessels stationed there. Hopefully, once back in Hawaii, I can arrange a tour for my students of the NOAA Oscar Elton Sette. The ship’s home port is Honolulu, Hawaii.

Animals Seen Today: Butterfish, Storm Petrel, Hake, Octopus, Market Squid, Anchovies.

Today’s catch brought in a small batch of our target fish – hake – along with other ocean creatures, including the adorable butterfish. But the real scene-stealer wasn’t a fish at all. A small storm petrel has unofficially joined the crew, making himself quite at home aboard NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada. With his sleek webbed feet built for water paddling, he’s more sea-worthy than the rest of us. We haven’t caught him in flight yet, but his dinner situation is well taken care of.

At mealtime, scientist, Amanda Vitale, casually announced, “I’ve got a squid in my pocket.” This nice little gourmet offering was for Mr. Storm Petrel, named Jeff, after our Commanding Officer. Only an oceanographer would stroll into dinner toting a cephalopod takeout menu. How funny!

Jojo, wearing a Teacher at Sea beanie, overalls, and bright orange gloves, holds up a butterfish for a photo and smiles for the camera. she is in the wet lab.

a dark-colored bird stands o two outstretched hands; we see equipment in the background that is hard to make out

Works Cited:

Augliere, Bethany. “How Humpback Whales Use Bubbles as a Tool.” National Geographic, 26 Aug. 2024, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/humpback-whales-bubbles-tools. Accessed 9 July 2025. ↩︎

July 7, 2025July 7, 2025

Jojo Chang: The People in the NOAA Shimada Neighborhood, July 3, 2025

a woman smiles for the camera as she works to pull the hood of the survival suit over her head. she's standing on deck and there are other suits lying around and other crewmembers getting dressed.

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jojo Chang

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

June 30 – July 15, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 2)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Date: July 3, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge

7 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time

Currently, the air temperature is 14.3°C (57.7°F). The wind speed is 8.2 knots.

Science and Technology Log

These are some of the people in my new neighborhood! There are many different jobs and career titles on board NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. It is an interesting learning experience investigating the human work that goes on at sea. The ship occupations are broken down into the following categories: science, engineering, ship management, NOAA Corps, survey technology, electronics, and stewarding. Today, I will be writing about the scientists.

Science

On the science side, many different scientists are doing fascinating work on board. Here I will review just a few. Many of the scientists have PhDs and work in the exact field they researched in their graduate studies. Sabrina, Zach, and Melissa are fish biologists. They work directly in the lab, counting, dissecting, and investigating the health, population, and biology of the fish.

portrait photo of a woman wearing a purple beanie and an orange jacket, hands in pockets and smiling for the camera. she is standing in the wet lab next to a long metal table. — Sabrina, Fish Biologist

Most of their work on this voyage is focused on two different types of fish populations: hake, and coastal pelagic species (CPS) (which include Pacific sardine, Pacific mackerel, Jack Mackerel, Northern Anchovy, Market Squid, and Krill.)

In addition to the biologists, we have a research economist, a software engineer, and a satellite oceanographer on board. These three scientists have volunteered to be on the ship for both the adventure and to get a better understanding of how their work combines with other NOAA research.

a young woman with long hair wearing a white sweatshirt poses for a photo near a poster of a ship. The poster's title, in recognizable font, jokes: "The Lore of the Shimada, Fellowship of the Integrated." — Phoebe, Research Economist

a woman wearing a black shirt and two unzipped outer layaors smiles for a portrait photo. she stands on the aft deck in front of the A-frame. — Phoebe, Research Economist

For example, Melina helped expand, adapt, and add functionality to a computer program called CLAMS: Catch Logger for Acoustic Midwater Surveys. The scientists work with this program in the wet lab to capture and record important data about the fish populations they are studying.

photo of a computer screen showing the homepage of the CLAMS V3.0 program. It reads CLAMS V3.0, Catch Logger for Acoustic Midwater Surveys, Ship: Bell M. Shimada, Survey: 202506, options to "Log Event," "Enter Catch," "Utilities," "Administration," "Exit." In the background there is an image of a large school of fish, as well as two cartoon sardines running on legs (wearing shoes.) — Homescreen for the CLAMS computer program

Personal Log

On the first day at sea, we practiced safety drills for fire/emergency and for the unusual occurrence of having to abandon ship. Being able to put on a survival suit is critical to an individual’s safety in the event of having to enter the water because it will protect them from hypothermia. In these photos, our crew is on deck and practicing drills to get into the survival suit. It is a bit like trying to put a chicken into a prom dress, but I managed to get it on with a little help and instructions from my crewmates.

A woman wearing a Teacher at Sea beanie and t shirt stands on deck, partially dressed in a thick orange neoprene survival suit. she smiles down as she uses her right arm to pull her left down into the arm of the suit. in the background we see piles of survival suits and other crewmembers working to don them. — Jojo works on getting her left arm into the survival suit

a woman, barely visible, stands in a survival suit with her gloved hands raised for a photo — Ta da!

