Category: 2025

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Kiersten Newtoff: Thar She Blows! January 22, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 22, 2025
Data from the Bridge: N38°12’0″, W74°47’0″. It’s currently 38°F outside — it snowed on deck last night! We have about 24kn of wind but it’s dying down quickly.

Team Spotlight: Marine Mammal Observers
(I was doing cute names previously, but realized it’s probably more important to use the actual job names…)

From Fins to Feet and Back Again

A bird’s eye view of a group of common
dolphins swimming along the bow of
the Pisces. It’s hard to see, but there is a
striped dolphin mixed in. Credit: Kelsey.
NEFSC permit #27066.

Cetaceans are a group of marine mammals that includes whales, dolphins, and porpoises. There are other groups of marine mammals too such as seals, otters, and manatees, but this cruise is mostly focusing on cetaceans. Upon first look, it’s not a far reach to think that cetaceans are fish, but they are indeed mammals – they are born with fine sensory hairs and they have mammary glands to support their young.   I teach evolution in one of my classes and the story of cetaceans is quite fascinating. Life began in the seas as the land was toxic. As algae oxygenated the world, evolution on land became a race. Land was a frontier where no other organism lived, which meant nothing was around to eat you. The land plants dominated and vertebrates like Tiktaalik soon followed. What was once a barren wasteland now supported dinosaurs. Evidence points that the common ancestor of cetaceans were land-based, even-toed ungulates (hooved animals), with hippos being their closest present-day ancestor. As with most questions in science, answering “why” is nearly impossible, but understanding natural selection can get us a good hypothesis about this transition. Some ancestral ungulates probably lived closer to shores and may have even waded into the water to eat fish. Those that just happened to have limbs that made them swim or dive a little bit more than others had access to more food, so they are the ones who survived and reproduced. Add in another 5-10 million years and you have the whales – organisms that can move gracefully through water and have an abundant food source.

Whale art thou?

What the Marine Mammal Observers do is pretty much in their name: they observe marine mammals. On this trip, they are most interested in cetaceans but also record other species of note (sharks, sunfish, seals, etc.). These simple observations have a big impact. We can create models using the data to estimate the distribution and abundance of species. This AMAPPS winter cruise is to better understand distribution at a time of the year that we have limited data. Unfortunately, winter means less than ideal conditions, but some data are better than no data!

On the flying bridge. Michelle is in the foreground looking through a large standing binoculars called the big eyes. Behind her is Cheryl who is standing, and Kelsey who is seated. Other observers can be seen in the background.
Michelle operates the “big eyes” on the port side while another observer is on the starboard side. Cheryl is behind her, about to switch with Kelsey to do naked eye detections and data recording.

While marine mammal surveys can be conducted by small boats and aerial surveys, they are usually limited to close to shore. These trips offshore fill in missing gaps about cetacean abundance and distribution. Of particular note are beaked whales, which can be found in deep water. The number of vessels or land points that are able to confidently spot them is limited. Most of the data that comes from beaked whales are from washed up carcasses. By following transect lines, the Pisces science team can do a wide swath of surveying in the ocean and record a large variety of species with trained observers using big eyes (see picture; really large mounted binoculars) with support from bioacoustics. If the conditions are just right, the science team can also collect a DNA sample from an organism, which can help us determine their sex, subpopulation, trophic level of diet, pregnancy, and more. This is especially important for the Gervais beaked whale because we know very little about them. If on this trip we were to get a visual sighting, an acoustic signature, AND a biopsy of one – we all may just wipe our hands and say we can go home now. No cap. (I think I used that right…)

These species maps are critical in conservation – you can’t really protect the species if you don’t know much about them. By doing these observational studies over long periods of time, we can assess how climate change and habitat availability are impacting the species. In conjunction with the zooplankton team, they help us to understand what’s happening lower in the food chain and changes in these organisms can percolate to the top. These data can help to establish timelines on when it is safe to be drilling or doing construction or shift shipping lanes so that humans have less interactions with marine mammals. Fishing bycatch is a major cause of death in whales, so understanding whale migration patterns, breeding, and wintering grounds can help establish safe fishing zones.

Our data gets used by the Navy, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and NOAA. It’s really important to get it right.
Yin

Let’s Be Real about the Wildlife Biology World

As a warning, this section is not full of rainbows and sunshine. There is a real problem in wildlife biology (whether it’s marine mammals or birds or megafauna) that is really important for folks to know that are trying to get into this field.

When you think about a job, you likely are imagining a job that is generating revenue for a company. Your role is helping the company make money, and they pay you to help them make money. But the conservation world lacks this mechanism. Funds for conservation are limited to grants from other organizations, or funds from the state or federal level so they can meet environmental regulations. While those funds exist, very few are regular – there may be enough money this year to sponsor 5 researchers, but next year maybe for only 2. It’s feast or famine.

