NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 14, 2025August 14, 2025

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

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

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jojo Chang

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

June 30 – July 15, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 2)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Date: July 14, 2025

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

Weather Data from the Bridge

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

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

Surrounded by Salt Water

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

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

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

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

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

Science: Environmental DNA

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Visual Art and Music in Seafloor Mapping and Acoustics:

Oceantransect lines

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

two small narrow lampreys on a white surface

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

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

Personal

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

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

Works Cited

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

August 13, 2025August 14, 2025

Dorothy Holley: Moving Metal, August 11, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Dorothy Holley

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

July 31 – August 15, 2025

Blog Post #6

Mission: Northeast Ecosystem Monitoring Survey (EcoMon)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 11, 2025

Weather Data from Bridge:
Latitude: 3956.51 N
Longitude: 07043.5 W
Relative Wind speed: 17
Wind Direction: 336
Air Temperature: 23.6
Sea Surface Temperature: 24.965
Barometric Pressure: 1022.81
Speed Over Ground: 9.8
Water Conductivity: 5.326
Water Salinity: 35.03125

close-up of the buoy portion of the drifter; it is a white fiberglass ball covered in stickers and marker decorations

close-up of the buoy portion of the drifter; it is a white and blue fiberglass ball covered in stickers and marker decorations

Dorothy and Miles, wearing life vests, stand near the railing of NOAA Ship Pisces, and together hold up the drifter buoy and its folded up drogue

Dorothy and Miles, wearing life vests, stand at the rail just after deploying the drifting buoy. it is a lovely day, with some sunset colors and only a few clouds

view of the ocean with the drifting buoy perhaps barely visible in the distance

Miles and Dorothy launch the drifter!

First, Janice from NC is asking about the drifters! In my first blog I mentioned the Global Drifter Program. Since 1979 countries have been placing and monitoring drifters around the world to better understand and make better predictions . Amanda, Miles and I launched the last of our drifters yesterday.

Sam Ouertani, CIMAS (UMiami/NOAA) Research Associate, provided the following answers to Janice’s questions:
How long are the drifters collecting information?
> Drifters typically collect data until the drifter runs aground, the batteries die, or the sensors die. Most drifters are able to collect data for 450 days, however they typically lose their drogue within a year. Without a drogue, data from drifters cannot be used to accurately estimate the surface current velocities, but drifters are still able to measure sea surface temperature and other parameters if equipped with additional sensors.

Are there cameras on the drifters?
> Unfortunately, Global Drifter Program drifters don’t have cameras but several programs in NOAA have started to add cameras. The National Data Buoy Center has added cameras to almost 100 buoys. I believe the Arctic Buoy Program has started adding cameras to observe sea ice conditions, but footage is not yet available.

Do they collect data about depth of the ocean?
>Drifters only collect data at the surface of the ocean; therefore they don’t measure any parameters below the surface, and they do not measure sea floor depth. Another NOAA program, Argo, collects temperature, salinity, and pressure below the ocean surface, but Argo floats do not reach the bottom of the ocean.

Where’s the deepest part?
>The deepest part of the ocean is the Challenger Deep, 35,876 feet deep or over 6.7 miles deep, located in the Mariana Trench. Humans measured this depth by lowering a rope from a submersible vehicle.

Thank you Sam for such thorough answers, and thank you Janice for asking! You can find more information about the drifters we launched here.

Second, an answer to the math problem from the last BLOG: On the First Christmas Bird Count, 18,500 individual birds were logged by the 27 participants. On average, 685 birds were seen by each person. That’s a lot of birds! (The numbers 25, 89, and 1990 were not used to solve the problem.) How do you think that number compares to today’s counts?

Engineers Drew, Glen, and Eric on NOAA Ship Pisces

Science at Sea: If steel is heavier than water, how does the 1840-metric ton Pisces stay afloat? Her density, that’s how! The total volume of water she displaces (including steel, people, parts, and air) must have less mass than that same volume of saltwater. Saltwater’s density is 1.025 g/mL, that’s more dense than freshwater, making it easier for you to float in the ocean. You might remember the Titanic sank when it hit an iceberg, ripping the hull and allowing water to enter and add more mass to the ship.

