NOAA Teacher at Sea – Page 24 – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 4, 2023August 6, 2023

Martin McClure: Let’s Talk Sharks, August 4, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Martin McClure

NOAA Ship Oregon II

July 25– August 9, 2023

Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Bottom Longline Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 4, 2023

Latitude: 33°47.753′ N

Longitude: 78°13.019 W

Air Temperature: 22.3 kph

Wind Speed: 26° Celsius

Science and Technology Log: Meeting the tiger shark

Let’s face it, sharks are cool! They are an apex predator of the ocean. They are hunters and capture our imagination. Like most people, sharks are fascinating creatures if you take the time to get to know them.

Sharks are an ancient group of fishes. They have been on Earth since before there were any trees. They are intelligent and can be are very curious creatures that want to investigate new objects. Some species have social structures and recognize each other, and form relationships that last over many years. Some sharks have been observed hunting in groups. Personality, or should I say “sharkonality,” wise, individuals have been observed to be more assertive or more timid. They have sensory organs called ampullae of Lorenzini that sense electricity to help them find prey.

Sharks are quite varied. Some sharks must keep moving to breathe, while others can sit on the sea floor for hours at a time. Some sharks lay eggs, while others have live pups.

view from above of a tagged tiger shark in a sling net suspended on the outside of the ship's railing, above the water. three crewmembers stand on deck near the rail. they are wearing hard hats, life vests, and gloves. — A tiger shark in the sling ready to be released. Notice the tag by its dorsal fin.

So far we have caught sandbar, Atlantic sharpnose, tiger, scalloped hammerhead, and great hammerhead sharks. The Atlantic sharpnose, sandbar, and tiger sharks all belong to the family Carcharhinidae, or requiem sharks. They have a flattened but not wide snout. In many species teeth are similar because in the top row the teeth are triangular and serrated (like a saw) and in the bottom row they are narrow and smooth-edged. Their eyes have a nictitating membrane that functions like an eyelid, but they can see through it. Interestingly, reproduction varies within this family of sharks.

two gloved hands hold a small tiger shark up for a photo; only the middle of the shark, from the base of the caudal fin to the gills, is visible (tail and head are out of view.) This close-up shows the black and white markings on the shark, more like spots than tiger stripes. — Markings on a tiger shark pup. (ba-by shark doo doo doo doo doo doo)

Tiger sharks are striking to see up close. Their markings on their skin gives them their name and makes them easy to identify, even for a novice. Young tiger shark markings tend more toward spots that can grow into bars or stripes as they age. The bars will fade as the shark grows older.

The teeth of a tiger shark are easily identifiable as they are curved with a notch in it. Unlike other sharks in the Carcharhinidae family, the bottom row of teeth has the same triangular, serrated teeth as the top row. They eat a variety of food including crabs, squid, bony fishes, turtles, rays and birds as well as many other animals even other sharks. They have also been known to eat boat cushions, tin cans and even license plates.

They are one of the larger sharks, often growing 11 – 14 feet long and up to 1400 pounds. In the United States, tiger sharks are found from Massachusetts to Florida and the Gulf of Mexico.

Tiger Sharks have live babies called pups. They are ovoviviparous, and young develop inside their body before giving birth to live young. It is common for them to bear between 35 and 55 pups but have been known to have as many as 104. Because they bear so many pups, and the gestation is between 15 to 18 months, it is believed that they reproduce every three years.

Depredation: When a shark takes your fish

Depredation is when a fish has been hooked by a fisherman and is then attacked and eaten or partly eaten by another marine animal. This is obviously a problem for the fisherman because the fishermen cannot use the fish. According to Dr. William Driggers, Chief Scientist on the Oregon II Longline Shark and Snapper survey, depredation is on the increase in U.S. waters because shark populations are increasing. Shark populations are increasing because of good management of the shark populations. The most likely shark species to take a hooked fish is the whatever shark species is most common in that area. In other words, no one species is the worst offender. We have witnessed this at least six times on this survey leg.

A sandbar shark biting a red snapper on a fishing line at the surface of the ocean — A sandbar shark takes a bite out of a red snapper.

Caitlin, wearing fish gloves and a life vest, holds up only the front half of a red snapper. Just below the dorsal fin, ragged edges of the fish reveal a shark bite. Caitlin stands on the aft deck, and we can see obscured views of other crewmembers behind her, plus a cloudy sky. — Graduate student Caitlin Retzlaff shows the results of depredation.

Meet the Crew: Fisherman/Deckhand Josh Cooper

Josh is a professional fisherman aboard the Oregon II! Yup, one position on this crew is to be a professional fisherman.

The responsibilities of a fisherman are many. Everyone on the boat has very well defined duties and must be flexible and a good team member. He helps load the ship before it leaves the dock. He helps with docking by handling the lines. There are many duties once underway. There is painting and cleaning to be done, preparing gear and running the machinery used for fishing.

Then there is the fishing. Josh loves fishing. The fishermen are on board to help handle the big sharks and other large fish. Josh has done a lot of fishing. He sometimes operates the crane when the cradle is needed for a big shark. In emergency situations Josh is on the fire team and operates the small rescue boat that is aboard the Oregon II.

Josh running the crane to use the cradle.

Josh graduated from the University of Alabama, but a degree from a university is not required to be a fisherman/deckhand. After earning a dual major in biology and marine biology, he went to Alaska as a fisherman on commercial fishing vessels.

After that, he joined NOAA as a fisheries observer. In this job, he was on commercial fishing boats. He would be assigned to join a fishing boat, usually a small boat with two to three fishermen. It was his job to collect data on the fish caught. This would include species, length and weight. After doing this for two years in Alaska, he moved to do the same job in the Gulf of Mexico. Josh continued to do this work for six more years.

He first came to the Oregon II as a contractor working with Artificial Intelligence (AI) teaching the computers to recognize fish species. He was doing this when a position opened up as a part of the deck/fisherman crew. He has been on the Oregon II for two years. He likes that the accommodations are better than many of the other boats that he has lived on and he likes the people that he works with.

Being a fisherman is a big commitment. Josh says that he is out to sea about 140 days a year. When the ship is docked there are many maintenance tasks to be done.

