Chief Bosun – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 4, 2023August 4, 2023

Jenny Gapp: “Lhuk xaa-ghii-la” (I found a fish), August 1, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jenny Gapp (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 23, 2023 – 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: Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge
Sunrise 0613 | Sunset 2034
Current Time: 0900 (9:00 am Pacific Daylight Time)
Lat 42 32.8 N, Lon 125 00.9 W
Visibility: <1 nm (nautical miles)
Sky condition: Overcast
Present weather: Fog
Wind Speed: 15 knots
Wind Direction: 350°
Barometer: 1017.9 mb
Sea Wave height: 2 ft | Swell: 340°, 3 ft
Sea temp: 16.6°C | Air Temp: 16°C
Course Over Ground (COG): 090.2°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 9.9 knots

Science and Technology Log

Second Engineer Justin Halle provided a tour yesterday of the engine room and associated machinery kept running smoothly by the Engineering Department. Four Caterpillar brand diesel engines use about 1,800 gallons of fuel per day, although that number fluctuates depending on operations and weather. There are multiple fuel tanks in reserve that hold 5 – 15,000 gallons. A fuel manifold regulates fluid intake and a camera is fixed on fuel levels so the engineers can monitor them. Two valves per tank allow for filling or suction. Water evaporators separate sludge and water to keep fuel clean and bacteria free. We also looked up the exhaust shaft which vents out the top of the ship above the level of the flying bridge.

We viewed the propellor shaft that drives the main propulsion of the ship. A secondary means of propulsion is the bow thruster, but it is primarily used in close quarters situations such as docking and undocking. We did not view the bow thruster on our tour.

two diesel engines, main components painted mustard yellow — Two of the four diesel engines.

looks like an electrical box, a cylinder, pipes and tubes — Two of the four diesel engines.

There’s a whole water treatment system. The sewage part has a macerator that blends up, er, things just like the Ninja blender in your kitchen. Treated wastewater is vented to the ocean every few days, but cannot be pumped within three miles offshore or within marine sanctuaries. We consume approximately 1,400 gallons of water per day, and the ship can make potable water from seawater through reverse osmosis, evaporators, and water brought aboard from port. Water is treated with bromine, which is often used as an alternative to chlorine in swimming pools.

Workbenches and tools are kept tidy, with some tools and parts kept in a veritable library of large metal cabinets. An impressive control panel allows the engineers to look at the status of various systems at a glance. Performance logic controllers enable engineers to turn things on or off in the engine room from the control panel. Additional screens show a camera feed of potable water levels, the propulsion system, and the fire pump (only accessible down a hatch in the bow thruster space), which are all prone to flooding.
Additional specifications for NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada can be viewed here.

Career feature

Matt, wearing sunglasses and an orange apron, stands at a cutting board mounted on deck near a railing; we can see whitecap waves just beyond the cutting board. He wears a glove on his left hand and holds a fish steady, cutting with his right to fillet the fish. To his right is a pile of filets. He appears engrossed in his work. — Matt fillets rockfish caught in the bycatch for a special lunchtime treat.

Matt McFarland, Chief Bosun

Give us a brief job description of what you do on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada.

We do a lot of fishing operations and I run all the gear. I run the nets and the winches. I put the nets out wherever the scientists are seeing the fish and we’ll go down to that depth. I’m responsible for the efficiency of the operation and safety of the six deck hands I have underneath me.

Note: Matt is also a “plank owner” meaning he was a member of the ship’s crew prior to the vessel being placed in commission. So, he has been with the Shimada before it was owned by NOAA and still belonged to the shipyard. The ship was built in Moss Point, Mississippi and Matt was a part of the crew when it was taken through the Panama Canal to serve in research operations on the West Coast.

What’s your educational background?

I grew up commercial fishing. After high school I went to a technical college for marine technology. So I can work at marinas, on boats and motors and this and that. After school I went back to commercial fishing for a while along with carpentry to supplement. Then about 2008 I decided I wanted to be a professional mariner and get my U.S. Coast Guard license. From there I found out about NOAA, joined in 2009 and have been here ever since. The Coast Guard license is about a three-week course; they teach you basic seamanship. In order to be in my position out on the ocean you need an AB, meaning able bodied seaman. The Ordinary Seaman (OS) is entry-level and I worked my way up over the years. So on the fishing boats we have different levels: general vessel assistant (OS), fisherman (the equivalent of an AB), the next step is skilled fisherman, then lead fisherman, then Chief Bosun is the leader of the Deck Department.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy the ocean. I love being out here. Growing up in commercial fishing, you work really hard and there’s no guarantee you’re going to get paid: if you don’t catch fish you don’t get a paycheck. So being here with NOAA means I get to continue to do what I love and if we don’t catch fish I still get paid. It’s a secure job. I have a passion for getting the science right and making sure things are getting done the way they should be done. We’re making regulations for the commercial industry and if our science is faulty, if we aren’t being efficient, then that’s not fair to them. I have family in commercial fishing, so it’s important to me. A lot of these guys are new to sailing and have never fished, so I’m passing on that knowledge. This isn’t as grueling as commercial fishing. It’s important to me to keep the industry going and get the science right.