I recently was given a tour of Pisces hull space by the fabulous Engineering Department. They literally make everything run.

bright red door to the engine room, with a window showing equipment inside. Signs on the door read: DANGER - High Noise Level. Double Ear Protection Required. DANGER. Eye hazard area. Wear eye protection.

on a wall of the engine room, painted in red above a collection of hanging wrenches, are the words SAFETY FIRST

two fire extinguishers mounted on a railing

Safety is paramount

With ear plugs safely protecting my eardrums, we traveled down into the engine space. Safety is paramount. Fire stations can reach any point on the ship with 2 different hoses. There are 2 or 4 of everything – fire hoses, engines, generators, AC units, proportion motors, you name it – because EVERYTHING needs a backup. There are traditional CO₂ fire extinguishers, but I’ve never been to a school that had a CO₂ flooding system like the engine room has. Carbon-dioxide (CO₂) breaks the oxygen side of the fire triangle by displacing oxygen in the combustion reaction, effectively stopping the reaction. If you were taught to “stop, drop, and roll,” you learned another way to smother the fire. The CO₂ flooding system is so powerful that it cannot be used without doing a full body count of the people onboard to make sure no one is in the engine room.

a man stands in the engine room, his right hand resting on an unidentified piece of equipment — Engineer Eric

a man in a blue jumpsuit, with ear protection resting over his shoulder, stands in front of a narrow desk in the engine deck, posing a bit for the photo — Engineer Eric

Dorothy poses for a photo in the middle of an engine room with metal grated floors, many wires, unidentified equipment — Dorothy tours the engine room

oily water separator. close up view of a control panel and a warning plaque that reads: Discharge of Oil Prohibited — Dorothy tours the engine room

Engineers Eric (left) and Travis (right) show Dorothy how water, electricity, and power are provided

Our first stop was the water maker unit. The water needed for cooking, bathing, and drinking can be distilled from ocean water or processed through reverse osmosis. Both options are available on Pisces. Past the expansion tanks and power distribution units Engineer Eric pointed out the refrigeration system for our Chemistry lab above. We freeze chlorophyll samples taken in one of our CTD projects in an ultra low freezer maintained at -75^oC. I was looking at the equipment that was making the freezer work. Air compressors, generators, and motors make the 600-volt electricity on board, step it down to 480 volts for the major machinery, and down even farther to 110 volts for the outlet in my stateroom to charge my cellphone.

Dorothy stands in front of some equipment in the engine room. — Dorothy takes notes during her tour of the engine room

We continued inspecting the machinery that runs Pisces and enables our teams to fulfil our mission. Another piece of equipment that resembles an instrument from our chemistry lab is the centrifuge. It is used to purify the diesel fuel. These pull out the heavier impurities and store water, the lightest part of the mixture, underneath. You might have seen centrifuges at work in the dairy industry. Understanding the science of the engine room helps the science outside the engine room work even better!

view down a narrow hallway, lined with reflective tape, in the engine room

Schematic (bottom left) of the 2 generators and 2 propulsion motors (down walkway on right). Water maker unit (top left) and refrigeration system (middle left) .

More information on Pisces: The ship is 206 feet long, is capable of trawling up to 6,000 feet, and can lift 8,000 pounds. She also has a “quiet hull” which helps reduce underwater sound. Maybe that’s why the whales and dolphins get so close?!

view down at metal flooring in the engine room, interspersed with see-through metal grating. we see two sets of legs. — Feel the power!

You do the Math: If each of the engine’s cylinders displacement is 51 liters, and it has 12 cylinders, what is the total displacement of the engine? Compare this with a car engine which holds 2-3 liters. Check in the next blog post for the answer.

To increase the speed of the ship requires an increase in power, but this is not a directly proportional relationship. Doubling the speed requires the power to be cubed. Engineer Eric described the importance of understanding fuel use on ships, math is money! Large container ships easily spend $300,000 a day on fuel. Saving 1% translates to $30,000 savings.

