Category: NOAA Fisheries Service

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Jillian Worssam, July 10, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jillian Worssam
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 5 – August 1, 2004

Day: Five
Saturday July 10th, 2004 1:20

Longitude: 59° 50 Sea Wave Height: 1-2′
Latitude: 173° 14 Swell Wave Height: 0′

Visibility: 2.1miles fog Sea Water Temperature: 9.4C
Wind Direction: 121.6 Barometric Pressure: 1019 high pressure
Wind Speed: 11.3 kts Cloud Cover: complete 100%

Haul Data – Methot
Depth of haul: 20 meters
Temperature at depth: 7° C approximate
Species breakdown: walleye pollock year 0, Amphipod- type of crustacean, Chrysora jellyfish

Science and Technology Log:

The Methot haul is when the nets are set out, but at the end there is a cylindrical tube of PVC. It is this tube in which the sample will be taken. Holes are drilled in the side to let the water run through, but there is a mesh screen which prevents the specimens from escape. The purpose of the Methot trawl is to collect younger samples of fish, and as the younger pollock tend to stay higher in the water, and this device is perfect for sampling. Most of the pollock were year zero meaning that they spawned this past April. There is also a relationship between the juvenile pollock and the jellyfish as the Jellies (common term) provide shelter for the young fish. Walleye pollock are cannibalistic and will eat younger smaller fish that could well be their own children.

One of the scientists on board Taina Honkalehton has just returned from Tasmania where she was contracted by the Australian government to study orange roughy, a species that has been over harvested that they are now trying to save as a viable harvest species. Pollock on the other had is a well managed species, where at this time approximately 20% of the population is being utilized for commercial ventures. Pollock are the fish of fish sticks, a very important economic product on a global scale, with pollock as the largest single species fishery in the world making oceanic ecosystem management very important. Approximately 1.8 million tons of Pollock are harvested annually. Part of the management plan for pollock is based in part to their relationship to the stellar sea lion. As an endangered species management needs to look at fish harvesting and see if there is a relationship between the decline of the sea lion and changes in fish numbers.

Personal Log:

Running late tonight, having too much fun gutting fish, measuring jelly fish and cleaning. I have often wondered the purpose of jelly fish. As an Easterner by birth my only experience has been the Portuguese Man of War, the stinging variety that invariably closed our local beach. The jellyfish we have been seeing not only provide habitat for many other aquatic species, but that are also a nutritious food source. Monterey Bay Aquarium has a wonderful display of jelly fish. An amazing species, so beautiful in their basic simplicity.

I promised I would talk about the spinner, which no one has been able to give me a scientific designation for. This amazing piece of technology is a circular window approximately two feet in diameter, the ships windshield. During winter months the entire window of the bridge often freezes up, and this device, through the use of centrifugal motion, manages to keep an area clear for viewing. The glass of the spinner, you guessed it, spins at a very fast rate thus keeping the viewing surface clear.  It is a funky tool, and so far my favorite on the bridge.

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Jillian Worssam, July 9, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jillian Worssam
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 5 – August 1, 2004

Day: Four
Friday July 9th, 2004 21:15

Longitude: 57° Sea Wave Height: 0-1′
Latitude: 172° 44 Swell Wave Height: 0-1′

Visibility: 25 yrds fog Sea Water Temperature: 9.3C
Wind Direction: 69.6 Barometric Pressure: 1022 strong high pressure
Wind Speed: 14.1kts Cloud Cover: complete 100%

Haul Data
Depth of haul: 89 meters
Temperature at depth: 4.1° C
Species breakdown: walleye pollock, chum salmon, smooth lumpsucker, unidentified jellyfish

Science and Technology Log:

First haul of the evening and to our surprise pulled up a smooth lumpsucker (Aptocyclus ventricosus). What an amazing fish quite large in girth, but relatively short( approximately 10 inches). A large globe shaped body with the ventral sucking disk. We placed the fish in water and released it back into the Bering.

