With our stations complete, we headed home a bit early on Saturday, and with the approaching nor’easter on Mother’s Day, it was probably a good decision. I thoroughly enjoyed my experience and value the efforts, hard-work, professionalism and teamwork that make an undertaking of such enormity a valued and fun endeavor. The camaraderie of the team will be forever cherished.
We came back through the Cape Cod Canal late in the evening, on our return to Newport, RI. We spotted joggers with head lamps running along the path of the canal. Perhaps a local road race?
It was interesting feeling in my kitchen rocking and rolling all day Sunday …. dock rock or kitchen rock??? That was a fun sensation!!
It was nice to see my students this morning, Monday, all welcoming me home and curious about my trip. On Sunday, I had prepared a slide-show of many of my photos and projected my blog on the “Smartboard” to share with my classes. They had a wide range of questions from what did I eat, was I seasick, what fish did we catch, did you dissect any fish, did you see any whales, how old do you have to be to go out on the ship, to what will the scientists do with the samples that were saved. They were impressed with my pictures of the goosefish, (who wouldn’t be impressed with such a fish!) and laughed at how the scientist I worked closely with nicknamed me a “Fish Wrangler” as I had caught, in midair, some slippery, squirming, flip-flopping Red Fish as they had managed an attempted escape off the scale when a big wave hit. I’ll wear that tag with pride!
Thank you to NOAA and their staff that prepared me for the journey. Thank you to all the wonderful people I met on the ship. A “Teacher at Sea” is a monicker of which I will be always proud … as well as “Fish Wrangler!”
Some Photos
Sea Raven
Underbelly of the Sea Raven
Wolffish on the scale
The skate has a very interesting expression.
A very small Skate
Small Dogfish
Setting the CTD
CTD being hauled back up.
Glen with a large crab.
Closeup of the crab
This lobster is regenerating a new claw!! Amazing!
Eggs of a female lobster
Another lobster with a lot of eggs
Female with eggs and a notched fin indicating it had previously been caught and released.
Henry B Bigelow tied to dock in Newport
Working on the nets
Scientist weather gear
The catch
Ready to sort
At muster station
Sorting Redfish
A lot of hard work in getting the net back onboard with the catch
Tony measuring Dogfish
Wet Room all clean
Nearly time to be home. Wet Room clean and conveyor dismantled
Cute logo on the wet weather gear
In the stateroom the life suit storage container is luminescent.
Mike deciding which species of fish we will run on the conveyor ( let go to the end of the conveyor belt without sorting manually straight into a basket )
Emergency and Fire Drill
Beautiful clouds in the welcome blue skies
One lone squid
Grey sky and shimmering seas
Just in case!
Picked up a few passengers outside of Boston
These fish “buzzing ” feeling when placed on your hand.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Virginia Warren Aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp July 9 – 17, 2013
Mission: Leg 3 of the Sea Scallop Survey Geographical Area of Cruise: Georges Bank Date: July 15, 2013
Weather Data from the Bridge: South to south-west winds 10 to 20 knots, seas 4 to 6 feet, showers and scattered thunderstorms, areas of fog with visibility of 1 nautical mile or less early in the morning
Science and Technology Log:
After two days of using the HabCam to view the animals in their natural habitat, we moved to viewing the actual animals. We used a scallop dredge to bring the animals on deck so that we can count and measure them. The main goal is to find scallops, but we also sort other animals and measure them as well. In the dredge we have found sand dollars, different types of fish, crabs, sea stars, and of course scallops. The dredge gets pulled behind the ship for 15 minutes. Once the 15 minutes are up, the ship crew will pull the dredge onto the boat and then dump the contents onto the sorting table. Before sorting the contents of the dredge someone from the science crew is responsible for taking a picture of its contents. To keep the pictures separated from dredge to dredge, another person holds a white board that tells the number of the tow in front of each pile before the picture. Then the sorting begins!
Holding the Sign for the Station Picture
Sorting the table can be very interesting because the things that come up depend on the location and how deep the water is. At times we sort through scallops and rocks, then the next dredge might be sand, or another time might be mostly sand dollars. While sorting the dredge contents, we sort all of the fish and skates from the scallops and put the fish and/or skates in a bucket to be sorted later. The items on the table that we are not sampling are considered to be trash. We have to keep up with each time we throw a ‘trash’ bucket overboard because a person on my crew has to count up the total amount of trash. Sometimes we also do a subsample of the number of starfish in the trash and the amount of crabs that came up in the dredge (hermit crabs not included). Crabs and starfish are natural predators of scallops.