Decorated styrofoam shapes in a mesh bag on a table

view of the lower portion of the CTD rosette, showing a mesh bag filled with colored styrofoam pieces attached underneath the apparatus

Styrofoam science experiment…. submerged 500 meters…. inverse relationship between pressure and volume predicts the air pockets in the styrofoam will decrease when the pressure is increased. What do you think will happen?

Interesting Things: I am surprised by the ways I have been prepared for life on a boat by classroom life in a public school. At West Johnston High School, in Benson, NC, we have fire drills at least once a month. On a boat, we have safety drills at least once a week. The horn blows a series of long and/or short blasts to let us know if there is a fire, a “MAN OVERBOARD”, or if we need to “ABANDON SHIP!”

Dorothy stands on deck, wearing a fully zipped orange survival suit, holding her arms wide for the photo. the sky and water are bright blue in the background.

a fast rescue boat speeds across the water

Everyone must get into their Gumby suit in less than a minute during an emergency fire drill. The FRB (Fast Reserve Boat) practices the man overboard rescue!

group photo - taken by a camera set up on a table with a timer, we discern from the table in the foreground - of 10 people on the aft deck of NOAA Ship Pisces, seated around a picnic table underneath a canvas shade awning. — *The Science team on NOAA Ship Pisces EcoMon Summer 2025*

Career Spotlight: Meet NOAA Ship Pisces’ new CO! Commander Sinquefield.

a man in a NOAA Corps uniform stands on the bridge of NOAA Ship Pisces, facing a head, holding an intercom up to his ear and smiling. — Commander Sinquefield, NOAA Ship *Pisces*

Did you know there was a Change of Command last month? Our new CO brings a wealth of knowledge and a desire to be a good leader. He showed me around the bridge this week and shared some of his background (BTW, the view on the bridge is amazing!). CDR Sinquefield’s command philosophy is to respect yourself, respect your shipmates, and respect your ship. Likewise, take care of yourself, take care of your shipmates, and take care of your ship. He believes in personal communication and fresh air.

The things he likes about being CO? He likes seeing things you just can’t see on shore, the continuity of historical traditions (like the language, for instance the word “starboard,” has had meaning for 1000 years), training, the opportunity to put into action leadership skills that he was taught and learned through leaders he admired, and regulations. OK, regulations might be pushing it, but he did say he had great respect for the loss of life that has prompted many of the regulations in the shipping industry today.

Growing up in Mississippi, he joined the Coast Guard to complete the trifecta of working in cotton fields, chicken plants, and river tugboats. CDR Sinquefield worked on three different ships while in the Coast Guard, hauled more 80-lb batteries up Alaskan mountains to replenish navigation lights than he’d care to remember, and became familiar with NOAA projects that informed fisheries reports on the west coast. He left the Coast Guard as ship assignments became highly competitive as the service was taking older ships offline at a greater rate then they were being replaced. He left the USCG and he joined NOAA as a civilian, later joining NOAA’s uniformed service, the NOAA Corps.

a hand points to a spot on a map displayed on a computer monitor.

a man in a blue NOAA Corps uniform and black NOAA sweatshirt stands on the bridge. He grasps a metal bar mounted along the ceiling with his right hand and smiles for a photo.

view through one window of the bridge over an outer deck. mounted on or in the window is a cylinder surrounded by a circle.

CO teaches the teacher about maps available for navigation. ENS Howsman (top right) stands watch on the bridge. The center of the circular device (bottom right) spins so fast during cold weather it keeps the area ice free.

CDR Sinquefield was able to earn his commercial shipping license, but doesn’t plan on driving a Mississippi tug boat anytime soon. He stands firm with NOAA’s of 10,000 people, 7 line offices, 15 research and survey ships, and 10 specialized environmental data collecting aircraft. The extraordinary mammals – we’re talking seals and blue whales here – affirm his career choice every. single. day.