Josh sits on a bench on the aft deck of NOAA Ship Oregon II. It's a bright, clear day. He's spreading his arms about as wide as they can go and smiling at the camera. A pair of yellow fish gloves rests on the bench beside him. — Josh telling a fish story. He was not exaggerating, by much.

Personal Log: Schedules

NOAA Clock

Life on the Oregon II is dictated by schedules, until it’s not. My basic schedule is dictated by my shift. I am on the day shift, which means that I work from noon until midnight. The night shift is midnight until noon. We use a 24 hour time schedule to avoid any confusion about which 8:00 or 10:30 we are referring to. So I am working from 12:00 – 0:00. During that time we might set and haul as many as three stations, or as few as one, so far.

Many factors might impact this schedule, including transit time between stations, as well as weather. I usually wake up some time between 7:00 and 8:00. Breakfast closes at 8:00 and I do like breakfast. On those mornings that I do not make it to breakfast, there is always fruit, cereal, and a variety of leftovers available. The rest of the morning I can use to exercise, write, read and relax. I like to enjoy a few minutes up on the flying bridge watching the ocean or observing a haul below. Lunch begins at 11:00 and I like to get in there fairly early to be sure that I am ready for my shift at 12:00. Our shift simply takes over where the last one left off. Sometimes we are in transit, but we might take over with the set or haul. We continue for the rest of the shift with the station schedule until midnight. Dinner is scheduled from 17:00 – 18:00. If we are not able to make it to the galley due to working, they will hold a dinner for us.

The ship operates and holds to schedules 24-7 unless there is a problem with the weather or mechanical problems. It has taken a while, but I have adjusted to this schedule and it feels pretty normal. Currently, we are taking shelter near shore to wait out a storm. We are expecting a 24 hour delay with no fishing stations.

A photo of just the moon - orange, but with some topography visible - against a completely black background — The Sturgeon Supermoon

One of the real treats is the natural beauty. The ocean is not just a repetitive body of water, but an everchanging montage of colors and shapes. Sometimes a light green, to deep blue at other times. At night, the blanket of black is broken by the white foam of the bow waves and whitecaps. There are dolphins, sea turtles, sea birds, not to mention all of the interesting creatures that come up on the longline. Sunsets never fail to disappoint, and then of course, the moonrises. We were lucky enough to be hauling in the longline when the Antares rocket was launched from Wallops Island, Virginia. We watched as the orange glow slowly receded into the clouds. Just a few minutes later, the Sturgeon Supermoon rose behind the clouds on the horizon. That was an incredible experience. There is always some new natural beauty to be found out here. Nature may be beautiful but it is not subject to our schedules.

Animals seen: spotted dolphins, laughing gulls, gag grouper, scamp grouper, oyster toadfish, bonita, great hammerhead, scalloped hammerhead, sucker fish

We had been watching these dolphins coming to the surface. This is the video we got when we retrieved the CTD.

oyster toadfish, photographed head-on, in a white plastic bin. — Oyster toadfish, watch out for those venomous spines.
Photo credit: John Brule

Did you know?

Have you ever had someone wish you “fair winds and following seas?” Josh explained this saying to me. While we were talking, the boat was rocking back and forth in 3-5 foot waves. Not a particularly smooth ride. He commented that, “It seems like we always find the trough.” I asked him what he meant. He explained that when waves are coming from one side or the other, this is said to be “in the trough.” The low point between waves is called the trough. The smoothest ride on a boat comes when the waves are coming from the stern, following the ship, so to speak. That would be the seas following the boat.

August 1, 2023August 2, 2023

Martin McClure: Starting the Survey, July 30, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Martin McClure

NOAA Ship Oregon II

July 25– August 9, 2023

Mission: Shark/Red Snapper Bottom Longline Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico/Atlantic Ocean

Date: July 30, 2023

Latitude: 31°21.967’N

Lonfitude: 80°12.135’W

Air Temperature: 27.5° C.

Wind Speed: 6.79 kph

Science and Technology Log: Longline Fishing

Teacher at Sea Stephen Kade created this graphic to help explain longline fishing.

We have started the longline survey and it is well organized and exciting. The first part of the process is called the set. We start the fishing process by baiting circle hooks. These hooks are attached to a 12 foot length of 3 mm line called a gangion (gan-jin). We use mackerel for bait. Each piece of fish is hooked through a circle hook.

Circle hooks ready for baiting

Next we drop over a buoy with a radar reflector on top called a hi flier. Attached to this is a 4 mm line called the main line. Then a weight is attached to the line and dropped. This anchors the beginning of the fishing line to the seafloor. Next, a numbered clip is attached to each gangion. The gangions are attached to the main line in order from 1- 50. A second weight is then attached to the main line and the process is repeated with gangions numbered 51- 100. A third weight is then attached to anchor this end of the line to the seafloor.

Tagging and attaching the gangions

Finally, a second hi flier buoy is attached and released to mark the end of the line. As each of these steps is done a member of the team records it on a computer. This gives a precise time that each baited hook went in the water as well as when and where the anchors and buoys were released.

Ready to drop the hi flyer

The next step is to take water measurements. This is done with a remarkable device called a CTD. CTD stands for conductivity, temperature and depth. Conductivity is related to how much salt is in the water (salinity) and is related to how well it will conduct electricity. It also measures the temperature and depth of the ocean at that spot. We attach a camera to it to see what the seafloor is made of at that spot. We want to know if it is a sandy bottom, sea grass, muddy, etc.

The CTD

Then we wait one hour.

The second part of the process is called the haul. The haul is simply the set done in reverse, except that we often catch fish. The fishermen use a grappling hook to retrieve the main line attached to the hi flier.

Grappling hook ready to thrown

When it is brought on board, the main line is attached to a winch. The winch is used to pull the main line up of the seafloor. As the main line is pulled in the gangions are detached and replaced in a barrel, the numbered clips are detached and kept on a line in number order. That way, everything is ready to be used for the next set. Whatever is on, or not on, the hook is recorded on the computer. If the bait is missing or damaged is noted.