Once the sorting table is clear, we separate the types of fish based on species and then start weighing and measuring in the scientific ‘van’ on the ship. The watch chief takes the weights of everything and then passes it down to be measured by length. Before we can start measuring the length, we have to get the computer ready to receive the measurement data. The names of the people working the station are put into the computer and then the species is selected. To measure the length of an item, we spread it out on a measuring board starting at the beginning of the board. This board is connected to the computer and has a magnet that goes down the length of the ruler that is all the way down the middle of the board. Next, we take a hand-held magnet and press down on the board at the end of the item. The magnet picks up the measurement and sends it to the computer program. This will continue until everything that needs to be measured is complete.
Yellow Tale Flounder Being Measured
Another station in the van is responsible for taking meat weights from a sample group of three to four scallops. The sample scallops first have to be scrubbed down with a wire brush to clean off anything growing on it. After the shell is clean, then the scallops get weighed and measured for length. Then the scallop gets shucked. The gonad gets taken out and weighed and then the muscle gets taken out and weighed. The muscle is the part of the scallop that gets eaten. Then the shells are dried off and bagged up for age testing when the ship gets back to port.
Personal Log:
It has been foggy here on Georges bank, but work still continues on a ship. This ship constantly has either the HabCam in the water, or is dredging for scallops and the science crew is responsible for keeping the science research going 24 hours a day. This is the reason for the science crew to be split into two groups. The people in my crew are great to work with and are very helpful!
Close to the beginning of one of my shifts, we came across a dredge that was full of scallops. It had at least 10 baskets full of large scallops. We only measured a subsample of four baskets, but in the subsample alone we had over 400 scallops that were measured in. Then in the very next dredge, we had another dredge that was better than the first one. The baskets of scallops filled up the side of the ship and we were actually searching for baskets to put more scallops in.
I have had several ‘firsts’ on this trip. I got my first experience being on a research vessel. This was my first time shucking a scallop. It was also my first time being brought into a fisherman’s tradition. Apparently it’s tradition for all newbie scallop shuckers to shuck their own scallop and then eat it raw. This is not the best tradition in my mind because I have a very easy gag reflex and of course I started gagging, but I was able to keep it down. The cook on the ship taught me how to fillet a fish called whiting. Then as a special treat, he took the fish and fried it up for us to snack on. This was a great treat, because the fish came straight from dredge to be filleted and cooked up to be eaten. It was fresh and delicious!
Virginia Shucking ScallopsVirginia Holding the 20 Pound Monk FIsh
Did You Know… that when dredging for scallops the part of the dredge that drags the bottom of the sea floor will come up looking polished.
Look closely at the side of the dredge facing the camera and you will see that it is polished to a silver color because it is dragged over the bottom of the ocean floor. The rest of the dredge that doesn’t touch the ocean floor looks a rusted red color.
Animals Seen Recently:
– Dolphins
Dolphins
– Blue Shark
– Lobster
This lobster was not happy with us!
This lobster was full of eggs.
– Octopus
– Monk Fish
The side view of a monk fish.
20 Pound Monk Fish Being Measured for Length
The inside of a monk fish mouth. The teeth are angled inward to prevent prey from escaping.
The dangler is used to attract small fish into the jaws of the monk fish.
– Skates
Winter Skate
– Basking Shark
– Pilot Whale
Pilot Whale
– LOTS of scallops
Rinsing the scallops keeps them fresh!
Baskets of Scallops from the Second Large Dredge of the Day
Extra Pictures:
I am holding the sign for the second very large dredge of the day!
The sea gulls even enjoyed the beautiful day!
The fog moves in very quick on Georges Bank. It was so foggy that we almost couldn’t see the sun.
The stern view of the Hugh R. Sharp.
It was a pretty end of the day on Georges Bank!
This was the first dredge I helped sort. It was so full and everybody had so much to do!