Personal Log

Life on is very different from life on land. We work 12-hour shifts. Everyone gets to walk to work – I take 53 steps (10 of them are down 1 staircase) from my cabin door to the door of the dry lab. I take 19 steps to the mess hall for lunch and dinner. There are 67 steps (up 3 staircases) from my door to the Flying Bridge where I see gulls, Mola mola, a full view of the sun in the day, and a sky load of stars at night. I am there now, working on this Blog post when I am not distracted by nature.

Dorothy takes a selfie from a chair on the deck of NOAA Ship Pisces. She is wearing a pink shirt with the outline of the state of North Carolina and the word "Teacher." Her laptop rests on her knees. — Dorothy “working” on this BLOG on the Flying Bridge

One thing that is the same on a boat is the need to wash clothes (probably more frequently since everything had to fit in a carry-on bag and I needed that fleece sleeping bag just in case!). Here is a picture of the laundry room. The ship has 3 washers, 3 dryers, and all the detergent you need.

Dorothy takes a selfie next to a stack of washing machines

close up view of label on dryer that reads: Clean lint trap after each use.

Dorothy checks out the washer and dryer on board. Detergent is provided. The most important rule when using is to clean out the dryer lint trap before AND after using. Extra Credit if you can tell me why!

August 13, 2025August 20, 2025

Joshua Gonzalez: A Tale of Two Hauls: August 13, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Joshua Gonzalez

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

August 11 – August 23, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 4)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Today’s Date: August 13, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 42° 06.3’N

Longitude: 124° 35.0′ W

Wind speed: 2.4 kts.

Wave height: 1-2 ft.

Air temp.: 12.3° C (54° F)

Sky: Fog

Science and Technology Log

While I was sleeping, the net that we helped set out was brought back in with a haul of hake. Exactly what the morning crew was looking for! It was almost entirely hake, which made the processing extremely straight forward. Some might be inclined to think that this is exactly what science is supposed to look like.

Fast forward to my shift again and shortly after we woke up, there was a haul that was ready to be brought in. We were all very excited for our first chance to process a catch. Well, this time when the net was brought up, it was awfully full. We were excited about the possibility of going through the catch and finding our target CPS, Coastal Pelagic Species. However, it was almost entirely full of krill, and did not have a single specimen of what we were looking for. Now, some might think that this means our haul was a failure and/or it was bad science.

Those people would be wrong. While the first two hauls of this leg of the survey are diametrically different, they are both good. Science requires good data. Data is good when it is reliably accurate. It doesn’t matter if it is larger numbers or zeros. So, in our case, while we didn’t get the information we were looking for, we now know that what we did had a result of zero for our targeted CPS . We also know that where we fished resulted in a catch of krill. This is knowledge that we can use next time to help us get what we are after.

a crewmember lowers a full trawl net, lined with orange buoys, onto the aft deck of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. it is night time. we can see a few crewmembers wearing life vests and hard hats, but our view is obscured by the large net. — About to empty the first catch.

photo of a white plastic bin filled with thousands, probably tens of thousands, of krill. — About to empty the first catch.

In the second catch we did get a few different species. We caught: North Pacific krill, moon jellyfish, and a handful of eulachon. The eulachon were all weighed and measured for length.

Personal Log

Today is my brother’s birthday. Happy birthday! I am feeling much better. I continue to take the sea sickness prevention medicine, but I think I have found my sea legs. I am starting to feel like I know my way around NOAA Ship Shimada more and more, or at least the places I am supposed to go. 🙂 I was happy to make it from my bunk, down past the wet lab and acoustics lab, through the hall, past the mess, down some steps, through a room I never need to stop at, and to the laundry on my very first try! Our ship even has two places to work out. I am not brave enough to try a treadmill when the boat is rocking, but I did take an opportunity to do some jump rope.

I am amazed by the engineers who think through everything that needs to be done to make a ship like ours work. It is a maze of rooms, cords, and more, but all of it is well thought out and has a purpose.

I was a little disappointed today. We had a little extra time in between work during my shift so I went out to check on the stars, but it was foggy out so I could only see a few feet away. But I am learning a lot and having a ton of fun. It will be interesting to see what it will be like when we are getting more and larger hauls in a single shift.