What advice do you have for a young person interested in ocean-related careers?

Start with small trips. Make sure you like it. It’s not always beautiful out here. Some days there are rough seas, some people get sick, and for some people it’s just not for them. I would encourage youth to pursue it though. It’s a good way to get away from the news–you’re in your own little world out here. It’s a nice alternative lifestyle.

Do you have a favorite book?

I’d say Captains Courageous, by Rudyard Kipling. The 1937 film version was actually done in my hometown of Gloucester, Massachusetts. Gloucester is the oldest commercial fishing seaport in the United States. (The link will take you to some oral histories of Gloucester residents.)

Laura, wearing a navy blue NOAA Corps uniform, stands at a map table on the bridge. She holds a protractor in her right hand and looks down at a nautical chart spread out across the table. — XO Gibson considers a route using the nautical charts.

Laura Gibson, XO

Give us a brief job description of what you do on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada.

My job is the administrative side of the ship which includes staffing, budget, and spending a lot of time at my desk.

What’s your educational background?

I went to college in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. I have a Bachelor’s in Science with a Geology focus.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy the camaraderie of the crew. Sometimes we’ll play games. I have a good time and feel like I’m doing a fine job when they are having a good time.

What advice do you have for a young person interested in ocean-related careers?

If you’re not opposed to sailing, check it out; there’s a high demand. It’s not the easiest lifestyle for everyone. You could be very successful at a young age in a maritime career. There’s a clear path forward. I was a merchant mariner before sailing with NOAA. They call it coming up the hawse pipe when you learn on deck how a ship works. I didn’t go to an academy but learned on the job. I accepted a commission with NOAA as a junior officer and started on NOAA Ship Pisces in Mississippi 14 years ago. While on the Pisces I helped with the cleanup of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig disaster. I was proud to be a part of the fleet of vessels that supported the aftermath of that event.

Do you have a favorite book?

The Gunslinger or Misery, by Steven King. I’m a King fan.

Taxonomy of Sights

Apparently there are more marine mammal sightings in Southern California and fewer as you head north. However, there have been whale spouts sighted every day. Our Chief Scientist says the humpback sightings pick up near Vancouver Island and waters north–although Leg 3 doesn’t extend that far..

Day 8. Bycatch highlights: splitnose rockfish, a 43-lb squid, the egg case of a skate, and a single lamprey. In the evening: whale spouts from the flying deck, and an aerial show from a brown booby (a seabird not normally seen this far north; it may have been a sub-species called Brewster’s brown booby) attempting to land on the jack staff and then on the bow–with limited success in a 24 knot wind
Day 9. Saw Humpback flukes as they dove.
Day 10. Beautiful shades of ocean blue…

a brown bird in flight over the water; it has a white face and a narrow bill — Brewster’s brown booby
photo taken by Nick, OSU Marine Mammal & Bird Observer

You Might Be Wondering…

How’s the food?

I am told our Chief Steward, Ronnie Pimentel, is one of the best in the NOAA fleet.
Ronnie and Rich Lynch (Second Cook) tirelessly serve up breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. Creamy breakfast grits, blueberry pancakes, pulled pork sandwiches, soups, peanut butter cookies, lamb chops, taco Tuesdays, pizza night, yuuuum. Ronnie has been with NOAA for a year, and prior to that served the Navy 21 years as a Steward. Ronnie spends about $15,000 a month on food, which varies depending on the length of the voyage. Food is stored in two freezers (one large, one small) and two chill boxes (one large, one small). He typically uses about 300lbs of frozen vegetables, and has about one case of each type of food, like one of apples, one of bananas, etc. Depending on the size and tastes of the crew he’ll pack 60lbs of bacon, and various cakes for tempting treats.

plated meal of some sort of meat, fish topped with lemon slices, oyster, rice — tasty dinner

plated meal of scrambled eggs with ham, cut fruit, and probably French toast — tasty breakfast

Floating Facts

NOAA Corps is the eighth uniformed service in the United States, although it is not an armed force—Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Space Force—and falls under the Department of Commerce, not the Department of Defense (DOD). Interestingly, the U.S. Coast Guard is not under the DOD either, but acts as a military branch and federal law enforcement agency within the Department of Homeland Security. The Public Health Service is the other unarmed, but uniformed service.