NOAA Teacher at Sea Marsha Skoczek Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 6-19, 2012
Mission: Marine Protected Areas Survey Geographic area of cruise: Subtropical North Atlantic, off the east coast of Florida. Date: July 17, 2012
Location: Latitude: 30.4587N
Longitude: 80.1243W
Weather Data from the Bridge Air Temperature: 26.8C (80.24 F)
Wind Speed: 10.8 knots (12.43 mph)
Wind Direction: From the SE
Relative Humidity: 79 %
Barometric Pressure: 1017
Surface Water Temperature: 28.9C (84 F)
Science and Technology Log
South Atlantic MPAs
During the thirteen days we have been out to sea doing research, we have sent the ROV down both inside and outside of five different MPAs from Florida to North Carolina and back again. This allows the scientists to compare fish populations and densities both inside and outside of the MPAs. Since we left Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville, Florida, we have been averaging a distance from shore of between 50 and 70 nautical miles. It will be fourteen days until we see land once again. From this distance, the ocean seems to stretch on forever. Gazing at the beautiful blue water, it is easy to forget an entire other world lies beneath us. Not all of the ocean floor is flat, there is a small percentage that does have some elevation and structure. The type of structures on the ocean floor determine what types of species will live there.
For this mission, we have mainly been studying areas within the mesophotic zone of the ocean ranging from 40 to 150 meters (130 – 500 feet) below the surface. Temperatures here range from 12 – 23 degrees Celsius (50-70 F). Very little sunlight reaches the mesophotic zone, but zooxanthallae are still able to photosynthesize at this depth. Corals and sponges will also filter feed using the abundant particulate organic matter drifting in the water column they will filter out and eat the plankton.
Tomtates hide in crevices.
The multibeam images help the scientists determine where to launch the ROV. Areas with a change in elevation tend to indicate that there are rock structures below the surface. It is around these rocks that the majority of fish prefer to live, so these are often the areas at which the scientists chose to collect data.
The ridges we have seen range in height from 1 meter to 5 meters. The fish really like areas in the rock that have cracks, crevices and overhangs for them to hide. Many times as the ROV approached the fish, they would scurry into a nearby hiding place. I can’t help but imagine that the ROV with its bright lights and unnatural features must seem like an alien spacecraft to these fish that have never had contact with humans before. But ROVs aren’t the only thing that these fish need to hide from. I noticed that the larger fish that are toward the top of the food chain were not as skittish as the smaller reef fish. Sometimes amberjacks and scamp would even follow the ROV as if curious about we were doing. And lionfish never budged as the ROV passed unless it happened to be sitting in the ROV’s path.
Lobster hiding in rock. Notice how his coloring resembles the reef behind him.Eel hiding under spongeScorpionfish against Diodogorgia
The fish are not the only living things that like these rocky habitats. Usually when there are rocky surfaces, we find sponges, corals, hydroids and algae growing on top. These creatures not only give the reef its beautiful appearance, but they also help to provide habitat as well.
Notice how the flounder blends in with the sand?Sand tilefish make their burrows in the rubble under the sand.Spider crabs on sandy bottom
Species that live in the sandy bottom habitat have their own set of adaptations. Animals such as the flounder and sea cucumbers have skin colorations that match the speckled appearance of the sand itself. Sand tilefish carve out burrows from the rubble beneath the sand. The spider crabs have a carapace that mimics the texture of the rocks it lives near. The stingrays, with their low profile, sit on the sandy bottom and use their mouth to scour the sand in search of crabs and clams to eat.
Lophelia at artificial reefAnemone at artificial reefartificial reef
Artificial habitats are also full of life. At the shipwreck we visited, not only did we see fish living here, we also saw anemone, tube worms, Venus flytrap anemone, hermit crabs, eels, Lophelia coral to name a few. Other man-made habitats can help rebuild coral reefs. John Reed has placed reef balls on the Occulina Reef in an effort to rebuild the original reef damaged by bottom trawling. These reef balls provide a structure for the corals to anchor themselves to and give the fish places to hide. Even oil platforms can be considered as an artificial reef structure giving a wide variety of species a sturdy structure to call home.
Personal Log
The Science Party
While aboard the Pisces I have learned to identify well over 100 different species of fish and invertebrates. Andy and Stacey quiz me as we are watching the live footage, and I think I finally can tell the difference between a reef butterfly and a bank butterfly. John frequently hands me a text book and challenges me to look up the species we see on the ROV live feed. I am extremely appreciative of everyone being so helpful and sharing their knowledge with me. Each of the scientists have taken the time to answer all of the question that I have. The crew of the Pisces has also been wonderful to work with. Everyone has done their best to make me feel at home. This has been such an amazing experience, I am excited to bring it all back to the classroom this fall! I will never forget my time on the Pisces.