Weighing a barracuda

Any fish caught is noted on the computer and the team jumps into action. For sharks there are several things that happen. They are identified by species. The hook is removed and the shark is weighed. It is then measured for three different lengths, precaudal (before the tail fin), fork (at the fork in the tail, and total (the end of the tail fin). The sex, male or female, and maturity is determined. Tissue samples are taken by cutting off a small piece of a fin. This tissue sample is placed in a small plastic vial and labeled. They are also often given a numbered tag. This information is all recorded and entered into the computer.

Me, tagging a sandbar shark.

Meet the Crew: Lieutenant James Freed

NOAA Corps Lieutenant James Freed is the operations officer for the Oregon II. He has many responsibilities as part of his job. Part of his job is to liaison, or maintain communication, between the science party and the ship’s commanding officer (CO). That means making sure that everything that the science team needs is on the ship. If the science team has needs then we would go through him and not directly to the CO. As Operations Officer he is also in charge of organizing materials when they come aboard the ship. He posts the Plan of the Day which lets everyone on board know what to expect that day. Lieutenant Freed coordinates port logistics for the ship. This means he coordinates the loading and unloading of materials. His duties also include acting as Officer of the Deck (OOD). During this 4 hour shift he is responsible for the ship’s navigation and safety. His emergency response assignments on the Oregon II include being the nozzleman on the fire team, launching life rafts for abandon ship and he goes out on the rescue boat for man overboard.
Lieutenant Freed grew up in Santa Rosa, California. He attended Santa Rosa Junior College and then transferred to University of California, Santa Cruz where he studied marine biology. During this time he worked as an intern on a fishing vessel and this is where he first heard about the NOAA Corps. He has now been in the NOAA Corps for 6 years. Before being assigned to the Oregon II he was first assigned to the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada in Newport, Oregon. He then moved to Seattle working with the Marine Mammal Laboratory at Alaska Fisheries Science Center. For this assignment his duties were quite varied. They included doing a lot of field work, flying drones, and doing whale biopsies.
Lieutenant Freed is clearly enthusiastic about his career in the NOAA Corps. He describes it as an “incredible career” that supports his growth with leadership and management training. The NOAA Corps is growing with new ships and aircraft and will need to recruit new members.. The ships participate in a wide variety of tasks including fisheries research, oceanographic and atmospheric data collection and hydrographic mapping.

Personal Log

Well these last few days have been quite a transition. After 2 1/2 days of transit from Pascagoula, MS to Miami. It was a bit shocking to see how the skyline has changed after 40+ years. It has grown, to say the least. We started fishing just north of Miami. The 10 person science team is split into two shifts. I am on the “day” shift. We work from noon to midnight. These long shifts are filled with alternating periods of activity and waiting. After the set we wait for an hour before the haul. Then, depending on where the next set is, there will be another wait of between two to three hours. The hauls seem to follow the same patterns. As the mile of line is reeled in, there are long periods with not much happening. Then, there might be three fish online within a few hooks. Last night it was two baby tiger sharks and a 1200 mm (3 ft. 11 in.) barracuda within about 5 minutes. When there is a shark too big to haul up by hand on the gangion, the crane is used. We all don hardhats, the crane is moved into place and everyone is busy taking measurements, preparing tags, and taking tissue samples. I was warned to bring a lot of reading material for the down time and I did that. However, with so many things to learn, interesting people to talk to, and beautiful scenery to watch, I have had little time for boredom to creep in.

Ready to release a baby tiger shark.

One of the most common questions that I had before I left concerned getting motion sick. Dare I utter the word… seasick. So far, I have been lucky… hmm, I can’t seem to find any wood around here to knock on. I started the voyage with what I consider to be a rational decision, take the Dramamine. We started with two days of beautiful weather. By the first sign of rough seas I had stopped taking the Dramamine so I went outside and watched the horizon for about an hour. I decided that watching the horizon on a beautiful day at sea had no drawbacks. I never did feel nauseaus. Some people recomended that I buy the accupressure bands which I did. When seas get rough and I am inside I will sometimes wear those. I have not been seasick, yet. I still take precautions like not doing computer work inside when in rough seas but so far I have been fine. In fact, as far as I know none of the volunteers or crew have been sick.

I cannot end this blog without acknowledging the stewards in the gally and the impressive menu available at each meal. I think that there are always three choices for a main dish and a variety of sides. Additonally, a salad bar is always available, snacks, and my favorite, ice cream.

Just one of three delicious options that night

Animals seen: sea turtle, dolphin, snake fish, spotted eel, barracuda, shark sucker. Sharks: sandbar shark, tiger shark, Atlantic sharpnose shark, scalloped hammerhead

shame faced crab

Did you know?

Most of the fish that we catch have parasites living in and on them?

July 31, 2023August 3, 2023

Jenny Gapp: An Ode to Big Blue, July 29, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jenny Gapp (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 23 – August 5, 2023

Mission: Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) Survey (Leg 3 of 5)
Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean off the Northern California Coast working north back toward coastal waters off Oregon.
Date: July 29, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge

Sunrise 0616 | Sunset 2037
Current Time: 1500 (3pm Pacific Daylight Time)
Lat 41 06.7 N, Lon 124 37.6 W
Visibility: 10 nm (nautical miles)
Sky condition: A few clouds
Wind Speed: 13 knots
Wind Direction: 334°
Barometer: 1019.7 mb
Sea Wave height: 2-3 ft | Swell: 330°, 3-4 ft
Sea temp: 14.1°C | Air Temp: 17.6°C

Science and Technology Log

Hake are not the only thing being studied during this mission. In the Chemistry Lab, there are a variety of ongoing tests. Every few transects, seawater is collected and tested for Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs). A vacuum pump sucks the sample through a 0.45um filter, which is then removed and placed into a test tube for microscopic study. The Southern California coast is currently dealing with a bloom toxic to animals. Scientists want to know if the bloom is drifting north. Blooms are a natural phenomenon, but human activity cannot be ruled out from having an impact.

water filtration equipment, and a datasheet on a clipboard, on a metal table — HAB test in the Chem Lab

A seawater pump connects to a software program that allows you to see images of phytoplankton being photographed in real time as they are sucked past the camera. Phytoplankton forms the base of the aquatic food web. They provide food for huge whales, small fish, invertebrates, and zooplankton. Plankton makes up 95% of life in the ocean, they generate half of our oxygen and absorb carbon. A sudden removal of phytoplankton would result in a collapse of aquatic ecosystems, and would accelerate climate change further.