NOAA Corps has the same benefits and rank system as the military. Currently NOAA Corps has three admirals. Read more about one of the admirals here. Officers are “active duty” meaning they have full-time employment and may be directed to go where they are needed. The term “billet” refers to the current job in which an officer is placed. Members of the Corps do a rotation of two years at sea and three years on land.

Personal Log

I have clean clothes! While using the washer and dryer machines on Sunday I saw why cleaning the lint traps is taken so seriously.

A photo of a laminated image of a container ship on fire, with this message printed on top of the image: July 27, 1996 - Fire aboard cruise ship Universe Explorer, Pacific Ocean off Alaska. Estimated damage to vessel: $1.5 million, serious/minor injuries: 56, deaths: 5. Location of Fire: Main Laundry Room. July 20, 1998 - Fire aboard M/S Ecstasy off Miami, Florida. Onboard: 2516 passengers and 916 crew. Estimated damage: $17 million. Location of fire: Laundry room. Feb 26, 2008 - Fire aboard F/V Pacific Glacier of Glacier Fish Company, Bering Sea. Firefighters: 16. Lifeboats deployed: all of them. Fire burn time: 6:30 pm to 11:30 pm local time (that's FIVE hours of fighting a fire!). Location of Fire: Forward Laundry Room. The leading cause of fire on a boat is dirty lint traps in dryers. Don't be the chump who gets caught with clothes in the dryer when the lint trap catches on fire. Clean out the lint trap BEFORE AND AFTER you use the dryer. Clean the lint trap, save lives. Go on, be a hero. — Clean the lint trap, save lives

three columns of dryers stacked on washing machines in the laundry room — Washing machines and dryers

Humor is the best medicine, and a great way to reckon with being cooped up on a ship for two weeks with 33 people. While reading through some posted protocols in the acoustics lab I came across this gem in the last row of “Shimada Sonar Frequencies.”

A printed table of sonar frequency protocols, affixed to a metal surface (perhaps a cabinet) by a magnet that reads: Do Not Disturb, Already disturbed. The table has columns labeled: Sounder, Freq, Purpose, Mounting Location, Beam Angle (Degrees), Power (Watts.) Most of the entries read something like: Sounder - EX-60, Freq - 18 khz, Purpose - Quantitative Biomass Survey, Mounting Location - Center Board, Beam Angle - 11 degrees, Power - 2000 watts. The last entry reads: Sounder - ST Screaming, Freq - 30-21000 Hz, Purpose - Catharsis, Mounting Location - Entire Ship, Beam Angle - 180 degrees, Power - situation dependent. — Shimada Sonar Frequencies

Another bit of humor comes from the bridge, where there used to be eight camera buttons. For the record, there are NO torpedo tubes aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada.

photo of a computer monitor on the bridge. above the screen is a row of eight square buttons, numbered 1-8. above those buttons is a label, from a label maker, reading FIRE TORPEDO — Repurposed camera buttons

I am attempting to collect permissible items from the catch, such as hake young-of-the-year, to take back to my classroom and incorporate in lessons for students. In doing so, I’m getting a crash course in properly preparing wet specimens. My first lesson was that freezing is the best route until items can be processed. This site was helpful to me in figuring out what additional tools I needed to do it properly. While I brought several glass vials for collecting, I did not bring formalin, isopropyl alcohol, or needles. So, for the duration of the research cruise my specimens are in the freezer. I live close to my port of return and so have a personal vehicle to transport items home. For future Teachers at Sea: If you are flying, there are limits in checked baggage. There are also strict rules for shipping. Start your research about shipping hazardous fluids here with FedEx, or here in a publication from Oregon State University.

Librarian at Sea

Librarians specialize in acquiring, organizing, and disseminating information for their target populations. The NOAA Central Library provides access to seminars, journals, NOAA publications, and daily weather maps to name a few. Then there’s NOAA’s Photo Library, which has over 80,000 searchable images in its online database. If you type in “hake” there are 114 results. I anticipate incorporating both databases into future lessons for my students.

