Tag: NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

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Jenny Gapp: Let Them Eat Hake! August 14, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jenny Gapp (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 23 – 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: Monday, August 14, 2023

Weather Data from Portland, Oregon
Friday, August 11, 2023 (one week from our final trawl)
Sunrise 6:06am PDT | Sunset 8:24pm PDT
Current Time: 2:53pm PDT
Location: 45. 59578° N, 122.60917° W (Portland International Airport)
Visibility: 10 miles
Sky condition: A few clouds
Wind Speed: 6.8 mph
Wind Direction: NW
Barometer: 1016.80 mb
Air Temp: 82° F
Relative Humidity: 37%
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 0 knots as I sit on my front porch at home!
Willamette River water temperature: 74°F

Monday, August 14, 2023
Sunrise 6:10am PDT | Sunset 8:19pm PDT
Current Time: 2:53pm PDT
Location: 45. 59578° N, 122.60917° W
Visibility: 10 miles
Sky condition: Clear
Wind Speed: 10 mph
Wind Direction: WNW
Barometer: 1010.10 mb
Outdoor Air Temp: 105°F (record ended up at 108°F)
Relative Humidity: 21%
Indoor Air Temp: 78°F (our AC consists of several Doug Fir trees)
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 0 knots as I sit at my computer in my home office space. 
Willamette River water temperature: 75.02°F

Science and Technology Log
I’ll start my last blog post with some vocabulary… and a sports analogy. Apologies in advance, I’m testing out some sports jokes to appeal to my 5th-grade sports fans who are skeptical about science. My hope is that the vocabulary (at least) will aid in understanding the following narrative about NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada’s Leg 3 centerboard retraction.

Don’t worry, it’s not too complicated. It isn’t that different from how rookie Trail Blazer Ibou Badji (Center) was removed for knee surgery at the end of last season… or how the other Center, Jusuf Nurkic, was ejected after an altercation with an opponent and then retracted for the remainder of the same season with plantar fasciitis… Where have all the Centers on the board gone? At least there is more certainty of Shimada’s centerboard returning than Nurkic (even though he has three years on his contract left)!

Vocabulary

Acoustics – In our case, acoustics refers to an entire branch of physics concerned with the properties of sound. Yes, acoustics can also refer to how your voice sounds when singing in the shower.

Sonar – A system for the detection of objects underwater by emitting sound pulses and detecting or measuring their return after being reflected by the objects. The vocabulary words that follow are all related to the sonar system on the Shimada.

Centerboard – A retractable hull appendage, similar to the keel on a sailboat.

Ping – To emit a signal and then listen for its echo in order to detect objects. Sean Connery may have introduced you to the concept. “Give me a ping, Vasili. One ping only, please.” (Captain Ramius, The Hunt for Red October, 1990)

Hertz – One hertz (Hz) is equal to one event per second. The unit’s most common usage is to describe periodic waveforms (as is used in acoustics) and in musical tones. Kilohertz (kHz) is equal to 103, megahertz (mHz) is equal to 106 .

a graphical representation of the spectrum of soundwaves. from left to right, a red line meanders up and down at increasing frequencies (2 Hz, 20 Hz, 200 Hz, 2 kHz, 20 kHz, 200 kHz, 2 MHz) and decreasing wavelengths (170 m, 17 m, 1.7 m, 17 cm, 17 mm, 1.7 mm, 172 um.) The labeled wavelengths are compared to images about the same size: a baseball field (170 m), a tractor trailer (17 m), two people holding hands (1.7 m), a sub sandwich (17 cm), a penny (17 mm), the width of a quarter (1.7 mm), and grains of salt (172 um). Ranges of frequencies are labeled "infrasound" (2 Hz to 20 Hz), "audible sound" (20 Hz to 20 kHz), and "ultrasound" (20 kHz to 2 MHz).
Spectrum of soundwaves illustration from BYU Acoustics Research Group

Transducer – A device that converts variations in a physical quantity, such as sound, into an electrical signal, or vice versa. On the Shimada, the transducer emits a ping.

Transceiver – A device that both transmits and receives communication. There are five transceivers on the Shimada, one for each frequency—measured in kHZ—that the scientists monitor. Walkie-talkies are one example of transceivers.

Note: I have a habit of calling things by their incorrect names, and had some confusion about how a “transponder” fits into these “trans” terms. A transponder is a blend between “transmitter” and “responder.” Essentially, a device that receives a radio signal and emits a different signal in response. They are used to detect and identify objects. If you have a car key fob that locks and unlocks your doors remotely (or starts your engine), then you are walking around with a transponder. Transponders are also commonly found in airplanes.