A common dolphin that has jumped out of the water. The side of the dolphin is much darker than other common dolphins due to melanism, which is an overproduction of melanin.
A melanistic (produces the dark pigment melanin more than typical) common dolphin spotted on the trip. Credit: Michelle. NEFSC permit #27066.

Because of this lack of funding, many organizations simply cannot afford to pay for people to complete the work, or they can only supply income for short contracts. If you want to get experience in a wildlife field, you likely will have to volunteer or take unpaid internships. Perhaps you find a paid position, but the working conditions are not compensated appropriately, or you take a ‘volunteer position’ but you have to pay a fee to get involved. And these companies aren’t trying to exploit people, it’s just the unfortunate reality of funding in the conservation world. And let’s be real, the wildlife biology field is fun and there are lots of people who want to volunteer. While that may be a great thing for these organizations, it means the diversity in the workforce is limited to those who have the financial ability to be there. Wildlife biology jobs are also in short supply, so you need a lot of experience or education to be competitive.

There’s not much that we can do about it, but the conversations are starting. It’s important to know what you are getting yourself into, especially when considering where you may go to college and the tuition, as it may be quite a while before you are able to pay off student loans. Keep your prospects open and don’t pigeonhole yourself into one path. Perhaps consider specializing in statistics, as all fields of biology (and just careers in general) have a strong need for statisticians.

Statistics will get you anywhere in the world, in any field.
Sam

Meet the Marine Mammal Observer Team

Kelsey is on the left ans Sam is on the right on the flying bridge. Kelsey is seated and Sam is standing next to her. Both are wearing mustang suits, which are bulky clothing to keep warm.
Kelsey (left) and Sam (right) on the flying bridge, where observations take place when the weather is good enough.

As a quick note, many folks in environmental fields in the government (like NOAA) are contractors. Contracts can be short term (such as a single cruise) or longer term depending on project goals and needs.  You’ll learn about the jobs that the marine mammal team hold when not working with NOAA.

Meet Michelle, who works as a protected species observer for TetraTech (which is also the company my mom worked at for many years!). In this position, she mitigates for potential impacts on protected species and does environmental compliance for the offshore energy industry (wind mostly, but also oil and gas). Her master’s degree focused on Indo-Pacific dolphins in Hong Kong and Taiwan, particularly looking at the impact of boat traffic and construction on their populations.  She volunteered for Allied Whale and was a commercial fisheries observer for NOAA.

As an undergrad, Kelsey specialized in marine mammal biology through field courses, internships, and research in Alaska, New Zealand, and Texas. These experiences led to roles as a protected species observer, supporting marine mammal research, industry mitigation, and conservation efforts from land, sea, and air. Her master’s research focused on community-based conservation to reduce human impacts on cetaceans; her ongoing PhD in Australia furthers this by developing acoustic techniques to reduce humpback whale entanglements. She also enjoys sharing her passion for the ocean through environmental education when the opportunity arises!

Coming from the Greater Atlantic Fisheries office is Cheryl, a marine resources management specialist. Having gone to school in central NY, marine mammals weren’t really on her radar. Afterwards she worked for a company in Hawaii narrating whale watches and dolphin tours which jump started her love for marine mammals. From there she did a master’s and Ph.D. with marine mammals. While her position is usually at the office, she is able to take advantage of research cruises to see where the data is coming from to better inform her management work.

Close-up view of Yin in an insulated mustang suit on the flying bridge. The large binoculars, called the big eyes, are directly behind her.
Yin poses with the big eyes because we are excited about science! Credit: Yin.

Sam has been working with the AMAPPS mission for about 10 years with both observations and data analyses to support reports and scientific papers. He has a Ph.D. in Marine Science and has worked with fish and marine mammals. He also taught at Northern Virginia Community College for five years, which isn’t too far from where I teach!

And last, but certainly not least, is Yin who got started in the NOAA research cruise world after graduate school. Her research focused on how tourism impacts dusky dolphins in New Zealand, as well as describing their acoustic behavior. She had a friend who did Eastern Tropical Pacific cruises with NOAA and recommended that Yin apply for the next one. Yin worked for NOAA for 10 years but is now in a contracting role, which grants her the flexibility for more adventures.

A Day in the Life of a Marine Mammal Observer
Watching for dolphins.
Bad weather, go to the bridge.
We see nothing, sigh.

As I’m putting in the finishing touches on this post, the sea has changed substantially and warrants a new haiku.

Are Those Calm Seas?
Finally, calm sea.
No white caps, slow wind, warm air.
Of course, it’s foggy.

Breaking into the Marine Mammal World
The team shared a lot of different tips for people who are interested in marine mammals.