The phytoplankton images are taken using a robotic microscope automating identification. The name of the artificial intelligence is Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB). Flow cytometry uses lasers to create both scattered and fluorescent light signals. These signals are read by photosensitive diodes and tubes, and then those signals can be converted electronically to be read by a computer. The data gathered enables ecosystem modeling, and can act as an early warning to toxic blooms.

photo of a computer screen displaying data and a black and white image of a magnified phytoplankton — Image of phytoplankton captured by the IFCB

equipment - looks like a large black tube with wires sticking out of it, clamped to the side of a metal sink — Image of phytoplankton captured by the IFCB

Career feature

Steve stands at a line of computer screens and keyboards on the bridge. Through the bridge windows, we can make out blue water. Steve holds what might be an electronic pad in his left hand and a stylus in his right hand. He looks down, focused on his work. — Chief Scientist, Steve de Blois, on the bridge during a trawl.

Steve de Blois, Chief Scientist

Steve’s favorite thing about his job is getting out in nature, seeing, and photographing marine mammals. Even though the hours are long, the commute is short when you’re at sea! His educational background includes an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and a Master’s from Humboldt State University (now called Cal Poly Humboldt) in marine mammals. It was tough finding work after graduate school since working with marine mammals generally holds more appeal than fish, and thus more people are competing for a finite number of jobs. Once Steve secured a job at one of NOAA’s regional offices, he found out about other opportunities and ended up on a walleye pollock acoustic trawl survey in Alaska. This is where he had one of those National Geographic moments where the scenery is so stunning it touches you at your core. He has been with NOAA since 1990—the same year the Teacher at Sea Program began.

Steve’s advice for young people interested in ocean-related careers is to focus on getting your education. He states that getting a graduate degree (PhD and/or Master’s) will make you more competitive in the scientific community. However, he also advises, “get experience.” Nothing can compare to first-hand experience and there are many opportunities for volunteering in the field, in marine labs, and on ships.

During his leisure time, Steve prefers to fly his home-built plane (A Zenith CH 650), go scuba diving, and enjoy photography. When it comes to reading he prefers nonfiction. He has German heritage on his mother’s side and shared some personal history of family members surviving both World War One and World War Two. This part of his family tree has increased his interest in true tales about World War Two German fighter pilots. In his youth, he absorbed science fiction novels by Arthur C. Clarke and recalls enjoying Dune, by Frank Herbert. Recently, he read Rachel Carson’s classic The Sea Around Us and was impressed by its lyrical prose.

Steve has patiently taught me about how to detect hake sign on an echogram. Acoustically speaking, hake have a unique characteristic. The visualized pings usually show hake near the slope of the continental shelf, and they appear as a diffuse cloud of colored pixels, or as a “hakey snakey” line gently curving up and down. A calculation called NASC, Nautical Area Scattering Coefficient, makes an estimate of individuals in that defined area drawn by scientists.

The acoustic echogram has a color key representing the strength of return on what the sound waves bounce off. The color scale looks something like you’d see in an art room class teaching color theory. The weakest return is signified by a pale grey to dark, then a light blue shade into dark, the blue turns teal as it morphs into greens, then when yellow appears the scientists start getting excited. After yellow is orange, pink, then many shades of red ending with a deep magenta. The ocean floor appears as deep magenta. On Leg 2 the Shimada saw several very dense balls of fish; these fish are likely herring or sardines, species smaller than hake. The acoustic return from these very dense balls of fish is extremely high—their color in the acoustic software is easily deep red, almost brown.

a screenshot likely of a powerpoint slide combining several graphs. most are grids with thousands of colored dots on them, representing acoustic signatures. diagonal, jagged lines of darker colors mark the seafloor. this slide is labeled AWT 27, Transect 38, July 27, 2023. 40 degrees 36.67'N, 124 degrees 31.82'W. 15:05 PDT (22:05 GMT), 20.7 min. TD 210 m/bottom depth 550 m. — The thicker reddish brown line you see is the continental shelf/ocean floor. The greenish-yellow cloud represents an acoustic signature historically found to be hake. The thin red lines in the echograms on the right represent the head rope from imaging by the SBE (Sea-Bird Electronics) camera, aka “the turtle.”

Taxonomy of Sights

Day 5. Bycatch highlights: Intact squid, Chinook salmon (also known as King salmon), and excited albatross following a record haul.

Day 6. More salmon, two kinds of rockfish, a Thetys vagina salp (more on the awkward name here), and a marine hatchetfish so small my camera found it difficult to focus on. Ethan Beyer, Wet Lab Lead, shared a trick to determine the difference between a yellowtail rockfish and widow rockfish (they look similar). The difference? Widow rockfish have a “widdle” mouth. Meaning, the mouth is smaller than the yellowtail’s (ha, ha). The two types of rockfish we caught were the widow and the shortbelly (Ethan says they make great tacos!) Speaking of tacos, the widow rockfish are due to make an appearance on our mess deck menu soon.

Day 7. Not much…

You Might Be Wondering…

What is the furthest you’ve been from shore?
To date (July 28th), an extension of transect 39 took us a total of 62 nautical miles from shore, which beat our extension record on Wednesday, July 26th. Leg 3 has extended more transects than Leg 2. The reason for extending a transect is to go where the fish sign is. The NOAA Fisheries protocol is to discover what the western extent is for schools of hake on that transect. So, they wait for at least one mile without seeing hake before ending the transect.

What is the deepest trawl you’ve made?
So far on Leg 3 we’ve gone 400 meters (about a quarter of a mile) to reach a target depth. Simply put, target depth is where the fish are estimated to be.

Floating Facts

Vocabulary

Bycatch – Some dictionaries call them unwanted creatures caught in the pursuit of a different species. NOAA however, thinks it worthwhile to catalog the biomass of these tag-alongs.

Biomass – The total weight (sometimes quantity) of a species in a given area or given volume.

One of these things is not like the others
Tow, Haul, and Trawl are used interchangeably in reference to fishing.
“Catch” is what we’ve caught in the net.

Survey Permits

You know how you ask permission at school and at home to do a thing? The hake survey requires a number of permits to conduct its research. A permit is an official document saying you have asked for and been granted permission.