Echosounder – A type of sonar. The Shimada uses a wideband transceiver (WBT) scientific echosounder system for the hake survey.

Echogram – The visualization of sound once the transceiver “listens” to the acoustic return pinged off objects.

Cleaning up is often a sign of good things coming to an end. Whether it’s scraping glitter glue off the tables of my library, or fish scales off stainless steel in the Shimada, both signal the end of a productive work period. On Friday night, August 4th, the Wet Lab crew conducted a deep clean of the space after the last trawl. On Saturday, the net was streamed one last time (for Leg 3 anyway) on our way back to Newport, Oregon. Creatures like pyrosomes, flatfish, and young-of-the-year (YOY) hake that had been stuck in the net were flushed out after a period of time waving goodbye in surface waters. YOY is used interchangeably with the term “fingerlings” in the vocabulary of fish development.

Jenny, wearing overalls, rubber boots, rubber gloves, kneels on one knee to scrub an overturned plastic basket on the aft deck. there is a bucket of cleaning solution to her right and a stack of three more baskets to her left.
In which I get to “swab the deck”… or swab the baskets in this case.

Another event that occurred Saturday was the raising of the centerboard. The centerboard is always raised at sea and cleaned once in port. “Biofouling mitigation” is the fancy term for centerboard cleaning. This is to ensure sea life, such as barnacles, do not adhere themselves to the surface. A build-up of these stowaways could interfere with the sonar. Hmm, I sense potential here for another sports analogy… something about fouls.  

The Survey Crew coordinates with the bridge and the engineers to retract the centerboard. Transducers are mounted on the centerboard so they can be lower than the hull. This reduces bubbles and noise. In the Shimada’s case, bubbles are air pockets created by the movement of the ship’s bow. A centerboard extends the distance between sonar equipment and the activity of bubbles gathered near the hull. When seas are rough enough there can actually be a data dropout that appears as a white line on the echogram.  

Elysha stands at metal box, with indicator lights and switches, mounted on a wall. She holds a corded phone receiver up to her ear with her left hand. With her right hand she reaches toward a button or dial on the control panel.
Elysha Agne, at the centerboard control panel.

Fully extended, the centerboard is 3.4 m below the hull of the ship and 9.15 m below the baseline sea surface. There is a manual option for retracting the centerboard, but it is generally only used if there’s a problem. Automatic operations are the norm, and were used when I observed the procedure.

Officers on the bridge slow the ship to 0 knots. The bridge confirms with survey technicians which position the centerboard should be moved to. A control panel for the centerboard is located one deck below the acoustics lab. I stood with Senior Survey Technician, Elysha Agne, to observe the process for retraction. NOAA Corps crew actually push the button on the bridge for retraction, but Agne communicates over the phone with them to confirm what the centerboard control panel is indicating.

close up view of a metal panel - a red circle, surrounded by a yellow ring, on a red background. over the center of the circle, there's a beige-colored smear of what must be tiny barnacles.
Barnacles on a Shimada transducer after three legs of the 2023 hake survey. Photo taken by Elysha Agne.

Just down the passageway from the control panel are the double watertight doors that provide access to the instrument pod on the retracted centerboard. I include a picture of these doors in the Hook, Line, and Thinker section of blog post, “Let’s Get Specific in the Pacific.”

Once the button is pushed and the centerboard is ostensibly moved, Agne confirms the indicator lights on the control panel and looks through the porthole on the watertight doors nearby to confirm the white letter “R” (for “retracted) is visible on the appendage. Agne turns off the transducers (no pinging) before retraction starts in case the transducers accidentally go out of the water.

This is important because sound travels differently through air than in water. If the transducer were still pinging while a crewmember had their head through the open centerboard access doors—that wouldn’t be good for human ears. The transducer can actually be damaged beyond repair if it pings in the air. The centerboard actually has holes in it, so it fills with water when lowered, then drains as it is raised. I could hear the water draining during the retraction process. 

Career feature

CO Slater, wearing a blue NOAA Corps uniform, stands at a white metal post (housing what must be the gyro repeater) near a railing aboard NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada. He holds his right hand up, pointing out over the bright blue ocean, and looks in the direction he points.
CO Slater at one of Shimada’s gyro repeaters.
CO Slater, wearing a blue NOAA Corps uniform, sits in his Captain's Chair on the bridge. Facing away from us, he holds his binoculars up to his eyes to scan the horizon.
CO Slater sits in his Captain’s Chair and inspects the horizon.

Joshua Slater, CO (Commanding Officer)
Give us a brief job description of what you do on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada.