As for the rest of the catch, quite a few chum salmon this time, so I anticipate some smoked snacks tomorrow. I am becoming more and more comfortable with the process of slicing the fish to determine gender. Tomorrow will attempt the removal of the otoliths. Amazing the data that can be removed for the preservation of an ecosystem. We are off to complete another haul right now, so I am off to don my rain gear: thick rubber pants, rubber boots, and rubber jacket. I must also wear a hard hat and life jacket when on deck while the cranes are in motion and the ramp is down. With the ramp down it is easy access to the ever cold Bering Sea.

Personal Log:

Well I did it, finally tackled the treadmill, what a treat. My body had wanted to jog for days so in thirty minutes this morning I completed three miles, and for the first time ever I was jogging below sea level as the workout room is toward the bottom of the boat. Amazing the difference between 7000 feet and sea level. The way the treadmill is situated it rocks back and forth not side to side, it is similar to walking rises, with an uphill climb every now and then.

I also spent some more time in the bridge today. I would like to learn all the equipment so tonight I was taught about the EOT (Engine Order Telegraph) The one instrument on the bridge that actually looks familiar as it has probably been in every old war sea movie ever made. You know the big round brass machine with a level and an arrow, and the person on deck moves the arrow to face the command they would like sent to the engine room. The commands vary from full ahead to slow, half even stand by. Now with modern technology this apparatus is obsolete, but still on board in case of emergency and the electronics fail.

I was also introduced to an amazing centrifugal force windshield washer, but those details will have to wait until tomorrow.

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Jilliam Worssam, July 7, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jillian Worssam
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 5 – August 1, 2004

Day: Two
Wednesday July 7th, 2004 20:05

Longitude: 60° Sea Wave Height: 3′
Latitude: 172° 18 Swell Wave Height: 0-1′

Visibility: closing 5-8 nm fog Sea Water Temperature: 7.9C
Wind Direction: 214 Barometric Pressure: 1028 strong high pressure
Wind Speed: 5 kts Cloud Cover: complete

Science and Technology Log:

The plan for tonight is to run a MOCC trawl to test the equipment prior to live sampling, but lets back up a moment and look at the device used for this fish collecting experiment. Originally known as the KMOCC (Karp Multiple Opening and Closing Codend), the MOCC as it is commonly known is a scientific piece of equipment designed to allow scientists to selectively sample specific layers in the ocean. MOCC has the ability to collect fish samplings from a maximum of three different stratum, allowing the scientists choice. Pollock of different sizes tend to congregate at different oceanic layers and through the use of equipment like the MOCC scientists can look at sonar and choose from which population they would like to sample, without contaminating the haul with fish from different size groups. This form of selective sampling will aid the researchers in observing specific fish (pollock) populations.

Today there have been no fish trawls as according to the sonar data the ships transects have not passed any significant fish populations.

Personal Log:

I am on a 215 foot research vessel, touring the Bering Sea looking for walleye pollock, and can sit at this computer for an hour, watching the sonar all alone. With over thirty individuals living on this floating community it never ceases to amaze me that the schedules can be so well devised as to allow people their individual space. With a spare moment one might even be seen sitting in their stateroom relaxing. This amazing personal space is a person’s home away from home and usually has two residents. Each individual will work mirror hours so that while one person is sleeping, the other is working. Why is this fact so important? Well let me explain to you how many staterooms on the Miller Freeman are designed.

As you enter a stateroom there is on one side a set of berths, similar to a bunk bed, but Spartan by necessity. Each berth is approximately three feet wide and two feet high. Not a lot of room for movement, but functional in the processing of sleep. After the berth there is a spartan sink, a small desk, and two built in closets, all in a space that is eleven feet long and approximately five and a half feet wide. (Please realize that the 5.5’ included the beds, closets everything, so walking space is at its best at 2.5’ in the very middle.) The closets are not standard sized actually they are miniature and already contain your personalized life jacket and survival suit. Once inside the survival suit though you might have more room than in your berth. Space aside the rooms are functional, and a little cozy. I have slept in my berth for a few nights, and with the rocking of the boat and the lull of the engine it is as comfortable as an old porch hammock, on a warm summer evening as the breeze lulls you to sleep.

