Tag: NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

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Joshua Gonzalez: Parting is Such Sweet Sorrow, August 23, 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 23, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 44° 00.5’N

Longitude: 124° 28.0′ W

Wind speed: 15 kts.

Wave height: 2 ft.

Air temp.: 16° C (61° F)

Sky: Clear

Science and Technology Log:

When attempting something for the last time, it can be nice to end on a high note, or in other words, to go out with a bang.  Our last CPS, coastal pelagic species, haul of this mission was a high note.  Not only did we catch almost exclusively our target, but the speed and efficiency with which we processed the catch was the finest of this mission.  While we were in the middle of processing, it struck me how we knew our roles and communication was no longer about how and what to do, but was clear and concise.  It was a team communicating to get a job done. 

I especially felt much more confident and helpful.  I was able to sort the catch, collect and enter the data, collect the otoliths, and assist in the clean up.  I am still not as fast as my far more experienced teammates on this excursion at collecting the otoliths, but I think they were surprised at how much quicker I was this time. 

Mostly today we caught jack mackerel.  We had so many that we needed to use the hopper and the conveyor belt to make the processing go more quickly.  This was the first time that we needed to use it on this trip.  It was fun to see how excited everyone was.

a metal conveyor, for which the belt is blue grating, carries a line of mid-sized fish into the wet lab for sorting.
Using the conveyor belt.
Josh, wearing orange overalls, orange raincoat, orange gloves, and a gray beanie, stands in the wet lab near a fish measuring board and holds up a fish with two hands for a photo.
Holding a Jack Mackerel.

I also had the opportunity to deploy a second drifter buoy during this mission.  The last one was deployed during the night, but this one was during the day.  This one was marked with a special message, “GO PACK GO!”, as well as the names of my students and my children.  I cannot wait to see where they go and how long they are at sea.  According to the global drifter array, the closest one right now is from South Korea and has been in the water over 1400 days!  I hope this one can match that.  If you or someone you know would be interested in participating in the Adopt a Drifter program, you can find more information on how to participate by clicking the link.  

photo of the drifter buoy folded up and awaiting deployment on deck. we can see that on the white portion of the buoy, Josh has written "Go Pack Go!" and several names - we can read Rebecca, John, Andrew.
The drifter is ready to be deployed.
view at a distance of the buoy portion of the drifter just visible above choppy waves
Drifter overboard!

The end of this mission is here and my work is finished.  There is much work ahead still for many of the scientists on board with me using the data we collected while at sea.  Analyzing the data plays a huge part in helping to make informed decisions about commercial fishing and keeping the pacific CPS populations healthy.  

Personal Log:

In The Return of the King, J.R.R. Tolkien wrote, “Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the sea comes the end of our fellowship.”  Often it can be bittersweet when a chapter in your life comes to an end.  This is a small part of my life but an experience that will stay with me for a lifetime.  I am saddened to see it come to an end, and I am eager to get back home too.  I learned a lot and I met great people.  I think what I will miss the most is learning about so many new creatures and being in one place with so many experts in their fields.  I will definitely not miss fighting sea sickness though. 

This was a terrific program and I am honored that I had the opportunity to participate in the Teacher at Sea program.  I started this project looking for a new adventure to bring back into my classroom and to try to inspire my students to go out and do new and exciting things for themselves.  I feel that with the friendships I have made and the knowledge I have gained I am ready to enhance my lessons for my students for years to come.   

Josh takes a selfie near a railing somewhere on deck. we see the sun rising over the coastal mountains in the distance.
Last morning at Sea.
view over the bow: gray skies, gray ocean.
On our way back home.
Josh, wearing his Teacher at Sea hat (and Greenbay Packers sweatshirt) poses for a photo with three other members of the team on the dock in Newport. NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada is barely visible from the back way down the dock stretching behind the group.
Back in Newport with some of the scientists.

Did You Know?

There are more than 33,000 different types of fish species.  That is greater than all of the other vertebrate species (mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles) combined, and there are likely more fish still to be discovered.  

Can you identify this species?

*Hint – I am holding one in the picture above.  It’s a Jack Mackerel.  Jack mackerels are the biggest of the CPS that we are looking for on the West Coast Pelagics Survey.  You can identify them by their dark blue-green coloration on top and their silver below. 

close-up photo of a pile of four jack mackeral in a white container. they have shiny green backs and white bellies.
Jack Mackerel
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Joshua Gonzalez: T2 – I’ll Be Back: August 20, 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 20, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 42° 37.1’N

Longitude: 125° 02.4′ W

Wind speed: 22.6 kts.