Ocean Careers Interview
In this section, I will be interviewing scientists and crew members to give my students ideas for careers they may find interesting and might want to pursue someday. Today I interviewed John Reed and Stephanie Farrington.
John Reed
Mr. Reed, What is your job title? I am the Research Professor in the Robertson Coral Reef and Research Program at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) at Florida Atlantic University (FAU).
Why did you decide to become a marine biologist? I always knew that I wanted a career where I could do my work outside. My biggest influence came when I was around 13 – 14 years old, I remember watching “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau” every Sunday night with my family and thinking that’s what I want to do!
What type of responsibilities do you have with this job? Currently I am studying deep coral reefs as part of the Robertson Coral Reef and Research Program and several NOAA grants. My focus is primarily off the Florida coast and up through the Carolinas. My objective is to protect and conserve deep sea coral ecosystems. Around Florida alone, our group has discovered over 400 individual deep coral mounds some over 300 ft tall. We have calculated that the area of these deep water reefs may exceed that of all the shallow water reefs in the United States combined. These reefs habitats are incredibly diverse with hundreds of different species of bivalves, crustaceans and fish just to name a few. Deep water hard corals grow very slowly, only about half an inch per year, core sampling has dated deep coral mounds at over 1,000,000 years old. It is vital that we protect these deep reefs from destructive fishing methods such as bottom trawling or energy projects.
I also manage the archives for the biomedical marine division at Harbor Branch where we have over 35,000 deep and shallow marine specimens from around the world. Each specimen has video footage of it in its natural habitat (in situ from the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible), still photos, museum samples as well as several smaller samples for our biomedical research. We have discovered novel compounds from some of these marine organisms which may be future cures for cancer or other diseases. Currently our chemists and biologists are working on the chemical compounds that we discovered in a deep water sponge that grows off Florida. In the lab it is potent against pancreatic cancer which is a very deadly disease.
What type of education did you need to get this job? I earned my Bachelors Degree in chemistry and biology from University of Miami and my Masters Degree in marine ecology from Florida Atlantic University. My Masters Thesis was on The Animal-Sediment Relationship s of Shallow Water Lagoons and took me four years to study and wrote. While working on my thesis, the Smithsonian had a branch at HBOI, so I would ask the scientists there for help in identifying the animals in my study. Working with these scientists helped me make the connections that eventually get my job with HBOI.
What types of experiences have you had with this job? I have been fortunate enough to travel the world visiting over 60 countries and collecting thousands of marine samples for biomedical research at HBOI. I have been able to dive in the Johns0n-Sea-Link submersible to depths of 3000 ft and scuba dive to 300 ft. My research on the deep water Oculina coral reefs off the east coast of Florida allowed me to use our submersibles as well as lock-out diving to study the growth rate and fauna associated with these deep water coral. It is very humbling that my research on these reefs helped to establish the Oculina Marine Protected Area which was the first marine protected area in the world to protect deep sea corals, and more recently the 24,000 sq. mile deep sea coral habitat area of particular concern off the southeastern U.S.
What advice do you have for students wanting a career in marine biology? Even if people tell you there are no jobs in marine biology, find a way to do it! Follow what you are passionate about. Get experiences as an undergrad, do internships, build your resume. Make the effort! Do things that are going to set you above everyone else.
When looking at graduate school, compare the course offerings of several universities. Research the Principal Investigators (PIs) at those same schools and make contact with them. Get a position as a Teaching Assistant or Lab Aide to build on your resume. All of these things will help you to get the job you want once you graduate.
Stephanie Farrington
Ms. Farrington, What is your job title? I am a biological scientist for John Reed at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute.
What type of responsibilities do you have with this job? I accompany John on his research expeditions and help collect data. When we return to HBOI, I analyze the data and program everything into GIS maps to give us a visual layout of the different habitats we saw and the species that live there.
What type of education did you need to get this job? I earned my Bachelors Degree in biology and marine science from the University of Tampa. My Masters Degree is in marine biology from the NOVA Southeastern University Oceanographic Center. My thesis was on the Biogeography of the Straights of Florida which gave me a solid background in the marine invertebrates of our region. This is one of the reasons John hired me to work with him.