Also, it’s a big deal back in Milwaukee, but the Brewers have won 11 games in a row. One more tonight means free burgers in the city! When I spoke with my wife and kids, they were definitely hoping for a win tonight. Let’s go Brew Crew!

Josh, wearing an orange rain coat, orange gloves, and gray beanie, stands at a metal table in the wet lab over an electronic fish measuring board. he looks down as he lines a slim fish up against the board to take its measurement. — Measuring a fish

Josh, wearing an orange rain coat, orange gloves, and gray beanie, stands at a metal table in the wet lab at an electronic fish measuring board. he looks up for a photo as he lines a slim fish up against the board to take its measurement. in the foreground is a blue tray with a pile of similar fish. — Measuring a fish

Did You Know?

The eulachon is also known as the candle fish. It got the name from the fact that it is so oily that if you dry the fish out, you can light the tail on fire and it will burn like a candle. In the past, the eulachon was prized for its oil. The oil will even be solid at room temperature, similar to butter.

Can you identify this species?

close-up view of a single eulachon in a green plastic basket

You guessed it: Eulachon!

August 12, 2025August 21, 2025

Joshua Gonzalez: Of Fish and Men, August 12, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Joshua Gonzalez

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

August 11 – August 23, 2025

Mission: Integrated West Coast Pelagics Survey (Leg 4)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean, California Coast

Today’s Date: August 12, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 43° 06.2’N

Longitude: 124° 38.8′ W

Wind speed: 9.2 kts.

Wave height: 1-2 ft.

Air temp.: 13° C (55° F)

Sky: Overcast

Science and Technology Log

An often paraphrased quote by Robert Burns goes, “The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry.” Well, maybe that phrase also applies to fish.

The original plans for this leg of the survey were to head out to sea on August 8th. However, a winch on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada stopped working before we took off. The winch is important as it helps to bring in the net which we need to catch the fish. It was a two day repair.

Then on the 10th we were all aboard and ready to leave when the wind decided to kick up. It was coming in at such an angle and strength that we did not have enough power to push away from the dock safely. So, we stayed in port for another night. We made the most of it by walking to the Oregon Coast Aquarium. It was amazing to be with the scientists as we walked through the exhibits. They have so much knowledge and experience working with the creatures on display.

Thankfully, the next day, the wind cooperated, and right around 14:50 on August 11th, we were able to set off. There were cheers and fist pumps as we began our journey.

In our mission we are taking a survey of the West Coast Pelagics, but specifically we are looking for five main fish: Pacific sardine, jack mackerel, northern anchovy, Pacific mackerel, and Pacific hake. I will be focusing on CPS, Coastal Pelagic Species, which are the sardines, anchovies, and both mackerels. Those will be caught during the night time shift that I will be working, midnight to noon. The reason we catch them at night is that during the day they are spread out and feeding, but at night they come back together for safety.

This is important work because with the data we collect we will know more about the population, size, and location of the populations and that provides guidance on what should be done for commercial fishing of those populations. One way we are able to be more efficient in catching the fish is by using certain tools to help us know where the fish are. We use acoustics technology to determine where, how many, and what kind of fish.

Today I helped get a TDR, Temperature Depth Recorder, ready to attach to the net. This sends information back to the ship about the depth of the net and the temperature of the water. The information when combined with what we know from the acoustics helps us catch what we are after.

Josh, wearing a Teacher at Sea hat, stands in the wet lab holding a what appears to be a large metal tube in both hands. He smiles for the camera. — Me holding a TDR that is ready to be attached to the net.

Personal Log

Once again following the theme of the day, adaptation has been key. I knew my schedule going into this adventure was going to require me to change my sleep schedule. Once the departure date was thrown back three days, there was also no way for me to keep the midnight to noon schedule. So, I am back today trying to adjust.

I am also trying to adapt to the motion of the sea. I brought sea sickness medicine and have been taking it regularly as prescribed, but I am still feeling the effects of the motion a little bit. One good trick has been getting outside and looking at the horizon. That has helped quite a bit. I also enjoy being in the wet lab. It is a bigger space and that is helping me fight back the queasy feeling.