  1. When in college, do as much hands-on work, volunteering, and internships as you can.
  2. Meet and network at the Marine Mammalogy Conference. Their website also has a lot of great resources for students who want to get started in the marine mammal world. The Cascadia Research Collective has good advice too.
  3. Develop as many additional skills as you can: statistics, GIS, math, invertebrates, oceanography, small engines, soldering, coding, and photography all are helpful.
  4. Positions exist at the bachelor’s level, but you likely will need at least a master’s, if not a Ph.D. because of how competitive the field is getting. More education may also lead to more networking opportunities.
  5. It’s a small world, meaning everyone talks to everyone. Your work ethic will get out there.
  6. Try many things in the marine world, not just marine mammals. You will gain a lot of experience that is transferrable to the marine mammal world.
  7. Similarly, if this path is daunting, you can work other positions on the ship (see my other blogs for highlights!) that gets you involved with the science.
  8. And finally….

It’s really important to be kind.
Yin

A view of two computer screens side by side. The background is a closeup of Kiersten looking through the big eyes. The image is oriented like a mirror across the screens, so that Kiersten is "looking" at herself.
Here’s a bonus image! I came into the dry lab this morning to find this on the computer monitors. Just so artsy. Photo cred: Kelsey. Layout cred: Annamaria

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Kiersten Newtoff: Deck the Halls with Cranes and Winches. January 21, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 21, 2025
Data from the Bridge: N35°0’0″, W74°54’0″, off the coast of Hatteras, NC. 38°F outside, with 14kt winds.

If the kitchen is the soul of the ship then the deck crew is the heart. Without the deck crew, we could not run the science missions because they run all of the equipment (cranes, winches, etc.) and provide deck support 24/7. I appreciate the deck crew letting me interview them.  

Chief Boatswain

I have never been so confused with reading a word like I have with the word “boatswain”. Since I have 0 nautical knowledge, I have been pronouncing it like “boat-swane”. But it’s not. It’s pronounced “bo-sun”. And people will spell it that way too. I have heard of “bosun” from Below Deck, but had no idea that “boatswain” was the ‘official’ way of spelling it. It’s like donut instead of doughnut. I don’t like it.

Chief Bosun

Looking over the back deck of the Pisces, James is up a level controlling the winch. Tanya is looking toward the winch as she guides the line being wrapped. Tanya is in the foreground wrapping up rope.
When the bioacoustic array comes in, James controls the winch from an upper deck. Tasha is guiding the line to neatly place it on the spool and Tanya is wrapping the support rope to put it safely away.

There, that’s better. James is the big boss of the deck. He trains and teaches the deck crew, operates all the equipment on board, and oversees the small boats. His favorite is operating the fish trawls, but unfortunately, it’s been quite a few years since a science team has done that on the Pisces. James has been with the Pisces for 17 years! He is the only crew member that has been on the boat since it was commissioned, which means James has earned the “Plankowner” title. He plans on retiring in 3 years, at the 20 year mark, which he very much deserves. He previously did 20 years in the Navy and one year of teaching. He chose to join NOAA because they aren’t at sea as much as the Navy, so it means he can spend more time at home (a common theme we have been seeing with the crew!).

Lead/Skilled Fisherman

Here’s another position where I just don’t get the name. I hear “fisherman,” and I think of a person on the deck fishing. And if they are the lead fisherman, that means they catch more things because they are more skilled. More skilled than the “skilled fisherman”. Apparently, none of this is true. The ‘fisherman’ title comes from the type of vessel; the NOAA Pisces is a fisheries vessel with lots of gear needed for catching fish. Those with “Fisherman” titles are responsible for the usage, upkeep, and repair of the fishing gear. Rodney is a Skilled Fisherman but is filling in on this trip as the Lead Fisherman, since the Lead is on leave (more on how scheduling works later on). Rodney oversees the day-to-day operations, operates the cranes, serves as the rescue boat coxswain (like boatswain, this word is not pronounced anything like how it’s spelled), does security rounds, bridge watches, and assists in science operations. Many of these duties overlap with the bosun, but Rodney is on the night shift. He started about 1.5 years ago as a General Vessel Assistant and has been working his way up, hopefully to bosun some day! His hometown community was full of fishermen and merchant mariners, which influenced his path. He had some bumps here and there, but when he started at NOAA, he truly found a career he was passionate about. He enjoys giving back to his community by guest speaking at the Bluewater Maritime School, where he trained at.

I love this boat. I love the camaraderie. I love the people.
Rodney

Able Seaman
(AB; sometimes also referred as Able-bodied Seaman)

On the side deck of the Pisces. In the tower (side sampling station) is Rodney, looking down on Lily and Santanna on the lower deck. They are stnading around the bongo before it gets lifted into the ocean.
Rodney is in the side sampling station controlling the winch that lets out the bongo. Lily and Santanna get in position to guide the bongo over the railing.