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Jilliam Worssam, July 6, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jillian Worssam
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
July 5 – August 1, 2004

Day: One
Tuesday July 6th, 2004 20:15

Longitude: 171° 25 Sea Wave Height: 0-1′
Latitude: 57° 11 Swell Wave Height: 0-1′

Visibility: 12 (nm) Sea Water Temperature: 9°C
Wind Direction: 177° Barometric Pressure: 1026.1
Wind Speed: 8.1 kts Cloud Cover: 100% stratus

Haul Data
Depth of haul: 78m
Temperature at depth: 4°C
Species breakdown: Walleye Pollock / Chum Salmon / Jellyfish

Science and Technology Log:

Our first haul for this second leg of the Bering Sea MACE (mid-water assessment and conservation engineering) survey (July 5 – August 1, 2004) was completed at 20:00 with the predominantly walleye catch having been measured for length and the otolith ( ear bone) removed. At this point a data base was established to facilitate in the maintenance and establishment of quotas for fisheries management.

Fisheries Biologist Kresimir Williams recorded the data from the haul; fish length, weight, and maturity status. This is very critical information as the Bering Sea pollock fishery is one of the most successful and healthy fisheries in the world. It is this data that is used to determine how large a catch a commercial vessel can remove for each fishing season. Kresimir has been a fisheries biologist for almost six years researching pollock and developing data streams to assist the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council in determining catch limits.

Personal Log:

I am working the four to four shift; four in the afternoon to four in the morning, heck of a schedule for a summer vacation. The best part of this phase is that with the northern summer daylight, you never feel tired; it is light all the time.

This is an amazing experience, an opportunity to see how others live. I have managed to meet everyone on the boat from the Captain CO, to the Chief Scientist, and find it amazing the lives they have chosen to lead. Thrust into this diverse world I am able, ever so briefly; to see how others live, how they earn a living, make daily contributions to society, find happiness.

The Miller Freeman, as I have been told has one of the most rigorous schedules within the NOAA task force, with approximately 260 days a year at sea. Many of the crew considers this vessel the workhorse of the fleet, managing to collect data that is vital in fisheries management. It is also amazing to observe the crew and officers on board as they have super attitudes, considering they spend approximately nine months away from their families. I have though been told that as the days get longer (actually shorter) and we get closer to our thirty day mark that the moral officer has to work a bit harder to keep spirits elevated. All I know is that I have been welcomed into all aspects of this vessel, from the engine room to the galley, the scientific labs to the weight room. Today I learned how to sex a fish, ever so basically; I mean can anyone think of a better way to spend a vacation?

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Dr. Laura Brezinsky, April 20, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Laura Brezinsky
Aboard NOAA Ship Miller Freeman
April 8 – April 22, 2004

Day12: Tuesday, April 20, 2004

Latitude: 52.47.97N
Longitude: 168 55.95

Weather: continuous clear
Visibility: 29.5-49.5 ft (Very High)
Wind direction: 109 degrees
Wind speed: 16 (m/s)
Sea wave height: up to 8 feet
Sea water temperature: 4.1 Degrees
Sea level pressure:97 mb

Science and Technology Log

Yesterday we tried to retrieve 2 moorings in the Alaska Stream but we couldn’t get a signal on the second one. Today we went back and tried again but still no signal. This could be do to a missing or damaged mooring. We will proceed to the next site and pick up another mooring and continue taking CTD readings on our way back to Dutch harbor. Projected arrival time is April 22 8:00 am.

Personal Log

The waves were up again last night and I am seriously looking forward to sleeping in a bed that doesn’t move. Tomorrow will be spent doing laundry, packing up equipment and generally getting ready to go into port. This is my last log for the trip.

Question of the Day: What is the Alaska Stream and how does it effect weather patterns?

Laura