The food onboard has been terrific. I am eating well. Our main steward’s name is Phil. He makes some amazing food. That is one thing I have not had to adjust to in any way.

I have the internet and am able to make Wi-Fi calls. Back home there was a flash flood. A lot of friends and family are dealing with the loss of their things. Thankfully, I have not heard any reports of people having been hurt. It is tough to be away from friends and family. Thankfully, everyone on board has been really nice. It makes a tough situation easier when you have friends to talk with. I am looking forward to not feeling sea sick soon and having amazing learning experiences in the days and weeks ahead.

a view of the aft deck from an upper deck of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. One spool of netting is empty, attached by only two yellow lines to a trawl net that must be underwater. We can see straight through the A-frame. a few crewmembers, wearing life vests and hard hats but too far to be identifiable, stand around the A-frame. — Pulling in our first catch!

Did You Know?

Greenwich Mean Time is the local time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwhich, England where the Prime Meridian was established in 1884. It is used as a reference point for telling time all around the world. On the ship it can be difficult to keep track of time. The GMT is a way for all of us who come from different time zones and are on different schedules to keep track of what time things are happening.

Can you identify this species?

close-up view of anchovies swimming in water (likely taken through the glass at an aquarium)

Northern Anchovy – The rounded “nose” and the muppet style face are easy identifiers.

August 11, 2025August 14, 2025

Dorothy Holley: Basking Sharks, Great Shearwaters, and Phronima Amphipods, Oh My! August 9, 2025

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Dorothy Holley

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

July 31 – August 15, 2025

Mission: Northeast Ecosystem Monitoring Survey (EcoMon)

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northwest Atlantic Ocean

Date: August 9, 2025

Weather Data from Bridge:
Latitude: 4118.447 N
Longitude: 06649.365 W
Relative Wind speed: 17
Wind Direction: 314
Air Temperature: 18.8
Sea Surface Temperature: 18.979
Barometric Pressure: 1022.28
Speed Over Ground: 8.7
Water Conductivity: 4.348
Water Salinity: 32.04

closer view of a great shearwater in flight, as seen from above. we can make out the dark head, white throat, patterned back. the water is rippled blue and white.

a great shearwater, visible only as a silhouette, swoops low over calm waters reflecting an orange sunset

a great shearwater swoops low over calm blue waters

side view of great shearwater in flight; we can see its white underside well. it flies above calm waters reflecting a blue and pink sunset.

Photos of Great Shearwaters in flight by Cameron Cox, NOAA Seabird and Marine Wildlife Observer

First, A blog-reader texted me to say that it looked like I was having fun! Yes, while NOTHING could be more fun than your birthday party, Teacher-At-Sea is at the top of the list of fun teacher-things to do! I hope that ALL teachers, especially those from North Carolina, will apply to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea as we continue to grow strong STEM ecosystems while helping our communities make informed decisions. Thanks for reading Elaine!

Second, an answer to last BLOG’s math problem: If 1 knot = 1.15 mph, and the ship is traveling 8 knots, a stop 15 miles away will take us a little over 1 and a half hours (about 1.6 hours) to reach.

a woman sits in an observation chair on the flying bridge — Allison Black, NOAA Seabird and Marine Wildlife Observer

Science at Sea

Animal monitoring is an active part of our floating weather station. A dolphin sighting texted through WhatsApp brings lots of off duty folks up to see. The NOAA Corps on the bridge keep a constant vigil to make sure we don’t hit a whale. But the “Seabird and Marine Mammal Observers” are a functional part of our Science team. They spend their daylight hours on the Flying Bridge scanning the horizon and recording their findings. The species, group size, and photos are catalogued and stored for long term monitoring. This data can be used to estimate bird and mammal abundance in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean now as well as set baseline data through AMAPPS (Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species). NOAA Scientists are conducting surveys and developing abundance and distribution models to better understand how protected species such as whales, dolphins, and sea turtles use our waters. (Read more here)

illustration of a NOAA vessel in the ocean; nearby are silhouettes of birds in flight and marine mammals swimming — *Diagram of an observer on the flying bridge a NOAA ship looking for seabirds and marine mammals.*
*Credit: Su Kim, NOAA Fisheries*