Jenny, in full wet gear - overalls, boots, jacket, gloves - lies on her back on the floor of the wet lab next to a squid longer than she is. The squid is definitely not contemplating life. — A squid and I contemplate life in the Wet Lab.

view of the front half of a lamprey on a metal surface. — Lamprey

a shark swimming in calm waters. only its dorsal fin just barely breaks the surface and leaves a small wave. we can see the outline the shark's body underwater. — Porbeagle shark photo taken by Nick, OSU Marine Mammal & Bird Observer

Hook, Line and Thinker

The title of today’s post comes from Siletz Nee-Di, an endangered language spoken by some of Oregon’s First People. In 1977, The Confederated Tribes of Siletz were second in the nation and first in Oregon to regain federal recognition. What is now Newport, Oregon was originally home to villages and family groups of the confederation—whose descendants still live in the area.

NOAA Fisheries includes tribal, indigenous, and underserved communities in their strategic priorities for 2023. (See strategy 1.5 in the document available here.) Oregon’s Senate Bill 13 (Tribal History/Shared History) directs educators to include curriculum about contemporary indigenous communities. I am interested in knowing more how NOAA Fisheries partners with local stakeholders in Oregon.

If access to your family’s traditional fishing grounds—a primary source of food and revenue—were suddenly cut off, what would you do to regain entry to those waters?

Read about a Washington state tribal leader who fought for fishing rights and will soon have a U.S. Navy ship named after him.

quote superimposed on a photo of Pyramid Lake: "What's good for the fish is what's good for the people." Attributed to Norm Harry, Former Chairman of the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. — “What’s good for the fish is what’s good for the people.”

Map of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians Ancestral Tribes and Homelands, extending from the Pacific Ocean to the Cascade Mountains, and from the Columbia River south a bit past the Oregon/California border — Map of Ancestral Tribal Homelands along the Oregon Coast

flag of the confederated tribes of Siletz Indians: mostly white, with a circle in the center that contains images of a mountain, a stream, a salmon — Flag of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians

A Bobbing Bibliography
Favorite books among the science crew:

Nick – The Earthsea Saga, by Ursula K. LeGuin
Ethan – The Snowball: Warren Buffett and the Business of Life, by Alice Schroeder
Liz – A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold
Jake – In the Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss
Sam – Where the Crawdads Sing, by Delia Owens

sunset over the ocean: a narrow band of red sky between glassy gray ocean and billowing gray clouds — Sunset meditation.

July 13, 2019

Allison Irwin: Trawling for Fish, July 13, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Allison Irwin

NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker

July 7-25, 2019

Mission: Coastal Pelagic Species Survey

Geographic Area: Northern Coast of California

Date: July 13, 2019

Weather at 1600 Pacific Standard Time on Thursday 11 July 2019

Happy to report we’re back to a much calmer sea state! I finally made it up to the flying bridge again since it isn’t raining or choppy anymore. It’s the first time in two days I’ve needed to wear sunglasses. The ocean looks almost level with scattered patches of wavelets which indicates about a 5 knot wind speed. It reminds me of the surface of my palms after I’ve been in the water too long – mostly smooth but with lots of tiny wrinkles. Check out this awesome weather website to look at what the wind is doing in your area!

weather conditions — A weather map from Windy.com

PERSONAL LOG

Stretch everyday. I should stretch everyday. I do not. On the ship it’s even more of a necessity. One of the scientists calls it “Boaga” – like mixing “boat” with “yoga.” Try doing yoga on the ship and the rocking might cause you to tumble, but I enjoy a good challenge. Fitness requires strength and flexibility, so if I do some yoga and have to work harder to stay balanced since the ship is rocking, all the better.

A combination of the good food, constant access to homemade snacks, and lack of natural ways to burn calories on the ship, I need to turn to deliberate exercise. I just haven’t started that routine yet. The ship does have a nice, albeit small, gym on the same floor as my stateroom. It includes free weights, kettlebells, a treadmill, and a few other pieces of equipment. Now that our first week is coming to a close, my goal for today – and everyday forward – is to develop a routine for stretching and cardio. Sigh. Otherwise the five pounds I’ve already gained will turn into fifteen. And I have no desire to work off fifteen pounds of belly fat when I get home.