The Able Seaman role wears many hats: they do lookout, drive helm, sanitation, keep the ship spotless, mooring lines, anchor the ship, preservation of the ship, help with the science party, work oceanographic equipment, and drive small boats. If you need to do anything on the boat, they are probably right alongside you. There are three Able Seamen on the Pisces: Tanya, Tasha, and Santanna. Tanya and Tasha are part of the aug pool (more on that soon), and Santanna is attached to the Pisces. Tanya used to work in property and casualty insurances but wanted to try something new. She took advantage of the Workforce Investment Act to get training to become an AB. Tasha worked in healthcare for 19 years but also had a twinkle for the ocean as her dad and husband served in the Navy. As her kids got older, it was easier for her to be away at sea. Santanna is a friend of the seas, having worked in the Military Sealift Command resupplying Navy ships. He enjoys the sea life but wanted to be home more and NOAA enables him to do so. He just started, this is his second cruise, but he has been enjoying it so far!

General Vessel Assistant (GVA)

When you first get started on deck, you likely will come in as a General Vessel Assistant. Your roles are more limited such as just working with sanitation, repair, and cleaning. But NOAA offers lots of training and credentials to learn skills to become an Able Seaman and more. At the moment, the Pisces doesn’t have any GVAs in the deck crew, but that can definitely change over time!

The Deck Crew, a limerick

All aboard the NOAA Pisces
James has sailed with her over many seas
Santanna and Rodney are permanent crew
While Tanya and Tasha fill in for a few
Working together makes tasks a breeze

How Does Scheduling Work?

Many positions on board are 60 days on and 30 days off. “On” refers to being on the boat, and “off” referring to shore work. This helps to prevent fatigue of living on a vessel and gives time for family. Leave can be used when on shore, or personnel can do training or other tasks. Although someone may have 30 days off of the Pisces, the ship is still operating as usual. This is where the augmented (or aug) pool comes in. Crew members can choose to be in the aug pool versus permanently assigned to a ship. In the aug pool, you share your availability for the year and vessels will reach out to the pool to fill positions for when a crew member is “off”. This isn’t just reserved for deck positions, the aug pool is for every position on the ship that isn’t filled by a NOAA Corps member (more on them in a future post). The aug pool is still a fully benefited position and can be great for someone who wants more flexibility, but with that it means you need to be adaptable. You’ll be working on different boats with different people constantly, which for some is a welcomed challenge! It’s important to reflect on your work style to choose what would be best for you.

How Can I Work on Deck?

Requirements

  1. Get your Merchant Mariner Credential (MMC)
  2. Get a passport, or ensure yours is current
  3. Get your Transportation Worker Identification Credential

Tips

  1. Try to learn about as many jobs as possible and soak up all the knowledge you can.
  2. The earlier you start the better; you’ll start at the bottom and have to work your way up.
  3. Get as much sea time in as possible.
  4. Go to maritime school (partial list here).
  5. Work hard no matter your position. Word gets around about your work ethic to other ships.
Tasha and Robert are on the back deck in warm weather gear. Tasha is holding the line that connects to the acoustic array that Robert is holding.
This photo was too cute to not share. Here Tasha and Robert pose with the bioacoustic array.
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Kiersten Newtoff: WiFi and Memes, Do We Really Need Anything Else? January 17, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 17, 2025
Data from the Bridge: Located at N37°23’0″, W75°5’0″, off the coast of Eastern Shore. A bit chilly at 38°F and very gusty at 21kt wind.

Maslov's Hierarchy of Needs, with "WIFI" added to the base.
A modern take on Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs. Credit: Tolu Aibana

Maslov’s Hierarchy of Needs outlines what humans need, arranged in a pyramid. The base of the pyramid starts with physiological needs, including things like food, water, shelter, and sleep. As a general rule, people can’t address needs that are higher in the pyramid until their needs are met lower in the pyramid. It’s been jested that a new level be added to the base of the pyramid: WiFi. Having WiFi or just internet in general can help attain the needs in the pyramid. It is an interesting theory that we have been putting to the test on the Pisces.

Here enters Alex, the Chief Electronics Technician (ET). He handles all things related to electronic equipment, including WiFi. There have been some difficulties getting everyone connected to the internet and it’s been eye opening to see just how much we rely on it. I remember growing up that you had to be hard-lined in, using a phone line, and it was so incredibly slow. WiFi didn’t exist and using the internet was limited. Now 30 years later, our society can barely function without it (I say as I write this blog post, online).