What types of experiences have you had with this job? I have been fortunate to travel in our Johnson-Sea-Link submersible six times, twice sitting up front in the bubble, one dive went down to 1700 feet below the surface. I have also been on 8 research cruises since I started at HBOI two years ago. I also had the opportunity to sail on the Okeanos Explorer for three weeks.
What advice do you have for students wanting a career in marine biology? Marine biology is about collecting and analyzing data and doing research and there is so much cooler stuff in the ocean than just dolphins!
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Anne Byford
Aboard R/V Hugh R. Sharp
June 8 – 15, 2010
Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographic Location: off the coast of New England
June 11, 2010
Weather Data at 1:30pm EDT: Clear and sunny, 14.5˚C
Location at 1:30pm EDT: Lat: 4123.78 NLong: 6656.64 W
Water Depth: 68.2 m
8th Day at Sea
What kinds of things are you going to catch?Part 2 – non-fish along with a few new fishes
There are many more species in the areas than I have listed here; these are simply the ones that I found most interesting. There are several different types of bivalves, sea weeds, etc. Material about the species on this page came from several sources, including the Bigelow and Schroeder’s book referenced in the previous posting. Also, Kenneth Gosner’s A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore published by Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston, Ma, 1978. I also used Norman Mein-Koth’s Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures published by Alfred A. Knopf in New York in 1990.
Sea Stars (aka starfish) – Every third dredge, the contents of the dredge are sampled and the sea stars are separated by species and counted. Most sea stars can regenerate a lost arm, but a few can regenerate an entire organism from the lost arm as well. All sea stars are predators; many species do eat scallops.
Hippasteria phygiana
Hippasteria phygiana – a cushion star with a much wider central disk and shorter arms than the other types of sea stars.
Northern Sea Star
Northern Sea Star (Asterias vulgaris) – is one of the more common sea stars found. It can have a radius of up to 20 cm.
Blood Star
Blood Star (Henricia sanguinolenta) – is a thin armed sea star that ranges in color from bright red to orange. This particular blood star shows some aberant regeneration occurring on one arm.
Leptasterias tenera
Leptasterias tenera – smaller sea stars than the others. They are usually whitish-tan. Some have purple centers and arm bands.
Sclerasteras tanneri
Sclerasteras tanneri – are spinier than the other sea stars seen. They are bright red with thin arms.
Spiny Sun star
Spiny Sun star (Crossaster papposus) – is the only sea star that I’ve seen here with more than 5 arms. It has concentric rings of color radiating from the central disk of the sea star.
Green Sea Urchin
Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) – can grow up to 8.3 cm wide and 3.8 cm high. The shell (test) is usually a greenish color and the spines are all approximately the same length.
Sand Dollar
Sand Dollar (Echinarachnius parma) – the common sand dollar. This species does not have openings in the test like the Keyhole type that is commonly found off the coast of the Carolina’s, but does have the flower-like markings on the dorsal side. A great many of these (hundreds of thousands) are found in the dredge on some tows.
Hermit Crabs
Hermit Crabs (various species) – move from shell to shell as they grow.
Northern Lobster
Northern Lobster (Homarus americanus) – can grow up to 90 cm in length. Lobsters are scavengers and can be cannibalistic. Claws and tail are highly prized for meat.
Winter flounder
Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) – are darker than the other flounder. Like summer flounder, they can change color to match the underlying ocean floor. Winter flounder can live up to 15 years. They can reach a maximum size of 64 cm and 3.6 kg, with the average being 31-38 cm and 0.7-0.9 kg. Winter flounder eat mostly small invertebrates, like polychaetes and shrimp and some small fishes. They are preyed upon by cod, skates, goosefish, and spiny dogfish.Winter flounder are the thickest of the flatfish, but are considered over-exploited.
Haddock
Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) – a silvery fish that is dark grey on the dorsal side with a dark patch behind the gills. The largest recorded haddock was 111.8 cm long and 16.8 kg. The average haddock is 35-58 cm long and 0.5-2 kg. Small haddock eat crustaceans, polychaetes, and small fish, while larger haddock eat more echinoderms, but will eat most anything. Predators include spiny dogfish, skates, cod, other haddock, hakes, goosefish, and seals. Haddock aquaculture was begun in 1995. The biomass of haddock was considered below maintenance levels in the late 1990s.