THE SCIENCE

“Trawl” has its origins in Latin. The original word meant “to drag” and it still carries a similar denotation. Fishermen use trawl as a noun, verb, and adjective. On NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker we use a Nordic 264 Surface Trawl to conduct the Coastal Pelagic Species Survey each night. The trawl is spooled onto a giant iron net reel which connects to the deck with sixteen 2.5 inch bolts and is securely welded. We try to get three trawls in per night, but sometimes we don’t quite make it. Poor weather, issues with the net, or sighting a marine mammal can all put a quick end to a trawl.

Now let’s use it as a verb. The origin “to drag” deals more with how you operate the net than the construction of the net itself. To trawl for fish like we do each night means to slowly unravel 185 meters in length of heavy ropes, chains, and nylon cord mesh into the water off the stern with an average of 15,000 pounds of tension while the ship steams at a steady rate of about 3 knots. Getting the net into the water takes about 15 minutes.

Scott Jones, Chief Bosun, took me on a tour of the equipment. Two reels below deck spooled with cable the diameter of my forearm, one even larger reel on the fantail to house the net and ropes, a winch to lift the weight of the trawl as it transitions from deck to water, plus two work stations for the Chief Bosun to manually monitor and control all those moving pieces. There are three additional nets on board in case they need to replace the one we’ve been using all week, but the deck crew are pretty adept at sewing and mending the nets as needed.

As I stand on the bridge watching the net snake its way into the water behind the ship, everything pauses for a brief moment so the deck crew can use daisy knots to sew floatable devices into the kites. Later, they attach two more of these floats to the headrope (top line). The floats keep the mouth of the net open vertically. A couple minutes later they stop to attach 250lb Tom weights to the footrope (bottom line) of the trawl opening. When fully deployed, this roughly 25 meter vertical opening is as tall as an 8-story building!

It’s like watching choreography – every detail must be done at exactly the right moment, in the right order, or it won’t work. The Chief Bosun is the conductor, the deck crew the artists. Hollow metal doors filled with buoyant wood core – together weighing more than a ton on land – are the last to enter the water. Each hangs on large gallows on the starboard and port side of the ship, just off stage, until they’re cued to perform. These doors are configured with heavy boots and angled in the water to act as a spreading mechanism to keep the net from collapsing in on itself.

If unspooled properly, the net ends up looking like an enormous largemouth bass lurking just under the surface.

photo from http://www.pixabay.com

Commercial fishermen use all kinds of nets, long lines, and pots depending on the type of catch they’re targeting, fishing regulations, and cultural traditions. But if we use “trawl” as an adjective, it describes a specific kind of net that is usually very large and designed to catch a lot of fish all at one time. It looks like a cone with a smaller, more narrow section at the very end to collect the fish.

I imagine something like a cake decorating bag that’s being used to fill a mini eclair. Except, instead of squeezing delicious icing into the pastry, we’re funneling a bunch of fish into what fishermen call a “codend.” This codend (pronounced cod-end, like the fish) houses the prize at the end of the trawl! When they haul everything back in – taking a little longer, about 45 minutes to complete the haul back – they end up with (hopefully) a codend full of fish to study.

mini eclairs — Two Mini Eclairs Filled with Pastry Cream

A trawl net can either be used like we are to collect fish close to the surface or it can be weighted and dropped to the sea floor in search of groundfish. We’re searching for pelagic fishes that come up to the surface to feed at night, so it makes sense for us to trawl at the surface. Think of pelagic fish as the fishes in the water. Sounds funny to say, but these fishes don’t like to be near the seabed or too close to the land by the coast. They like to stay solidly in the water. Think of where anchovies, mackerel, tuna, and sharks like to hang out.

To catch groundfish on the other hand, we’d need to trawl the bottom of the ocean since they prefer to stay close to the ocean floor. Trawling the seabed in the Northeast Pacific Ocean would bring in flavorful rockfish and flounder, but we’re not looking for groundfish during this survey. One very lucrative and maybe less known groundfish in this area is the sablefish. In commercial fishing, they use bigger nets, and a trawl can bring in tens of thousands of pounds in just one tow. When I spoke to someone on board who used to work on a commercial trawl boat, he said catching sablefish are a pain! They live in very deep waters. Plus, the trawl must hit the seabed hard and drag along the bottom in order to catch them. This causes huge tears, many feet wide, in the mesh. He said they used to keep giant patches of mesh on the boat deck so they could patch up the holes in between trawls. When I get home, I’m definitely going to purchase sablefish and try it for dinner.