NOAA’s Western Region office issues “Authorizations and Permits for Protected Species.” The protected species are salmon and eulachon, a thin silvery thing about the size of a herring. The permit dictates what you can (measure and weigh it) and can’t do (eat it) with protected species.

A state’s jurisdiction over ocean waters only extends three nautical miles from shore. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to know the number of all species caught off its coast. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife issues a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) along with a permit. The MOU calls out particular species they are interested in: longfin smelt, coho and chinook salmon.

Jenny stands in the wet lab holding a sizable salmon with two hands. She wears black gloves, black overalls, and a Teacher at Sea beanie. — I should be frowning – we don’t intend to be pulling salmon out of the water. However, their appearance does contribute to data about the health of their populations.

While fishing rarely ever happens in Alaskan waters during the hake survey, the Department of Fish and Game issues a permit that is shared with Canadian colleagues who may pursue hake further north. Waters defined by NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries have their own monitoring system and permit issuance. The hake survey passes through three sanctuaries in California waters and one in Washington (the Olympic Coast). Finally, the West Coast Region of NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) issues a permit and requires a record of all species caught in U.S. waters, so a grand total of sorts for all states involved.

Personal Log

Thursday was a huge improvement over the icky Wednesday ride. We made two successful trawls, and two trawls on Friday. Wet Lab Lead, Ethan Beyer, commented during fish processing on Friday, “I feel like I’m the world’s foremost expert on the visual maturity of hake. I look at a lot of hake gonads.” This was memorable.

Saturday dawned with too much fishing line in the water to do anything so we waited until we moved past it before dipping the net in. We did squeeze in a catch before lunch, but it produced exactly one hake among the usual lanternfish and pyrosomes. Disappointing for the science crew.

Note: In an earlier post I referred to lanternfish as “lampfish,” which is incorrect. I’ve also been calling Dramamine “dopamine” for some reason. I’ll blame it on the mild disorientation that is caused by floating around on the ocean.

My Daily Routine

I wake around 0600 and sometimes make it up to the flying bridge to see the sunrise, but usually go up regardless before breakfast to view the morning light. I stop in at the acoustics lab to sit at my workstation, blog a bit, and see what hake sign there is on the echogram (software visualization of what lies beneath us). Breakfast is served at 0700, then I return to acoustics to stay up to date on when we’re going fishing.

When you hear, “Fishing, fishing, fishing,” on the radio you know it’s almost time for the marine mammal watch. Marine mammal watch happens on the bridge, and I continue watching for a while even after the watch ends. I’ll stay up there for most of the trawl until I hear, ”Doors at the surface.” (More on the stages of a trawl next time.)

Next, I’ll go to the “ready room” in the wet lab where boots and fishy rubber overalls are stored. Blog post three walked you through what we do in the Wet Lab once the catch has been dumped in the crate. Processing species takes us into lunch hour at 1100.

A second trawl after lunch, and assuming the catch is decent, processing will take us to dinner. I have down time after dinner, watch the evening light if the weather is amenable, then return to acoustics for more blog time. I’m in bed somewhere between 2030 and 2230.

While there is a general routine, no day is exactly alike. On Saturday I assisted Ethan with collecting sea water from a vertical net dipped by a crane to 100 meters. Scientists will look at the plankton, krill, and other small species to determine stratification and measure abundance.

three crewmembers, wearing hard hats and life vests, guide the narrow end of a suspended vertical net down toward the deck for emptying. it's a clear day and the water is fairly calm. — Deck and Survey Crews work with Ethan to collect samples from the vertical net.

two crewmembers wearing hard hats and life vests work to unhook a large weight from the base of a net suspended high above them. The image focuses on Ethan, in the foreground, while the second crewmember's face is largely obscured by the net's codend. — Deck and Survey Crews work with Ethan to collect samples from the vertical net.

Librarian at Sea

“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.”― Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us

The cover of Rachel Carson’s book, The Sea Around Us, appears on the wall of the dining room at Sylvia Beach Hotel where I stayed prior to the departure of leg three. Her poetic approach to scientific insight continues to inspire readers. The book I brought with me on the ship does something similar. In How Far the Light Reaches, author Sabrina Imbler blends personal memoir with profiles of ten sea creatures. Imbler attempts to keep metaphors and personal (human) parallels at a distance from the scientific integrity of species. Both titles are recommended reading.

image of the cover of How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler. — How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler

photo of an old copy of The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson mounted to a red wall — The Sea Around Us by Rachel L. Carson

Hook, Line, and Thinker

When I was a kid, my Dad sometimes sang Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘Ode to Big Blue’ as a lullaby before bed. It’s one of the only songs I know all the lyrics to, although sometimes I scramble the verses up. I think it was my first exposure to the tension between commerce and the sustainability of natural resources. The sixth verse says,

Now the gray whale is run and the sperm is almost done
The finbacks and the Greenland rights have all passed and gone
They’ve been taken by the men for the money they could spend
And the killing never ends it just goes on

Herein lies another ethical debate on balancing preservation, economics, and the needs and wants of Homo sapiens. The song celebrates the natural wonder of whales alongside the biting reality of human enterprise.

In April 2023 NOAA released a 2022 Status of Stocks report. Data displayed overfishing status of 490+ stocks managed by NOAA.

a NOAA Fisheries infographic showing two pie graphs in the shape of fish silhouettes. the first is labeled 355 Stocks with Known Overfishing Status. This graph shows that 93% are not subject to overfishing (331 stocks) while 7% (just the tip of the tail of this snapper-shaped fish) are subject to overfishing (24 stocks). The other graph is labeled 249 Stocks with Known Overfishing Status. It shows that 81% are not overfished (201 stocks) while 19% (a little more than the tail of this tuna-shaped fish) are overfished (48 stocks).

NOAA Fisheries assistant administrator, Janet Coit, said in the Status of Stocks news release, “Managing fisheries sustainably is an adaptive process, relying on sound science and innovation to conserve species and habitat, and meet the challenge of increasing our nation’s seafood supply in the face of climate change.” NOAA Fisheries priorities for fiscal year 2023 are full of words like: sustainability, resilience, mitigate, adapt, diversify, ensure equity, safeguard, propel recovery, conservation, protect, and restore. NOAA continuously strives to balance the scales between conservation and consumption.