I’m responsible for the safety of the ship and its 41 crewmembers (depending on the voyage), including safe navigation, accomplishment of science missions, project management, budget, personnel, and training of the crew.

What’s your educational background?

I have a Bachelor’s in Marine Biology and a Master’s in Marine Sciences both from the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. I grew up in a Navy family, so we moved all around the world. I don’t consider one place home over another. After graduation, I wanted to go to either California or Hawaii. I got a job as a contractor with NOAA doing free-diving and scuba in Hawaii as a Marine Debris Technician. I removed derelict fishing gear and nets off the coral reefs of the northwestern islands. I joined NOAA Corps after that. I attended the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy in King’s Point, New York. In the Corps, there’s a 2:3 rotation ratio in years spent on assignments at sea and on land.

I started out on NOAA Ship McArthur II. We sailed from Seattle out to Hawaii, down to South America, Mexico, and up the West Coast of the U.S. to Canada. My assignment after that was emergency response for incidents at sea such as hurricanes and chemical spills. One of those projects was on the Deepwater Horizon oil spill response down in the Gulf of Mexico. My next ship was in South Carolina on NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, where I worked from Massachusetts to Key West, to Galveston, Texas. After that were land assignments in Washington DC, then Chief of Operations at NOAA’s Marine Operations Center for the Pacific (MOC-P) in Newport, Oregon. I’ve bounced between MOC-P and the Shimada in that land-to-sea ratio since then.

In the NOAA Corps, you start out as an Ensign (pronounced “en-sin”). Within 2-3 years you usually get promoted from ensign to Lieutenant junior grade. During your first sea tour, you need to learn how to drive the ship, keep everyone safe, and understand the basics of ship operations. During your second sea tour, you help coordinate logistics for operations. On the third sea tour you’re running all the administrative functions (hiring, firing, discipline), and on the fourth time out hopefully you are experienced enough to be considered for the ship’s Captain, overseeing the safety of the whole ship, and making sure operations are done efficiently. So, as you work your way through your career you also get promoted. Beyond the rank of Lieutenant junior grade, there’s Lieutenant, Lieutenant Commander, Commander, Captain, and then Admiral.

For civilians, Ship Captain and CO may be viewed as interchangeable. In NOAA Corps you can be a commanding officer and be any number of different ranks. In the civilian world, the ship’s boss is called “Captain” or “Master.” Since NOAA Corps stems from military origins, they use “Commanding Officer.”

What took you by surprise about sailing on the ocean?

What took me by surprise was the amount of operations we could do in less-than-ideal weather. You might have a calm day on shore, but at sea it’s usually windy and you have waves of some sort. We do the best we can given the situation.

Why are conditions rougher further out at sea?

A few things. Currents. Wind. Sometimes headlands protect you from wind when you’re closer to shore. How big the waves get is a combination of how strong the wind blows, how long it blows, and over what distance of water. That’s called the fetch. That gives the time needed for the swell to fully develop based on the wind. Wind at a short distance is a wave. Once you get beyond where the wind is that localized phenomenon, further away it’s the swell. While our wind may be calm here, we may still have a big swell because there’s a storm off Hawaii or Alaska. We’re not feeling the wind but we’re feeling the side effects. Or we could just be in the wind, it’s blowing 50, and not that bad right now, but give it 12 hours to develop, 24 hours, and it’s going to be a lot worse. You do what you can given what you have to work with. The ship is seaworthy and can handle a lot of different conditions. 

an illustration of the surface of the ocean, if it were contained in a square angled toward the viewer. an orange arrow entering the square from the left is labeled Wind; a blue arrow exiting the square to the right is labeled "direction of wind advance." near the arrow, small curved white lines indicate small waves emanating out in all directions, but in the direction of the arrow there are many more; farther to the right, they spread out some; all the way to the right, they are large waves. This progression is labeled "ripples to chop to wind waves," then "full developed seas," then "changing to swell." An oval with a point at the back describes the center of the image, where most of the waves are, and a nearby measurement bar marks the length of that shape as the length of fetch.
An illustration of fetch. Image origin.

What’s the biggest weather you’ve been in on the Shimada?

Probably 20-foot waves, although waves are not consistently one height, they’re a range. They may be normally 16-18 feet, but you might get a 22-foot wave come through. The ones I’ve been in consistently were about 20.

At what point is it not safe to conduct operations?