A meme that says "The Internet is Broken!" at top. The picture on the left is of two women yelling and it's titled "Everyone" and the picture on the right is a white cat sitting at a dinner table with a scowl with the text "ET".
Artist: Ian

To the crew, WiFi may seem to be the most important job, but Alex takes care of so much more. He starts every morning checking and testing the SOS system, because “I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t want to be going in that water.” Same Alex, same. After checking the SOS system, he checks in with the crew on the ship to see how they are doing and if they have anything that needs to be updated, changed, fixed, etc. The equipment on a ship takes a beating between wind, waves, and salt. He maintains office hours during the day so that anyone can stop on by and ask him for help with an issue.

Alex the Electronics Techniciation sits at his desk, looking at the camera.
Alex, Chief Electronics Technician aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

This is Alex’s first solo NOAA cruise, but he has been working in the field for quite a long time. He was in the Navy for 4 years, went to community college, completed his bachelors in Neuroscience and Electrical Engineering, and worked in private sector electronics positions. He’s excited for this new role as he is passionate about science and how NOAA does research to benefit people and the environment.

How Can I Become an ET?

The most common pathway to this role is serving in the Navy as either an AET (Advanced Electronics Technician) or an EM (Electrician’s Mate), which is what Alex did as well as some private sector jobs. In these roles you gain valuable experience that directly transfers to the ET role at NOAA. If you don’t want to do military service, here’s some other things you can do to get your foot in the door:

  1. Go to trade school for electrician training (make sure to pay attention to all the electrical theory!)
  2. Go through certification pathways
  3. Find an electrical apprenticeship
  4. Join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) union
  5. Pursue IT positions
  6. Take classes on Radio Frequency (RF) theory
A 6 panel meme, the text goes "Seas are Rough", "Pop a Meckie", "We low in Meckies". The corresponding images are of a dummy head with hands on his head and it says "Panik". The second one is a dummy head that says "Kalm". And the third is a dummy head with hands on his head and shaking saying "Panik".
Meckie = Meclizine, medicine for motion sickness. Artist: Ian

While Alex makes sure that everything is up and running, Ian the Survey Technician will use the equipment for water monitoring, ocean floor mapping, and helping to facilitate the science however he can. He works with a lot of different systems, such as the:

  1. TSG (thermosalinograph): Water is pumped through the TSG which measures temperature and salinity. Using these variables, we can calculate how fast sound waves are traveling through water.
  2. EK-80: This echosounder uses a single beam of sound and listens for the echo which provides information on how deep the water is and things that may be below the ship, such as fish.
  3. EM2040: Similar to the EK-80, but instead uses multiple beams. This is used in mapping the seafloor since it has a wider swath and a higher resolution.
  4. SIS: The Seafloor Information System visualizes what the EM2040 is gathering. 
  5. SCS: The Scientific Computing System allows for the real-time conveyance of oceanographic variables to the science team and other crews.

When the bioacoustics array is out, Ian puts many of the systems in passive mode so that they don’t emit any sound waves. Otherwise, the sound would make it difficult for the bioacoustics team to hear marine mammals through the hydrophones.

Ian’s other job on board is making memes. I’m not even joking. There is a screen in the galley that he updates every morning with information about the day plan, food menu, riddles, and memes. What is great about the memes though is that they reflect something that is going on with the ship and this applicability makes all of them so much funnier. He also helps manage the morale fund, which NOAA supplies for making t-shirts, organizing outings, and more. When you are on a ship with the same people for long periods of time, especially in rough weather, morale is mission critical.

Tips on Becoming a Survey Technician

Ian, the survey technician, stands next to a switchboard panel and other electronics.
Ian, Survey Technician aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
  1. The military route isn’t as common for survey techs versus ET but can still be helpful getting sea time and experience in rough weather, particularly the Navy. (Ian served in the Marine Corps Reserve for 6 years).
  2. Get an undergraduate degree in marine biology, hydrography, or geology
  3. College of Charleston has a BEAMS program which teaches students nearly every aspect of a Survey Technician; this is where Ian went. There are also programs in Mississippi and New Hampshire.
  4. Try out a lot of different positions and apply for everything
  5. Make sure that you are okay being away from family and friends >8 months of the year. Develop good communication plans with your loved ones.
  6. Be good at making memes.

Keeping the Crew Happy, a haiku

WiFi and good memes,
Do we need anything else?
Snopes, morale is high.

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Kiersten Newtoff: Do You Hear What I Hear? January 15, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 15, 2025
Data from the Bridge: Currently standing still at 39°12’0″N, 74°24’0″W due to offshore weather. It’s 38°F with 26kt winds.

Team Spotlight: Hydrophone Heroes

It started as periodic clicking.
Click.
Click.
Click click.
Click click click.
Cliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiccccccccccccccckkkkkkkkkkkkkk.
And then nothing.