What are the ethical concerns that should guide economics?
Is it possible to view the ocean other than as a natural resource?
Is that view in fact imperative to the sustainability of life on Earth?

A Bobbing Bibliography

If you keep your eye out for books, you will find them. Tucked away on the bridge is a shelf containing…

photo of books on a shelf. we see: Marine Weather, Cold Weather Handbook... , Dutton's Nautical Navigation, Solas, American Merchant Seaman's Manual sixth edition, Shiphandling with Tugs second edition, Watch Officer's Guide fifteenth edition, Stability and Trim for the Ship's Officer fourth edition, Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions sixth edition, The Bluejacket's Manual, Nautical Almanac 2023, Nautical Almanac 1981

July 31, 2023August 2, 2023

Elli Simonen: The Survey Team, July 27, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Elli Simonen (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather

July 10-28, 2023

Mission: Hydrographic Survey of the Pribilof Islands

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pribilof Islands, Alaska

Date: July 27, 2023

Weather Data

Location: 55°54.11’N, 168°33.69W

Outside temperature: 11°C

Water temperature: 10.5°C

True Winds: 8nm, 211.9°

Skies: Overcast and Foggy

Visibility: 5nm

Sea Wave: 1 ft

Swell Wave: 2 ft

Science and Technology Log

The entire survey department has diverse backgrounds rooted in Science and each took different paths before coming to NOAA Ship Fairweather. Their studies in college include Geography, Quantitative Geoscience, Environmental Science, Economic Environmental Policy, Space Studies, Physical Oceanology, Applied Math, Computer Science and Marine Biology.

I wanted to highlight two people in the survey department who I worked with over the last 3 weeks.

Alex Dawson, Physical Scientist, Project Manager for the Pribilof Islands

Alex studied in one of the only hydrographic programs in the U.S. for undergraduates, at the College of Charleston. This is a unique program where students gain technical, practical and research knowledge and experience. Alex obtained bathymetric data and translated this into a research project. She presented this information at a professional conference, which put her ahead of many of her peers.

In her current job at NOAA headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland, Alex is a Physical Scientist and a Project Manager. She plans projects for the entire U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and planned this Hydrographic Survey of the Pribilof Islands; she is aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather for their Pribilof Island Surveys . Each project takes about 2 to 6 months to plan depending on the complexity of the specific area being surveyed. Alex and her team do this by looking at the environment of the area, known features and existing charts. She develops environmental compliance best management practices so the survey does not impact the local ecosystem or marine life. Any features that are on existing charts such as obstructions, shipwrecks, rocks, or pipelines will be included in the project’s GIS files, and she determines if those features need to be investigated more thoroughly. This is all put together in a project package that is sent to the hydrographic ship– the footprint of the survey, any special features that need to be investigated, environmental compliance information, and any previous surveys in the last 20 years that may abut or overlap the planned survey area. Alex also does hurricane response work; if a hurricane hits a port, then the port will be closed until a federal hydrographic survey comes in to make sure it is safe for commerce. This is done as fast as possible, sometimes within 24 hours.

Which projects get fulfilled depends on the navigational risks of each area. Alex explains: “Coast Survey determines which areas to survey within U.S. ports, harbors, and approaches, as well as U.S. waters more broadly, by using the risk-based Hydrographic Health Model. The model assesses risks to surface navigation from charted bathymetry and features, including both the likelihood of a risk (e.g. traffic density, known hazards to navigation, reported ship groundings, etc.) and the consequence of a risk (e.g. proximity to search and rescue stations, proximity to public beaches, reefs, or marine sanctuaries, etc.). A resulting accuracy factor indicates the urgency (or lack thereof) for new hydrographic surveys.”

In Alex’s own words:
“I love mapping in general, but I think it’s really cool to map in an area such as the Pribilofs… to uncover what hasn’t been uncovered before – mapping where no one has mapped before.”

Alex Dawson aboard NOAA Ship Fairweather en route to the Pribilof Islands

Sara Ober, Hydrographic Survey Technician

Sara got her B.S. in Marine Biology from Texas A & M University. After college, she worked for 5 years in Alaska as a fisheries observer contracted through NOAA through the North Pacific Observer Program. She worked on smaller fishing boats to observe what they were catching and when. The calendar of the fishing seasons and quotas in Alaskan waters are mostly federally managed and she would observe the catch at the beginning, close and during the season and pass on that data to the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.

Sara then became a survey technician with NOAA. At the time, hydrography was new to Sara, but she is currently in her second year and likes training newer survey technicians on how to precisely look at the data and check for accuracy. Every morning she makes sure everything is ready for the plan of the day in terms of surveying, ensures the processing from the night before is ready and addresses anything if needed. She likes helping others learn and members of the survey team often go to her for advice.

In the future, Sara is hoping to combine her marine biology and hydrography experiences together and do benthic habitat map work. The benthic zone is the ecological region found at the bottom of a body of water. Sara would like to use sonar data to see what the seafloor looks like and why fish live there, as well as predict where they migrate to.

In Sara’s own words:

“I really like hydrography, the technical part is fun and new to me. I wasn’t expecting to like it as much as I do. Being able to visually see something is very cool to me and having such an impact on things. We can see our direct impact when we submit our data and later on when nautical charts get updated. It’s like, this is what I did and here’s the final product.

I love being in Alaska. I like working on a ship, I think it’s fun.”

a young woman in a gray sweatshirt sits at a computer and smiles for the camera — Sara Ober working in the Survey Department aboard NOAA Ship *Fairweather*

Personal Log

We will be arriving at port tomorrow in Dutch Harbor and my time on NOAA Ship Fairweather is coming to a close. I want to thank the entire crew for showing and explaining to me the amazing work they do and making me feel at home. The crew is highly skilled, patient, respectful and willing to pretty much do anything to help the mission. Their commitment to Science, to NOAA and to each other is commendable.

I especially want to thank LT Taylor Krabiel and Commanding Officer CMD Meghan McGovern for their hospitality, guidance, continuous check-ins, and making the most of my time.