Career Spotlight

Cameron Cox has been able to turn his love of birdwatching into a career. As a Seabird and Marine Mammal Observer Scientist on NOAA Ship Pisces, he can be found on the Flying Bridge during the daylight hours.

portrait of a man wearing a baseball cap, sunglasses, banana around nectk, sitting at a wooden table on the deck of NOAA Ship Oregon II. a closed laptop and a fancy camera sit on the table. — Cameron Cox, NOAA Seabird and Marine Wildlife Observer

Cameron’s passion for birding kinda snuck up on him. He remembers hiking with a neighborhood friend who had started birdwatching for a hobby. At age 13, Cameron was hooked. Since he was homeschooled, Cameron was able to carve out time to pursue this new interest. He spent his 20’s traveling around the United States looking at birds. He had a 2-thousand-dollar car and 6-thousand dollars worth of optics – binoculars, camera, and spotting scope.

Cameron explained to me that the long term monitoring projects are hard for Universities and non government organization (NGOs) to fund, which is why our NOAA work is so valuable. The data sets are free and readily available to everyone. Unfortunately, when the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill decimated the Gulf Coast, there wasn’t baseline data available for recovery and accountability. He was able to assist in creating possible baseline data by performing Seabird and Marine Observations off the coast of Florida, a similar ecosystem.

These days, Cameron leads birdwatching tours in what he calls “Environmental Entertainment.” He loves watching others connect with the importance of the natural world, and hopes to help them become conservationists. Cameron has also published two books, Terns of North American: a Photographic Guide, and a Peterson Reference Guide to Seawatching: Eastern Waterbirds in Flight, co-written with Ken Behrens. Writing at the rate of one book a decade, his ongoing projects will ensure he has a long life! This is Cameron’s first time being a Seabird and Marine Mammal observer with NOAA. We hope it is not his last!

the silhouette of a bird banks low above the water, reflecting a firey sunset — Wilson’s Storm Petrel. Photo by Cameron Cox.

Interesting Things: The Seabird and Marine Mammal Scientist Observers onboard are monitoring lots of animals specifically, but there are other animals we are studying or just find in our nets.

top down view of a blue crab resting in a white bucket containing a couple inches of water

a blue crab rests in the corner of a large red bin, filled with a few inches of water

Engineer Drew found this crab in our sea strainers (they strain the water used around the engines). ET Alex named her Crustacina (spelt like crustacean, but pronounced like Cristina). We will keep her on-board until we can get to more shallow waters for release.

NOAA Scientists are collaborating with a group in Miami to study ocean acidification on pteropods’ shells. The phronima amphipod (see video below) inspired the movie alien. They commandeer a salp, eat the flesh, and then lay eggs in the empty pouch.

Phronima amphipod (left) and salp pouch (right)

For 50 years….. Basking Shark Videoed by ENS Keene-Connole

close-up view of a small fish on a petri dish

microscope set up, with petri dishes and pipettes nearby

A microscope is always ready to check out the latest find!

Personal Log

Have you heard of or participated in the Christmas Bird Count (CBC)? Started in 1900 by 27 dedicated birders, this GOAT Citizen Science Project provides long term data sets that help conservation biologists of all forms study long term bird health and guide conservation actions. The CBC is one example of how good can win (Side Hunt, no link will be provided). Consider joining a Christmas Bird Count this year to learn more about Citizen Science and the importance of long term data sets (see CBC ).

You do the Math: The First Christmas Bird Count was held December 25, 1900. If 18,500 individual birds representing 89 different species were logged by the 27 participants, how many different birds were seen (on average) by each person? Check in the next blog post for the answer.

a line of styrofoam birds - all the same base shape, but decorated with marker to resemble specific species, including a puffin and a cardinal - sitting on a tabletop. — *These styrofoam birdies are going to be a science experiment of their own…. stay tuned!*