These series of clicks tell the story of a sperm whale attacking prey and feasting on its prize. This is just one of the many cool stories coming from the Hydrophone Heroes.

In Tandem, Eyes and Ears on the Ocean

All marine mammals are protected by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and some are dually protected under the Endangered Species Act. These laws dictate that marine mammals cannot be hunted, harassed, taken, or killed; although some exclusions exist for scientific research among other things. You may recall from an earlier post that there are two marine mammal teams on the Pisces: the bioacoustics team and the visual observation team. Both teams are working toward a common goal: where are marine mammals, how are they behaving, what is the diversity, and how many are there? These surveys help NOAA propose new rules or develop new technologies to reduce the accidental bycatch or injuries from boats to preserve the species. By doing surveys periodically, we can better understand how populations are changing in response to the environment.

The sampling protocol differs between the visual and bioacoustics teams, as well as what they can and can’t detect. By combining their data together, a complete picture of marine mammal abundance can be made.

 BioacousticsVisual Observation
Detection RangeLargerSmaller
Water Depth to Operate> 100mAny
Weather ConditionsAnyBetter the more clear
Species ID ConfidenceMediumHigh
Discerning Number of IndividualsOnly when there is 1 or 2Any
Statistical Methods for AnalyzingNot well developedWell developed and standardized

The world of marine mammal bioacoustics is relatively new, starting in the 1960s but taking off in the late 1990s to early 2000s. Also, each species of marine mammal has a large ‘vocabulary’ that we are still learning. Because of this, the library of sounds of each species is limited. While it may be great to hear a click or whistle through the hydrophone, it means very little if there isn’t a visual confirmation from the observation team.

Science is the art of inquiry.
Annamaria

How Do Hydrophones Work?

As the name implies, a hydrophone is a listening device that is in the water. It can pick up frequencies higher and lower than what humans can hear and it can hear sounds from miles away. On the Pisces, the hydrophone array consists of multiple sensors and equipment in a long tube. There are three omnidirectional hydrophones in the array, and all three will pick up the same signals. However, the hydrophone that hears a sound first can give the team an idea of the direction the sounds are coming from: in front, in line, or behind the ship. This setup can’t identify starboard or port side, and that’s where the visual observation team comes in. As the ship moves and the hydrophone continues to pick up sounds, they can be triangulated to get an idea of how far away the sound is from the ship. The array setup can’t tell you how deep the sound is coming from, but some patterns of clicks of different species can give clues to if a cetacean is diving or at the surface.

The array is towed behind the ship in waters that are at least 100m deep. Although the hydrophone doesn’t actually sit that close to the bottom, it’s a fail safe for if the ship has to slow down or stop. This can cause the hydrophone array to sink and it is imperative that it does not touch the bottom. The equipment in the array is very sensitive (and very expensive!), so it’s crucial that it’s impossible for it to touch the bottom. You may be thinking “well, just tow it closer to the boat so that you can work in shallower waters”, but the problem is that the boat itself is making noise that the hydrophone will pick up. If the array is too close to the ship, the sound would be deafening, and you would miss many marine sounds. The hydrophone is set about 350m out from the ship, which does dampen the noise quite a bit. The hydrophone has a high pass filter, meaning only high frequency sounds are picked up. The auditory range of ship noise is much lower, so it gets filtered out, but unfortunately that also means filtering out some marine mammal sounds, particularly baleen whale songs. 

Audio clip of short-beaked common dolphins as heard through a hydrophone. This comes from NOAA’s Marine Mammal Sound repository, but these have been common on this trip.

There are six (!!) screens that the Hydrophone Heroes are monitoring when the array is out. They are:

a man and a woman sit in a computer lab looking at an array of computer monitors. the woman, seated directly at the computer desk, wears headphones, though they are currently positioned behind and not over her ears. She holds two fingers of her right hand up to signal the number 2 as she watches the screen.
Rob and Annamaria actively listening and recording any marine mammal sounds.
  1. High frequency setup: this is focused on high frequencies such as from dwarf and pygmy sperm whales and is giving a bearing on where they are located.  
  2. Diagnostic plots that characterize the incoming signals.
  3. A spectrogram that displays tonal signals like whistles.
  4. Data entry form to record each incoming sound.
  5. Map displays of the bearings of sounds as a way to localize and track them.
  6. Client computer which is synced with the visual team to match up sounds with visuals.

Perhaps some time in the future, machine learning can be used to automatically classify sounds picked up by a hydrophone. But in order for that to happen, we need a lot of matched acoustic and visual data to be used for training the machine learning models.