Wave height: 3-4 ft.

Air temp.: 16.1° C (61° F)

Sky: Fog

Science and Technology Log

Today I had the opportunity to participate in science in a new way than I have before on this mission.  I was able to deploy a drifter as a part of the NOAA Adopt-a-Drifter Program.  A drifter is a tool that NOAA uses to acquire data from all over the ocean to aid with weather forecasting. 

According to NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorology Laboratory,

“The modern drifter is a high-tech version of the “message in a bottle.” It consists of a surface float and a drogue (sea anchor), which are connected by a long tether. Drifters average their data over a window (typically 90 seconds), and transmit ocean data to an orbiting satellite. Each drifter transmitter is assigned a unique code, referred to as the drifter ID, which makes the identification of each drifter possible.” 

Josh, wearing a life vest and hard hat, holds the drifter (buoy plus folded up drogue) near the railing, ready to deploy. He smiles for the photo. it is nighttime.
Ready to deploy the drifter. If you look closely, it’s labeled with my school’s name: River Trail School of Agricultural Science.

The drifters collect data on ocean surface temperature, wind speed and direction, salinity and barometric pressure. 

The Adopt-a-Drifter Program offers schools, scientists, and other interested parties the opportunity to follow a specific drifter’s trajectory and sea surface conditions.  While there are many schools that participate in the program, there are not many teachers that have the unique opportunity to deploy the drifter themselves.  It is a lot of fun for students to follow along with their drifter, but having deployed the drifters myself will make it even more exciting for my students. 

There is an expression that applies to how I like to teach and to how I will incorporate this experience into my classroom that goes, “Tell me and I may forget.  Show me, and I might remember.  Involve me, and I’ll learn.”  Bringing this experience into my class and having the students follow along as the drifter does its job will provide a learning opportunity that will stick with them for years to come as well as foster a love for science that may inspire them for a lifetime. 

Deploying the drifter

Earlier today I also had the opportunity to help collect water from different depths to get eDNA (Environmental DNA).  We used a CTD rosette (Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth) to take samples of water from various depths of the water column.  Each of the tubes is open when it is dropped in the water.  Then when it reaches the desired depth, a button is pushed to trigger magnets to shut the tube.  This can be done individually for up to twelve tubes on the rosette.  When it is brought to the surface the water can be collected and analyzed.  We took 2.5 liters of water from each sample and ran them individually through a special filter that collected the DNA from the water.  I think collecting eDNA is genius.  Fish leave all sorts of DNA in the water.  By taking the DNA out of the water, it is possible to tell what types of fish were in the various depths of the samples taken even though we did not see or catch them.  It reminds me of a detective searching for clues.  

Josh, wearing a life vest, gloves, work boots, and a hard hat, crouches on deck near the CTD rosette. he holds a bag out to collect a water sample from one of the filter bottles in the rosette. it is nighttime.
Collecting water from the CTD rosette.
Josh stands at a workbench in the wet lab, wearing blue gloves. with his left hand, he reaches for a filter paper set up in a water filtration apparatus.
Collecting the filter with the DNA on it after filtering the water.

We also had a haul of hake fish with a few rockfish mixed in.  We even got some lampreys.  In many people’s opinion, hake are not the most beautiful fish, but they are very important.  We eat hake in imitation crab, fish sandwiches, and fish patties.  It is also used in some cat foods.  It is important that we have good data about hake populations to keep them healthy and bountiful.   We separate the fish into different groups, identify what they are, weigh and measure the catch, and record the data.  We have computer programs to enter the data.  There are a number of procedures we have to follow to record the data properly.  Once you have the hang of it, the processing can move pretty quickly.   

Personal Log

I am off the dock and officially back at sea again.  In a way, I am a Teacher at Sea twice. 🙂  My body definitely adjusted much more quickly this time around.  Just as I suspected, everyone is eager to get going.  The hauls are coming in and business has picked up.  Even though the processing of each haul is moving efficiently, extracting the otoliths takes a developed feel.  I’m getting there, but don’t quite have the hang of it yet.  My hands are definitely starting to smell a little fishy no matter how many times I wash them. 