Fawn Cusk-eel
Fawn Cusk-eel (Lepophidium profundorum) – are greenish with light green or tan spots down the sides and, unlike true eels, have pectoral fins. They average about 26 cm in length. They eat sea mice, shrimp, and echinoderms. Larger fawn cusk-eels eat flatfish as well. They are eaten by skates, spiny dogfish, hakes, flounders, and sea ravens.
Winter Skate
Winter Skate (Leucoraja ocellata) – large, heart-shaped skate. Like the barndoor skate, winter skates can be quite large, up to 150 cm long. They eat bivalves, shrimp, crabs, echinoderms, and many types of fishes. They are eaten by sharks, other skates, and grey seals. They are considered to be commercially important.
Personal Log
I have to admit, when I first went up to the bridge of the ship, with its wrap-around windows, the first words that came to mind were the lines from Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner (which I may have not remembered entirely correctly)
Water, water everywhere
And not a drop to drink
Water, water everywhere
And all the boards did shrink
At the time that I was there, no land and no other ships were within sight; there was nothing but water and wavelets as far as I could see.We’ve see several ships on the horizon, and two container ships close enough to get a good look at. One of those passed quite close as we had a dredge down.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Anne Byford
Aboard R/V Hugh R. Sharp
June 8 – 15, 2010
Mission: Sea Scallop Survey Geographic Location: off the coast of New England June 15, 2010
Aboard: R/V Hugh R. Sharp
Weather Data at 1:30pm
EDT: Clear and sunny, 14.5˚C
Location at 1:30pm
EDT: Lat: 41 23.78 N
Long: 66 56.64 W
Water Depth: 68.2 m
8th Day at Sea
What kinds of things are you going to catch? Part 2 – non-fish along with a few new fishes
There are many more species in the areas than I have listed here; these are simply the ones that I found most interesting. There are several different types of bivalves, sea weeds, etc. Material about the species on this page came from several sources, including the Bigelow and Schroeder’s book referenced in the previous posting. Also, Kenneth Gosner’s A Field Guide to the Atlantic Seashore published by Houghton Mifflin Company in Boston, Ma, 1978. I also used Norman Mein-Koth’s Field Guide to North American Seashore Creatures published by Alfred A. Knopf in New York in 1990.
Sea Stars (aka starfish) – Every third dredge, the contents of the dredge are sampled and the sea stars are separated by species and counted. Most sea stars can regenerate a lost arm, but a few can regenerate an entire organism from the lost arm as well. All sea stars are predators; many species do eat scallops.
Hippasteria phygiana – a cushion star with a much wider central disk and shorter arms than the other types of sea stars.
H. phygiana dorsal
Northern Sea Star (Asterias vulgaris) – is one of the more common sea stars found. It can have a radius of up to 20 cm.
Northern Sea star dorsal
Blood Star (Henricia sanguinolenta) – is a thin armed sea star that ranges in color from bright red to orange. This particular blood star shows some aberant regeneration occurring on one arm.
Blood Star
Leptasterias tenera – smaller sea stars than the others. They are usually whitish-tan. Some have purple centers and arm bands.
L. tenera
Sclerasteras tanneri – are spinier than the other sea stars seen. They are bright red with thin arms.
S. tanneri
Spiny Sun star (Crossaster papposus) – is the only sea star that I’ve seen here with more than 5 arms. It has concentric rings of color radiating from the central disk of the sea star.
Sun Star
Green Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) – can grow up to 8.3 cm wide and 3.8 cm high. The shell (test) is usually a greenish color and the spines are all approximately the same length.
Green Sea Urchin
Sand Dollar (Echinarachnius parma) – the common sand dollar. This species does not have openings in the test like the Keyhole type that is commonly found off the coast of the Carolina’s, but does have the flower-like markings on the dorsal side. A great many of these (hundreds of thousands) are found in the dredge on some tows.
Sand Dollar
Hermit Crabs (various species) – move from shell to shell as they grow.
Hermit Crabs
Northern Lobster (Homarus americanus) – can grow up to 90 cm in length. Lobsters are scavengers and can be cannibalistic. Claws and tail are highly prized for meat.