July 30, 2023August 2, 2023

Jenny Gapp: Aboard a Floating Library of Data, July 27, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jenny Gapp (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 23, 2023 – August 5, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge

Sunrise 6:31am | Sunset 8:46pm
Current Time: 0700 (7:00am Pacific Daylight Time)
Lat 40 16.7 N, Lon 124 33.6 W
Visibility: 10 nm (nautical miles)
Sky condition: broken cloud cover, aka partly sunny
Wind Speed: 25 knots
Wind Direction: 355°
Barometer: 1014.3 mb
Sea Wave height: 4-5 ft | Swell: 340°, 6-8 ft
Sea temp: 9.8°C | Air Temp: 12.6°C

Science and Technology Log

The Wet Lab:

In addition to interviewing members of the crew, working on my blog, and doing a bit of independent research, I am here to help in the wet lab. What does this entail? It begins with waiting. First, there is a marine mammal watch that lasts for 10 minutes. If an animal is within 500 meters we wait until it moves off. Then a second 10-minute watch is started. We continue monitoring mammal activity even after the net is deployed. Sometimes the navigation crew scouts the transect first to make sure the ocean floor won’t cause issues with the net when it is deployed.

Deploying the net is a team effort among deck crew, navigation officers, and scientists. Once the net is off the reel and in the water, the crew disconnects the wire line to the reel and it is transferred to the doors. Winches connected to the trawl doors take the weight of the load. Depending on fish sign, the net is payed out according to depths the acousticians wish to fish at.

The length of time the net is streamed is also determined by the scientists. They monitor how many fish are going into the net via an FS70 third-wire trawl sonar which has a similar function to Doppler radar. Nicknamed “the turtle,” it is attached to the head rope. Sometimes there’s a “thunderstorm” of fish, and sometimes a “drizzle.” Once the acousticians have determined how much to punish the wet lab (joke), the lead scientist calls, “haul back.” The average fishing time is around 20 minutes, although it can be as little as a half minute in a fish thunderstorm or as long as 40 minutes in a fish drizzle. A sensor attached to the net records temperature and depth.

Once the net is back on board and we get a look at the catch size, a decision is made where to dump the haul. Under 100kg (220lbs), the catch goes in a black crate; over 100 kg, it goes into a hopper that leads to a conveyor belt inside the wet lab. The hopper door is opened a little at a time to avoid a fishy waterfall over the sides. Dominant species—hake in this case—go down the belt, and all other species are pulled out and sorted.

a photo of a shark (only the front half, the head to the pectoral fins, is visible) on a metal table. — Brown cat shark

three crewmembers, wearing hard hats and life vests, bend down to work on a bright orange net — Brown cat shark

All our hauls to date have been on the smaller side, and so the net is hoisted and dumped into the black crate containing three smaller baskets. The deck crew slides this through double doors leading into the wet lab and we begin sorting species. Crew members often linger to see what cool things have been hauled aboard, and when they are impressive enough—like medium-sized squid and King-of-the-Salmon almost as long as you are tall—we take photos of each other, shaking our heads at the marvel of it. Ethan weighs the biomass of creatures that are not hake, then they go down the chute back to the ocean and return to the food chain.

Jenny, wearing black overalls, rubber boots, gloves, and a Teacher at Sea hat, stands in the wet lab surrounded by plastic sorting bins. With her right hand, she hoists up a very large fish by its gills. it is pinkish in color, with a large head and a body that tapers all the way from a large round eye to the tail. the top of its open mouth is about in line with Jenny's hat, and the tip of its tail rests on her boot. — A King-of-the-Salmon almost as long as me!

The goal is 400 hake per haul, and to date we’ve counted 282 as the biggest catch. A handful of other species are measured, usually others that are commercially fished.

Depending on the number of hake collected, 50 have otoliths (ear bones) removed for aging and a random 10 of these have their stomachs examined. Krill and Blue lampfish appear to be favorite foods. A measuring device for the stomachs provides us with a number for the volume of food in their stomach.

If the ideal haul is taken, 350 hake are sexed and measured. The sexes are sorted into baskets of different colors: green (“little green men”) for the males and white (“snow white”) for the females. A set number of females have their liver and gonads taken for examination. I have yet to find out why just the females have this done.

After we’ve processed everything we clean the lab after each haul. If you don’t, the fishy aspect can get out of control quickly. Allegedly herrings are the smelliest.

two scientists work at adjacent tables in the wet lab; Ethan in foreground, and Liz in the background. each wears navy blue shirts, orange overalls, orange gloves, and hats. they are working up fish on electronic boards connected to computer screens mounted above the tables. With his left hand, Ethan holds a sliced-open fish (probably a hake) steady; with his right, he reaches with tweezers to remove a part of the fish. — Ethan Beyer, Wet Lab Lead
Liz Ortiz, Fisheries Technician

Taxonomy of Sights

Day 3. Multiple whale spouts throughout the day. Species that appeared in our hauls: King- of-the-Salmon, Pyrosomes, Spiny dogfish, Brown cat shark, Glass shrimp, Jewel squid, and a viperfish that looked like the stuff of nightmares! A couple of albatross cruised behind us during one of the trawls, hoping for some fishy treats.

Day 4. One Jack mackerel mixed in with hake, a monitored species, so we took its measurements. One partial squid tangled in the trawl net.

You Might Be Wondering…

Do you have to wear a life jacket the whole time?

Life jackets and hard hats are required on the aft deck when there is an operation in progress. The safety mantra is, “If you don’t need to be on the deck, don’t go on the deck.” Each of us carries a PLB, or personal locator beacon, in the event of a worst-case scenario. Life jackets, along with immersion suits, are located in staterooms as well as the wet lab. No, I do not wear a life jacket while sleeping, showering, and spending time on the interior of the ship. Safety equipment is never far away. Emergency egress arrows show you a way out, and there are three emergency shower and eye wash stations on the ship. There are also devices called EEBD (Emergency Escape Breathing Device) that contain 15 minutes of oxygen.

If you have questions you are curious about, please leave them in the comments section!

Floating Facts

Nautical Terms
Aft is the back of the boat where the trawling happens. The bow, or forward, is the front of the ship. Port is left, which you can distinguish from starboard because port and left have the same number of letters. Starboard is right. Stairs are referred to as “ladders,” walls are “bulkheads,” not to be confused with “bulwark,” which are the sides of the vessel above the main deck.