Do You Hear What I Hear? (by Bing Crosby and Kiersten)

Do you hear what I hear?
Said Rob to Annamaria

Do you see what I see?
(Do you see what I see?)
Visuals said to acoustics

Do you see what I see?
(Do you see what I see?)
A whale, a whale, leaping through the waves
With a tail as big as a kite
With a tail as big as a kite

Meet the Hydrophone Heroes

Annamaria is a research biologist from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Massachusetts. Her love of the ocean started early, and she pursued it more intently in her high school’s oceanography club and in the Quahog Bowl . From there she got a bachelor’s degree in marine biology, during which she did an internship with the U.S. Navy in their marine mammal monitoring program. It is through this internship that Annamaria learned about bioacoustics and left with the experience of managing 93 hydrophones! She really liked the internship, especially because she was able to apply the science with real time responses (and it was paid!). Post-graduation, she worked at the Bioacoustic Research Program at Cornell University and then went to Scotland to get her master’s degree. She volunteered with the Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution working in fish bioacoustics before landing a position at NOAA in 2014.

four crewmembers stand in a row along a railing at the ship's stern. they all wear float coats or life vests and warm hats or headgear; most have gloves. together they are guiding what looks like a long black cable along the ship and then down into the ocean.
Tanya and Tasha, from the deck crew, help Annamaria and Rob set out the hydrophone array off the stern.

Rob is a biological science technician who has been working with NOAA for the past 4 years at the Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu. In college he studied marine and environmental science and afterwards he looked into fisheries science so he could be outside. He ended up at the California Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) working with salmon and delta smelt and then moved to the Federal FWS. He finally moved into the Protected Species Division at NOAA where he learned about bioacoustics in cetaceans. Baby Rob’s dream was to do a cetacean cruise, and he made it!

Advice & Words of Wisdom

  1. Be curious – science is a never-ending process of asking more questions.
  2. When applying for jobs on USAJobs, cast a wide net (pun intended). There are lots more fisheries positions which can still be valuable to your career by developing transferable skills to cetaceans.
  3. If you are working with data, try to seek opportunities to see how that data is collected in the field. It can help you better understand the data which will be advantageous when running analyses.
  4. Internships are crucial and can really define your career. They also help with connections to other people in the industry.
  5. Be open to lots of career paths and gain skills to enable you to be a jack of all trades. If you have skills from multiple fields, you are more likely to find positions.

Here’s some additional pictures from setting out the array and working in the acoustics lab.

A man sits at a computer desk working on a laptop surrounded by additional computer monitors. He wears a pair of headphones over his ears. A woman watches over his shoulder.
two people (and a third mostly out of frame) stand on the back deck; a man holds a coiled rope, and a woman holds a coiled plastic tube (the hydrophone array). the sky is very blue, with white whispy clouds.
a view of two crewmembers standing at the rail holding what looks like a long plastic hose and looking down into the ocean as they lower or retrieve it
crewmembers stand around the A-frame at the aft deck of the ship. they are all wearing float coats or life jackets. one person grasps a taut cable that extends from out of frame on deck into the water. two other people hold guidelines stretched underneath the A-frame.
a woman wearing a warm jacket, a beanie, gloves, and a life vest stands at the aft of the shp, holding up a cable with two hands, and looking out into the ocean.
a view under the A-frame of the ship's aft deck. two pieces of rope extend from either side of the frame out toward a middle connection point, where they hold up a knot for the cable of the hydrophone array to slide through.
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Kiersten Newtoff: The Fastest Way to a Scientist’s Heart is Through Their Stomach, January 13, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Kiersten Newtoff
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
January 6 – January 29, 2025

Mission: Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS)
Geographic Area of Cruise: North Atlantic Coast
Date: January 13, 2025
Current Location: 38°02.141′ N, 73°30.716 W (you can follow us on Windy in real time!)
Weather from the Bridge:

Team Spotlight: The Michelin Stars

While the purpose of NOAA cruises is conducting science, it’s not just scientists on board. There is a whole community of people who make the day-to-day on the Pisces possible. In addition to the blog series on the different science teams, we will also meet the different teams that run the Pisces. First stop – the galley.

The kitchen is the soul of the ship.
Jean

Meet Jean and Julius, easily the most loved crew members of all because they keep our bellies full of the good stuff. You know how you overeat during the holidays and when they pass you try and workout more and lessen your eating? Yeah, this cruise right after the holidays is definitely not the time to start a new diet. Jean and Julius make us three meals a day, and lunch and dinner always have dessert! I attempt to only grab 2-3 food items from the buffet bar, but it’s really hard and I rarely do. And how does someone not take dessert when they are just sitting there, waiting to be consumed? I guess I’ll start with those New Year’s resolutions after getting back.