Lobster with eggs
Winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) – are darker than the other flounder. Like summer flounder, they can change color to match the underlying ocean floor. Winter flounder can live up to 15 years. They can reach a maximum size of 64 cm and 3.6 kg, with the average being 31-38 cm and 0.7-0.9 kg. Winter flounder eat mostly small invertebrates, like polychaetes and shrimp and some small fishes. They are preyed upon by cod, skates, goosefish, and spiny dogfish. Winter flounder are the thickest of the flatfish, but are considered over-exploited.
Winter Flounder Dorsal
Haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) – a silvery fish that is dark grey on the dorsal side with a dark patch behind the gills. The largest recorded haddock was 111.8 cm long and 16.8 kg. The average haddock is 35-58 cm long and 0.5-2 kg. Small haddock eat crustaceans, polychaetes, and small fish, while larger haddock eat more echinoderms, but will eat most anything. Predators include spiny dogfish, skates, cod, other haddock, hakes, goosefish, and seals. Haddock aquaculture was begun in 1995. The biomass of haddock was considered below maintenance levels in the late 1990s.
Haddock Large
Fawn Cusk-eel (Lepophidium profundorum) – are greenish with light green or tan spots down the sides and, unlike true eels, have pectoral fins. They average about 26 cm in length. They eat sea mice, shrimp, and echinoderms. Larger fawn cusk-eels eat flatfish as well. They are eaten by skates, spiny dogfish, hakes, flounders, and sea ravens.
Fawn Cusk eel dorsal
Winter Skate (Leucoraja ocellata) – large, heart-shaped skate. Like the barndoor skate, winter skates can be quite large, up to 150 cm long. They eat bivalves, shrimp, crabs, echinoderms, and many types of fishes. They are eaten by sharks, other skates, and grey seals. They are considered to be commercially important.
Winter Skate Female Dorsal
Personal Log
I have to admit, when I first went up to the bridge of the ship, with its wrap-around windows, the first words that came to mind were the lines from Rhyme of the Ancient Mariner (which I may have not remembered entirely correctly)
Water, water everywhere
And not a drop to drink
Water, water everywhere
And all the boards did shrink
At the time that I was there, no land and no other ships were within sight; there was nothing but water and wavelets as far as I could see. We’ve see several ships on the horizon, and two container ships close enough to get a good look at. One of those passed quite close as we had a dredge down.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Elise Olivieri
Onboard Research Vessel Hugh R. Sharp May 9 – 20, 2009
Mission: Sea Scallop Survey Geographical area of cruise: Northwest Atlantic Date: May 17, 2009
Weather Data from the Bridge
Air Temperature: 13.61 Degrees Celsius
Barometric Pressure: 1012 mb
Humidity: 97 %
Here you can see the many different sizes of sea scallops.
Science and Technology Log
So Far the sea scallop survey has collected 76,170 sea scallops which can also be expressed as 9,251 kilograms. This is a tremendous amount of scallops and the survey is not even a third of the way complete. At stations where crabs and starfish were sampled we have collected 8,678 cancer crabs and 279,768 starfish (Asterias) so far. Without a reliable database like FSCS it would be impossible to keep up with such a large amount of information.
Today I got a chance to talk with Shad Mahlum. He is a seagoing technician for NOAA and was born and raised in Montana. He has experience working with freshwater surveys. In the past years he has studied how beaver dams influence native and non-native species of freshwater fish. Shad also spent some time looking at various cattle grazing strategies and how they affect food chains. Shad loves working on the open ocean and the physical process of sea scallop surveys. Shad hopes to work with freshwater and saltwater projects in the future.
Here I am holding a scallop and a Red Hake.
As I was gazing out into the deep blue sea a very large animal caught my eye. I was so excited to see another Finback Whale. They are the second largest animal on earth after the Blue Whale. They are known to grow to more than 85 feet. Finbacks are indifferent to boats. They neither approach them nor avoid them. Finback Whales dive to depths of at least 755 feet. They can grow anywhere from 30-80 tons. Finbacks eat Krill, fish and squid and their population numbers are approximately 100,000 or more. The only threats Finbacks have are polluted waters. It is incredible to see such a large animal breaching out of the water. I will never forget it.