Trawl Net Spooled on the Net Reel on the Fantail
Chief Bosun Scott Jones at a Control Station
Trawl Entering the Water
Codend Floating in the Water
Trawl Net Snaking off the Stern
Floats Sewn into the Kites
Floats When They’re Not Sewn In
Daisy Knot
Getting Ready to Add the Tom Weights (chains)
Reversing the Process – Hauling the Net back on Deck
Prepping the Codend before Emptying the Catch
Emptying the Catch

TEACHING CONNECTIONS

I’ve never once wondered how the fish I buy at the grocery store ends up on my plate. Now I can’t seem to stop asking the scientists and deck crew questions. There are all these regulations to follow, methods to learn based on what type of fish you’re targeting, and so much that someone would need to understand about traveling in the ocean before even attempting to fish commercially. I’ve been immersed in a world I don’t recognize, and yet the fishing industry impacts my life on a daily basis. We are so far removed from what we eat.

The other aspect to the trawling topic that interests me is just how effortless it looks. The deck crew make such an intricate task look, truly, easy. An article on BBC News called Can 10,000 Hours of Practice Make You an Expert? does a nice job of summarizing how this might be possible. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that I’m currently reading Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth, that I’ve already read Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell and Mindset: The New Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck, and that as a teacher I’m familiar with Ericsson’s work on deliberate practice. I know how many years and cumulative hours they each must have put in to make it appear seamless.

Like most teachers, I want my students to find a career that they love enough to practice with such diligence. I want them to find a vocation instead of just work to pay the bills. I feel very much led to making sure my students have access to as much information as possible about post-secondary career and training options. For that reason, I’m glad to have met these folks and learn from them so I can share their practice with the hundreds, possibly thousands of teenagers I’ll teach over the course of my career.

It’s easy for me to do this as a reading specialist since I can read career profiles with students, let them annotate the text, and then engage them in a discussion on a regular basis. Reading, analyzing, and discussing text are kind of my bread and butter. For other disciplines, it might take a bit of a re-work to fit this in, but certainly not impossible. A science, math, art, STEM, you-name-it teacher could post a career profile specific to their discipline to their digital classroom space each week for students to read at their leisure. Or you could bring discipline specific literacy skills into your classroom by incorporating short texts into your lessons a few times each quarter.

I’m planning now to read a career profile with my students one time per week. I’ll keep the texts short so that reading, annotating, and discussing the text will stay under 15 minutes. Some careers from the ship they might find interesting are the Chief Bosun position or a NOAA Corps Officer, but I’ll share a wide variety of career profiles from many disciplines based on the students’ interests once I meet them this year.

TEACHING RESOURCES

NOAA Fisheries – Understanding Fisheries Management in the United States Read or have your students read this to familiarize yourself with the topic and build background knowledge
NOAA Fisheries – Voices Oral History Archives
NOAA – FishWatch U.S. Seafood Facts
NOAA Office of Science and Technology – NOAA Enrichment in Marine Sciences and Oceanography Curriculum Lesson 19 and Lesson 22 deal with fisheries

October 9, 2001March 18, 2021

Jane Temoshok, October 9, 2001

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jane Temoshok
Onboard NOAA Ship Ronald H. Brown
October 2 – 24, 2001

Mission: Eastern Pacific Investigation of Climate Processes
Geographical Area: Eastern Pacific
Date: October 9, 2001

Latitude: 1º S
Longitude: 92º W
Temperature: 84º F
Seas: Calm in port

Science Log

There is a flurry of activity getting ready for departure. The crew is very focused checking that everything (and I mean everything!) is strapped down tightly. Then the authorities come on board to check passports and do an inspection. If all is in order we will be on our way shortly.

Photos: Any job that requires moving things around on the deck is overseen by Bruce Cowden, the Chief Bosun. In the first photo you can see Bruce hoisting the gangway, and in the second he is leaning overboard to watch the lifting of the anchor.

Bruce Cowden, the Chief Bosun, hoists the gangway.

Bruce Cowden leaning overboard to watch the lifting of the anchor.

Travel Log

We are now underway! The gangplank has been raised, the anchor (all 270 meters of it) is lifted and the ship is moving out to sea. Most everyone is standing on the decks outside taking their last photos of these fabulous islands. Goodbye Galapagos! Goodbye to Lonesome George (a huge turtle that is the last of his kind) and all the other gentle giants. Goodbye to all the beautiful herons, frigates, and blue-footed boobies! And finally, goodbye to all the friendly inhabitants of these islands that are working to preserve them for the future.

Keep in touch,
Jane