Photo of the Week

“Number clips are attached to each gangion.”

Photo: Louise Todd

Once the hooks are baited, we wait for the Officer of the Deck (OOD), driving the ship from the bridge, to let us know that we are in position at the station and ready to start setting the line. The first item deployed is a high flyer to announce the position of our line to other boats and to help us keep track of our line. This is a bottom longline survey so after the high flyer is deployed, the first weight is deployed to help pull the line to the bottom of the ocean just above the seabed. [Then] it is time to put out the first 50 hooks. This is typically a three-person job. One person slings the bait by pulling the gangion from the barrel and getting ready to pass it to the crewmember. Another person adds a number tag to the gangion so each hook has its own number. A member of the deck crew attaches each gangion to the main line and sends it over the side into the water. The gangions are placed 60 feet apart. Another weight is deployed after the first 50 hooks. A final weight is placed after the last hook. The end of the line is marked with another high flyer. The line stays in the water for one hour." - Louise Todd