Everyone has been very helpful, and I am learning a lot of new things.  It feels a little weird though, because while it seems like we are just getting started, the finish line is just around the corner.  We return to Newport on the 23rd.  I’ve already done my last load of laundry onboard.  The last few dirty things I’ll do at home. I hope the person who sits next to me on the plane doesn’t mind a faint smell of fish though, because I’m not sure it’s fully coming off for a little while. 

Even though we still have two full days of science work to be done, I have started reflecting a little on everything that has transpired on this mission.  I think the key takeaway so far has been to be flexible and stay ready.  We have plans in life, but they do not always happen how we expect them to go.  You have to be able to adapt and keep a positive attitude to make the most out of whatever opportunity you have. 

I played a lot of sports growing up.  One thing I could not control is playing time.  I learned though, that while you may not always get as much playing time as you think you deserve, you just have to make the most out of the opportunities you do have.  For example if you are only put in for five plays in a particular game, during those five plays you can still be the best player on the field.  No matter what you do, give glory by giving your best.  Vince Lombardi once said, “The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” 

I wonder how the mission would have been different without the obstacles we had to overcome.  Who knows?  But in the end, the what ifs don’t really matter.  With the opportunities we’ve had, we’ve gotten a lot done and made great experiences.  While we’ve been busy, last night and this morning I had a chance to see the stars at night and the sunrise in the morning.  I couldn’t help but  feel reminded of Psalm 19.  I know a lot can happen in the final two-plus days, so I shouldn’t close the book quite yet.  I am excited to see what is still to come as we get to the end of the mission. 

incredible photo of the night sky showing some lighter areas - the milky way - and a short streak of light with a tail
Caught a glimpse (and a photo!) of a shooting star and the Milky Way.
dramatic view of an orange sunrise over mountains beyond calm ocean waters. the sun is reflected in the ocean.
The sunrise over Oregon.

Did You Know?

During the daytime many CPS (coastal pelagic species) fish swim about on their own in search of food, but at night they tend to school together for defense.

Can you identify this specices?

close-up view of one hake fish in a pile of hake fish

If you guessed Pacific Hake also known as Pacific Whiting, way to go! Some key identifiers are the hake’s round body and silvery color with black speckles on their back. Their average size is up to 3 feet in length.

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Joshua Gonzalez: Sitting on the Dock of the Bay: August 18, 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 18, 2025

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Location:  Newport, Oregon

Wind speed: 4.1 kts.

Wave height: 6-7 ft.

Air temp.: 15.5° C (60° F)

Sky: Clear

Science and Technology Log

Today we are heading back out to sea., emphasis on back. We had to make a brief stop back in Newport due to a malfunction with the fog horn.  Since it had been very foggy, it was not safe.  We had to wait in Newport for maintenance.

a view of NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada in port at night. it is low tide, so the hull is not very visible above the dock.
NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada back in Newport.

Therefore, we have not been doing any fishing since my last post.  However, now that it has been repaired we are on our way again.  It will take about 15 hours until we are back at the transects that we need to survey.  We are all very excited to begin fishing again.  In the meantime, in order to learn more about what it takes to be a full time NOAA scientist, I thought it would be a good idea to interview one of the scientists working with me on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada about his role on this mission.  

Meet Gary Longo – Research Scientist 2 NOAA Southwest:

a man stands for a photo on the deck of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. we can see the port of Newport in the background.
Gary Longo in Newport.
  1. Why is your work important?  

My work is important because it helps inform management and stock assessors of population structure within federally managed fisheries, because understanding population structure is critical to effective management.

  1. What do you enjoy most about your work?

My favorite part of my job is getting to the point that you see results from data analysis, because often to get to that point it involves time in the field, collecting samples, extracting DNA in the lab, and preparing libraries for sequencing, analyzing the data, and finally starting to see the picture with the results of all your hard work.

  1. Where do you do most of your work?

Most of my work is done at the Southwest Fisheries Center in La Jolla, California.  However the species: pacific sardine, northern anchovy, lingcod, and various rock fish species, that I focus on in my work are generally distributed in the northeast Pacific.

  1. What tool do you use in your work that you could not live without?

My computer, for running analysis and writing up results.