Animals Seen Today
Wrymouth Squid, Eelgrass Slug, Razor Clam, Lobsters, Green Sea Urchin, Macoma clam, Sea Stars (Asterias), Horseshoe Crab, Fourbeard Rockling, Palmate Sponge, Hermit Crab, Black Clam, Golden Star, Tunicate, Winter Flounder, Surf Clam, Yellowtail Flounder, and Sea Mouse.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jacob Tanenbaum Onboard NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow October 5 – 16, 2009
Mission: Survey Geographic Region: Northeast U.S. Date: October 8, 2008
Science Log
Today we started working. My shift is 12 midnight to 12 noon, so I slept for a few hours in the afternoon and then worked overnight and into the morning. It is hard to get used to staying up all night. It feels a little like I took an unexpected trip to Europe. Our first haul took the longest to sort out because many of us were learning how things were supposed to work, but after a full day, it started to feel routine. Here is a sampling of some of the amazing creatures that came up in our nets:
It’s a shark!This is a dogfish. It is a relative of the shark, but without all those ferocious teeth. So many people have asked me if I have seen a shark, I had to put these photos up for you!This lumpfish is a related to the anglefish, which has a light and lives in deeper water.Here is a squid, a sea-robin a baby dogfish that had just hatched and a flounder or two.This is a skate.These are the skate egg cases. Have ever found one on a beach? Now you know what it grows into.This is a long horned sculpin. These creatures buzz when you hold them and stick their fins up to scare you off. Amazing!The largest lobster I have ever seen. Can you guess why I’m smiling in the picture? Here is a special shout out to my favorite lobster (and clam) fans, Simon and Nicky Tanenbaum!
And finally, we saw whales!
~~~
NOAA Ship Albatross, also working on this survey
On a personal note, this is a very comfortable ship. Zee and Snuggy will continue to show us around each day. Several of us watched the presidential debate on live satellite TV in the lounge tonight. Here are Snuggy and Zee having a quick meal.
Cottage Lane students, we are traveling about 8 knots per hour right now. Can you calculate how for we can travel in a day? Remember, the ship works all day and all night. How far can it go at that speed? Post your answers on the blog, then watch the video. Would you like to do this kind of work? Let me know.
I have enjoyed reading your comments very much. We are going to have a little delay in my responding to comments today as I get used to working the midnight shift. You are all correct when you say that the Bigelow has a LOT more technology than the Eagle. Consider this: I went on deck at about 4 in the morning to do some work and found that I could not see the stars because the electric lights on the ship were so bright! I guess we have to have a GPS when you reach that point! Celestial navigation just will not work on a ship with lights so bright!
Mascots in the galley
A lot of you were focusing on what sailors then and now need to survive: Food and water, for example. Did you know old sailing ships had to bring their entire supply of fresh water with them in barrels. Today, our ship can take the salt out of seawater to make it safe to drink. Technology has changed the way we live on ships!
To my fellow TAS from the Delaware: Thanks for writing. We are doing bottom trawls and are looking to survey the entire benthic community here. Thanks for the sea-sickness tips. I may need all the help I can get if the weather decides to change.
Lynn: thanks for reading the blog. Zee is fine, and so far so am I. With luck, the weather will hold! If not, Zee may do better than I do. We could see Cape Cod earlier today. Beautiful!
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Linda Depro
Onboard NOAA Ship Albatross IV July 31 – August 11, 2006
Mission: Sea Scallop Survey Geographical Area: Georges Bank, New England Date: August 9, 2006
Science and Technology Log
The dredge caught a monster lobster today. The scientists seemed to think it was more than twenty years old. When held up it was the size of an adult’s length from shoulders to knees, and two hands were needed to hold it! A spiny dogfish (looks like a shark) was also caught. I held it to have my picture taken and I plan to hang it on my classroom door! Otherwise the catches were the usual—some with lots of rocks, some with sand, others with many star fish or skates. All these fantastic sea creatures that I have only seen in books have become part of my life here on board the ALBATROSS IV. The star fish and hermit crabs are my favorites, skates are cool to look at and pick up by the tail and put in the bucket, goosefish (known as monk fish in the grocery store) have a face that “only a mother could love”, and the scallops, even though I’ve seen thousands of them are each a little different.
Personal Log
Sunset was beautiful again tonight and the moon is spectacular. With my binoculars the craters were very clear. A lone seagull followed us for a while; his white body against the black sky would have inspired me to write a poem if I were a poet. Hard to believe the adventure is coming to an end, and what an adventure it was. The crew has been super, very kind, and willing to talk and answer questions. The scientists have an important job collecting and recording data; they are an interesting group to work with. Thanks to all for making my time on the ALBATROSS IV the adventure of a lifetime.