Did You Know?

On board the NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada, there is a specialized acoustics lab that plays a vital role in scientific research. Currently, this lab is actively collecting meteorological, geophysical, and biological data from along the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. Meteorological data includes information about weather conditions, such as wind patterns, temperature, and atmospheric pressure. Geophysical data refers to the physical characteristics of the seafloor, including its composition, structure, and topography. Meanwhile, biological data focuses on the living organisms found in this underwater environment—particularly the fish species being studied. Together, this data provides crucial information concerning the ocean’s dynamic systems that propel scientific work.

Biological data is especially essential for the scientists aboard the NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada. To collect this information, the ship uses sound waves that are sent down into the water to detect fish. When these sound waves encounter schools of fish, they bounce back and generate an image on a monitor. Chief Scientist Rebecca Thomas explains that this process is similar to the echolocation used by dolphins to navigate and locate food in the ocean.

Expanding on this, research fish scientist Steve De Blois describes how the resulting acoustic map helps identify different species. For example, hake appear as a green, wavy snake deep in the epipelagic, or sunlight zone; rockfish resemble haystacks near the seafloor; and coastal pelagic species (CPS) show up as a red ball closer to the surface.

Since the Shimada is focused on fish research, the scientists rely heavily on this acoustic technology to locate and study their target species with precision.

Animals Seen Today:

Pacific white-sided dolphins and humpback whales.

June 28, 2025July 2, 2025

Jojo Chang: A Girl in Love with the Sea, June 27, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jojo Chang

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

June 30 – July 15, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 2)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Date: June 27, 2025

Introduction

I’ve always been a water girl. My earliest memories are swimming with my mom in an indoor pool and learning how to jellyfish float—a vital survival skill needed if stranded at sea. Blowing bubbles, butterfly, rhythmic breathing: these are swimming words that have been a part of my life from the moment my memories start.

a scanned old photo of a little girl in a bathing suit and swimming flippers standing at the edge of a pool; the colors are washed out, so we can't see the girl's face well. — Young Jojo

Fast forward a few decades, and water is still my element—but now I get to share it from the pool deck, whistle in hand. As both a teacher and a swim coach, I’ve spent well over 10,000 hours diving into both careers—enough to earn the “expert” badge. The roots of my professions were planted early, and I’ve nurtured them with passion and purpose. Growing up in Arizona, this included plenty of pool time but now, I live in Hawaii and swim regularly at the beach by my house. I like to tell my friends, “I’ve got salt water flowing through my veins.”

A woman stands at the edge of an outdoor pool and watches as about six children play in the pool with a ball. We cannot make out any faces, but we can see mountains and blue skies beyond the pool area. — Jojo teaching swim

Currently, I teach swimming, music, writing, and journalism at Asia Pacific International—a project-based learning school tucked away in the small, oceanside town of Hau‘ula, Hawai‘i. My eclectic schedule is like a vibrant coral reef: dynamic and busy! I work with students from elementary through high school, and every day brings something new and interesting.

Jojo teaching music. Photo courtesy of Asia-Pacific International School, Hawaii.

One of my greatest hopes for participating in this NOAA experience is to return with stories and insights from the sea—knowledge I couldn’t possibly gain without being out there in the deep blue myself. I want to share what I learn in a way that sparks curiosity and connection, especially with my middle school writers. During the research unit, we will explore the various fish populations. Students will select one specific type of edible fish to research and write about. The end product will be a book that will explore details about fish from ocean to table.

a man and a woman stand on a dock in front of a Hawaiian coastline - steep mountains, palm trees. The woman, grinning triumphantly, grasps a fishing pole (above the reel) in her left hand and holds her right hand above her head to stretch out a fishing line. The fishing line is attached to an interesting spotted tropical fish. The man stands next to her and steadies the fish for the photo. — Jojo shows off a broom fish

In this photo, I’m beaming with wonder and joy after catching a broom fish off the coast of Moloka‘i—yes, a broom fish! (Sadly, it does not sweep the ocean floor, but is named for the shape of its tail.) My love for the sea runs deep, and it’s been a guiding current throughout my life. I care deeply about making smart, sustainable choices and empowering my students to do the same. Whether we’re writing stories or swimming laps, I try to weave in the message: this planet is ours to protect.

The Teacher at Sea adventure began as a simple search for a meaningful professional development opportunity. I applied, crossed my fingers—and got in! Now, with wholehearted enthusiasm, I’m preparing for the journey ahead. Tomorrow, I’ll fly from Honolulu to San Francisco to board the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada.

I’m armed with Dramamine and sunscreen, a cozy winter hat for chilly nights, and a big summer hat for the sunny days. Adventure and learning, I’m ready. Aloha!