New Blue Economy
The “blue economy” is a new term for me. According to Dr. Richard Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & NOAA Administrator, it’s “a knowledge-based economy, looking to the sea not just for extraction of material goods, but for data and information to address societal challenges and inspire their solutions.”

40% of the U.S. population lives in or near coastal communities. A NOAA article on the blue economy states, “If American coastal counties were an individual country, they would rank third in the world in gross domestic product, surpassed only by the United States and China.” I assume this means as compared to the remainder of the United States that do not qualify as a “coastal community.”

The demands of climate change only hasten the need for information about our oceans and coastal regions. NOAA serves as a foundation for the blue economy, providing free, open source data–temperature, water level, hydrography, fisheries health, pH, salinity, and surface currents to name a few. The shipping challenges that the recent global pandemic posed have increased the need for U.S. seaports to add terminals and piers. Maritime commerce is expected to triple by 2030. (source: New Blue Economy, NOAA)

Educator Resources
If you are an educator and have not been to the Oregon Coast STEM hub website, it is highly recommended. It is managed by Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center. There’s something for everyone, even if you and your students aren’t located in Oregon.

While aboard I learned that the University of Oregon—my alma mater—also has a Marine Biology program. In fact, U of O’s Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), located in Charleston, Oregon near Coos Bay, is a field institute like the Hatfield Marine Science Center. OIMB also has a section on its website for educators including lessons and resources. There is some crossover with the STEM hub, but both sites are valuable and worth examining. Note that at the time of my visit to the OIMB site there were some broken links on the resources page.

watercolor illustration of a Pacific giant octopus. handwritten words at the top read: HATFIELD MARINE SCIENCE CENTER Oregon State University. — A watercolor and pen drawing from a previous visit to HMSC.

Personal Log

The NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada has seven levels: (from top to bottom) flying bridge–where our marine mammal and bird observers spend much of their time; bridge–where officers spend much of their time, where navigation happens, where a marine mammal watch happens before a trawl, where the boatswain, also known as a bosun, (deck boss) has a view of the nets going in and out, operates the net reel and communicates between nav crew and deck crew; officers berth–along with the hospital and quarters for the Chief Engineer; science berth–including lounge and offices; labs, mess deck, and access to the aft deck where the net is pulled in and the catch is transferred to the wet lab; deck crew berth–along with gym, winch and trawl rooms, centerboard access; and finally additional machinery rooms–including one for the bow thruster. I have been promised a tour of the engine room toward the end of our cruise, so I am looking forward to that!

photo of an open metal locker with space for hanging clothes and smaller shelves for shoes, etc. — Stateroom locker

view of bunk beds (berths), with a metal ladder up to the top level. the upper one appears to be used for storage right now, filled with what might be survival suits in their bags. the lower berth has a reading light and a curtain. — Stateroom locker

Monday and Tuesday were great days, particularly Tuesday. I felt good, held all my meals, talked with a variety of crew members about their work, and got my hands dirty for the first time in the wet lab. Julia Clemons said of Tuesday, “It was a great day for science!” We made a record number of trawls—three—for the 2023 survey thus far.

sun rising over a mountain range beyond blue waters — Sunrise on Tuesday.

sun setting over the horizon — Sunrise on Tuesday.

a gloved hand holds a fish (possibly a hake) straight toward the camera so we can see down its open mouth to its gill rakers — Oh, the horror of being seasick!

Highlights of Wednesday’s trawl were part of a squid tangled in the net (much larger than the jewel squid), and some baby hake. I got into a rhythm assisting Ethan with entering data. He measured, weighed, sexed, examined stomach contents of some, and removed otoliths. I supported by entering the barcodes from the otolith collection vials manually (nothing new for a librarian who has her own trouble with temperamental barcode scanners from time to time), entered sex and maturity level, entered data on stomach contents (primarily blue lanternfish, and euphausiids, aka krill).

a small squid on a metal table — Jewel squid

just the tentacles of another squid — Jewel squid

Librarian at Sea

“The world turns and the world spins, the tide runs in and the tide runs out, and there is nothing in the world more beautiful and more wonderful in all its evolved forms than two souls who look at each other straight on.” ~Gary D. Schmidt, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

In this middle-grade novel, a friendship is formed between Turner Buckminster, son of a preacher, and Lizzie Bright Griffin, a resident of Malaga Island. Malaga is located off the coast of Maine and was founded by people who were formerly enslaved. The quote above refers to a moment when the two young people are in a boat and Turner comes eye to eye with a whale five times the size of the dory they are traveling in. It reminds me a little of looking into the eyes of the creatures who come aboard in our net. I wonder if some are still capable of seeing…

Hook, Line, and Thinker

The NOAA Teacher at Sea program requires fortitude, flexibility, and following orders.
On Monday the crew followed orders for our first safety drills. These include special signals indicating fire, abandon ship, and man overboard. The science crew (which includes me) musters in the wet lab for fire, where the Chief Scientist reports muster to the bridge. “Muster” means that all are assembled who should be there. During an abandon-ship drill, the crew is split up between six life rafts, three on each side of the ship. New members of the crew try on their immersion suit, a bulky get-up that guards against hypothermia and increases flotation. I tried on two different sizes, and while neither was quite right we concluded bulkier was better than too small. As the XO put it, “It will save your life. Throw in your shoes and a loaf of bread and you’re good to go!” The man overboard drill requires the science crew to muster on the flying bridge where we locate the individual in trouble (in the case of a drill, a couple of buoys tied together) and point.

Can you think of an example in which following orders may save your life?

A Bobbing Bibliography

On the bridge you will find binoculars on the sill of many windows. You will also find whale and dolphin identification guides, as well as one for birds. Some of the binoculars are “reticulated.” When you look into the eyepieces of these you see a series of fine lines (reticules) to determine distance between marine mammals and the vessel. Line up the top line to the horizon and you have the distance between objects and the ship.

There are many great spots along the Oregon Coast for whale watching that don’t require going out on the ocean. Oregon State Parks has a whale watching site with more information.

The book Whales and Other Marine Mammals of Washington and Oregon, by Tamara Eder and illustrated by Ian Sheldon, is propped up against a window. Through the window we can see a deck of the ship, the ocean, sea spray.