  1. If you could invent any tool to make your work more efficient and cost was no object, what would it be and why?

An autonomous vehicle that hunted fishes and was non lethal but took tissue samples and sequenced each sample’s genome.

  1. When did you know you wanted to pursue a career in science or an ocean career?

When I was at the Monterey Bay Aquarium I realized that my heart wasn’t into medicine, which I was studying at the time.  I was a member at the aquarium and went there all the time and I thought this is what I want to do.

  1. What part of your job with NOAA did you least expect to be doing?

Extra paperwork. 

  1. How do you help wider audiences to understand and appreciate NOAA science?

I try to explain things that I would want my grandmother to understand.  Generally speaking when I am on hikes or birding I speak with curious people and try to engage with them.

  1. How did you become interested in communicating about science?

I became interested when I became a teacher’s assistant in grad school and an instructor in ichthyology at UC Santa Cruz.

  1. What’s at the top of your recommended reading list for a young person exploring ocean or science career options?

One of my favorites is Song of the Dodo by David Quamman.  That’s a great book about island biogeography and the importance of habitat connectivity

  1. What do you think you would be doing if you were not working for NOAA?

Using my dive masters to share my passion of diving with interested folks.

  1. Do you have any outside hobbies?

I enjoy surfing, birding, hiking, and scuba diving.

Gary and the other scientists working on board NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada have been amazing.  They are all very passionate about their work, and very knowledgeable about everything we are studying on this mission.  It is inspiring to work with people who care so much about their work.

Personal Log

Maybe some of you have heard the expression, “Hurry up and wait.”  I have heard that off and on at various times throughout my life.  This part of our mission has seemed to embody the sentiment behind the expression like few other times I have experienced. 

Getting ready for this mission seemed like a whirlwind with balancing my life at home with my family and trying to prepare mentally and physically for my time on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada.  Once I was in Newport things slowed down a little while adjusting to life onboard and making our way out to our first transect.  Then business really picked up and everything was full of excitement and energy.  Processing our first catch was a time filled with enough adrenaline to make all of us forget that it was one in the morning. 

Then when the fog horn went out of commission everything came to a proverbial screeching halt.  Hurry up, now wait.  The initial feelings of frustration, restlessness, and even anxiety were pervasive.  There were even temptations to gripe and have a “woe is me” type of attitude.  Unfortunately, in life sometimes we have to deal with setbacks due to circumstances that are beyond our control.

I work through tough or frustrating situations in life by taking a step back to gain some perspective, and remembering that there are things outside of my life that are bigger and more important.  My hope is built on nothing less.  All other ground is sinking sand.  When I put my life in a better perspective, I know there will be brighter days, and the things that were bothering me no longer seem so pressing. 

Heading out to sea again has reinvigorated everyone onboard.  We are chomping at the bit, and I think we are just going to rip it.  Pull back and let the big dog eat.  There is an excitement that is palpable.  Being with people who care deeply about their work is a blessing.  I want to take back as much as I can from this experience to my classroom for my students, but I want to remember that desire to do my work and do it well most of all.  Hopefully, very soon we will be so busy processing catches and recording data that I will be nearly too tired to write, but when I do I’m sure I’ll have lots to say.  Let’s hurry up!

portrait photo of Josh wearing a Teacher at Sea hat and a sweatshirt that says I Survived the Polar Bear Plunge, Bradford Beach, Milwaukee. He stands at the railing, and in the distance we can see the port of Newport.
Heading back out to sea!

Did You Know?

An otolith is a small structure found inside fish which helps them detect sound and keep their balance.  Otoliths grow inside fish throughout their life and can be used to determine their age, almost like a tree, by counting the growth rings.  Pretty cool!

Can you identify this species?

a mola mola swimming on its side at the ocean's surface
Mola Mola, aka. Ocean Sunfish

In my opinion, one of the coolest fish names, mola mola.  They are also referred to as an ocean sunfish.  Mola mola have a jellyfish based diet and can grow to be very large, on average 2200 pounds and six to seven feet wide.  I spotted this one from the flying bridge on our way back to Newport.  I speculate it was a little more than half those sizes.

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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
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.
Jojo and the Golden Gate Bridge

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.

First Assistant Engineer Matt Swanson

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.
close-up view of a clear amphipod
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.

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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.
A lot of krill.

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.
Enjoying my work in the wet lab

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!