The Michelin Stars make a wide variety of dishes each day that accommodates the diets of the 34 folks on board, and everything is incredibly delicious. Not only do they make sure that everyone has something substantial to eat; they also take care of the crew that have to miss meals based on their shift. I’m impressed that they are always so prompt with the meals; always finished the moment the meal starts. If you have seen the reality TV show Below Deck, you know that the food is never on time. I had no idea what to expect as I’ve never done a trip like this before, so most of my boat knowledge comes from that show. And it’s nothing like this. NOAA Pisces is so much better!

a view into the galley (the kitchen) across the buffet bar. in the foreground is a selection of dishes - vegetables, rice, sweet potatoes, maybe chicken - in metal bins with serving utensils. beyoned a metal counter is the open ktichen area. Jean stands in front, near a kitchen island, and Julius at the back of the kitchen.
Jean (foreground) and Julius (background) put the finishing touches on dinner.

Meet the Michelin Stars

The chief steward on board is Jean (pronounced like “John” but fancier) and the second cook is Julius. Jean is half black – half Panamanian, where he grew up. His parents met in Panama where his father was working. Jean used to work in offshore drilling, but during the COVID shutdowns, only small teams were working. Jean really wanted stability in his career and his mom, who works for NOAA, recommended filling out an application with the agency. Jean got the position and began in the laundry department. While he doesn’t work for NOAA, his dad works as a chief steward on a University of Hawaii vessel. Something tells me that Jean was destined for a chief steward role in NOAA. His first assignment was on Rainier, which experienced a fire in September 2023. Jean was on the fire team and after 3 hours the team was able to control and extinguish it. None of the 41 passengers on the ship were injured, but there was quite a bit of damage and the ship had to be towed from America Samoa to Honolulu. Since the Rainier was out of commission, Jean needed to transfer to another boat. He already knew some people aboard the Pisces and shared that it is important to have good working relationships with your crew. Jean only recently was promoted to Chief Steward, and so far, he is really enjoying the role because he gets to make decisions and please people.

Julius is a man of many hats. When he first started with NOAA in 2014, he started on deck and moved to sewage and engine before settling in as the second cook. Technically, he is assigned to the Brown, but it has been docked for repairs for Julius has been floating around different vessels. He plans on making a switch to the Pisces because he really likes the crew and working with Jean. Julius doesn’t have a culinary background, but he’s picked up a lot of skills from floating around departments and working with the different stewards for the past decade. Of all the positions he has worked, he enjoys working in the kitchen the most.

Julius and Jean do more than just cook though, there’s a lot of moving pieces to make a perfect meal. They have to inspect and repair the cooking vent systems, manage the linens, make menus (3 per day!), and ensure that dishes are clean and sanitary and not break during foul weather.

If the food’s good, people are going to be happy.
    Jean

Jean and Julius stand on opposite sides of a metal counter in the galley (kitchen). Jean is wearing black latex gloves and working with what might be chicken; next to him is something large wrapped in foil. An open can of diced tomatoes, a can of cooking spray, and some other containers are visible on the corner. Julis faces away from the camera.
Jean (left) and Julius (right) preparing the crew meal in the kitchen.

I asked the Michelin Stars about their favorite parts of their job. Julius says he really enjoys cooking and he likes seeing the crews’ faces light up as they eat something good. I think I can easily say that everyone on board loves the food, so hopefully we have been bringing them lots of enjoyment! Jean’s initial answer is that he likes getting off work and getting paid. I mean, you can’t really fault him for that, because same. He then agreed with Julius, and I am choosing to believe that would have been his real answer.

They both agreed that the hardest part of the job is being away from home so much. Julius has a wife and two kids at home and Jean has a partner at home. Jean shares that it’s hard getting into arguments when you can’t really make up. They have missed birthdays, anniversaries, and other important milestones, which is difficult. But the stableness of a position with NOAA and doing something they truly love to do has helped get through the difficulty times.

How Can You Work in the Steward Department?

Both Jean and Julius would look on USAJobs for positions with NOAA but couldn’t find any. Julius then went to the NOAA website where he found a position for the deck crew that he applied for. He got the position, but soon after boarding, he asked if he could work as a second cook, which they granted. Jean didn’t find much on the NOAA website (this was during the shutdowns when he was looking), but fortunately his mom works at NOAA and was able to forward along some job opportunities.

Neither Jean or Julius started in the steward department, they both worked their way up. You likely will have to start at a lower rank, but your work ethic will be noticed – and that goes in both directions. Although NOAA ships are found all across the US, nearly everyone knows everyone else. If you change ships, you can guarantee that word about your work ethic has already spread to your new crew. And if your work ethic is as great as Jean and Julius’, then you will be going places.

Breakfast, a Limerick
It’s 0600 and breakfast is ready.
Half of the crew is there already.
Pancakes, bacon, sausage, and cereal,
All the best for a perfect meal.
Lunch is next, hoping for spaghetti!