It depends what the wind is, what the swell is, whether they’re from the same direction or opposing directions, or 90 degrees off. Sometimes our whole project is in the trough, which means the waves are hitting us from the sides, so we’re rolling a lot. The way transects are laid out for trawling and sampling gets us rolling a lot. If it’s really bad we’ll angle our way from one location to another. We do have safety standards for operations. Once the wind is above a certain limit, or the waves above a certain range in height, we’ll reassess. Usually, we reassess the operation if wind is over 30 knots, but we’ve done ops in 40 knots before. We’ve also done ops in 16-foot waves. There are a lot of variables to be considered, including the type of operation we’re attempting to execute.

We’ll get people who have never been out here before, or we’ll get people that are so focused on the science, they don’t think about safety. My job is to make sure they don’t forget about safety! We have a daily safety meeting of department heads on the ship. There are weekly drills at sea. During monthly safety meetings, we go over accidents in the NOAA fleet. It’s a lot easier to learn from other people’s mistakes. We all want to come home with our fingers and toes!

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

Grow where you’re planted. In NOAA Corps, you don’t get to necessarily choose the jobs where you go next. A board of officers chooses for you, based on your skill set and the needs of the service at that time. For example, I can list my preferences, but there’s no guarantee I will get any of them. There have been many times where officers haven’t even received their second or third choice. My advice to everyone is, you may not want to go to a particular assignment or a particular part of the country, but you’re there, so make the most of it. Every place I have been assigned has good qualities, good things to offer. Those are what I choose to focus on. When I talk to some people, they never seem happy no matter where they are.  I think that is a mindset issue. One of my favorite quotes is, “Positivity is a superpower.” The term “Shimada-tude” got its start in the early days of the ship’s service to NOAA and is all about positivity. We want to like what we do and want people to like coming out to sea. We want them to have a good experience, and treat everyone with respect. 

Do you have a favorite book?

Growing up I often looked for the Newbery Prize Medal seal or the Newbery Honor seal on a book cover when I was walking through the library. I figured if somebody liked it I might as well try it. It’s hard to pick just one book. I tried a lot of the classics and have made my way through most of “The 100 Greatest Books Ever Written.” Some were enjoyed while others were not. I remember taking an interest in The Odyssey and The Iliad, by Homer; Robinson Crusoe, by Daniel Defoe; Shipwrecked, by Robert Louis Stevenson; The Phantom of the Opera, by Gaston Leroux; and Dracula, by Bram Stoker—to name a few. 

Lately, I’ve been reading more and more about financial education. One book I recommend is The Richest Man in Babylon, by George Samuel Clason. It uses fictitious ancient parables to give you sound monetary advice, and that is something that I don’t think is really taught anymore.

As for children’s literature, I’ve recently read a few of the Harry Potter books with my son. I remember reading and enjoying The Chronicles of Narnia series, by C.S. Lewis, Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O’Dell; and Where the Red Fern Grows, by Wilson Rawls. 

NOAA Fishwatch logo, reading: FishWatch U.S. Seafood Facts, NOAA, www.FishWatch.gov


Floating (Food) Facts (& Opinions)

Here’s the part where we “Let them eat hake.” If you can get your hands on some hake through a company like Pacific Seafood (headquartered in Clackamas, Oregon), then you can decide for yourself whether all this fuss over hake is worth the hype.

Hake (Pacific Whiting) is the most abundant commercial stock on the Pacific Coast.

If you aren’t into hake but consume other seafood, use Fish Watch. NOAA Fisheries hosts sustainable seafood profiles with current information on marine fish harvested in the U. S.

The first couple of paragraphs on the Fish Watch site define “sustainable seafood:”

“Sustainable seafood is wild-caught or farmed seafood that is harvested or produced in ways that protect the long-term health of species populations and ecosystems. The United States is a global leader in sustainable seafood. U.S. fishermen and seafood farmers operate under some of the most robust and transparent environmental standards in the world. If the seafood you purchase is caught or farmed in the United States, you can feel confident you’re making a sustainable seafood choice. 

Marine wild-capture fisheries in the United States are scientifically monitored and regionally managed. They are enforced under 10 national standards of sustainability through the Magnuson-Stevens Act—exceeding the international standards for eco-labeling of seafood.”

You may have stood in front of the seafood counter and noticed those green (best choice) and yellow (good alternative) labels. I have yet to see red, which means avoid, which seems counter to the marketing impulse of grocery stores. These labels are based on the Monterey Bay Seafood Watch guidelines. Here’s a pocket guide for my West Coast friends. There are a handful of seafood guides you can consult, but not all are created equal. This article from 2017 captures the frustration consumers sometimes have about what fish to choose.

Part of my confusion is often based on the many names a single species has! For example, I just now learned (on the NOAA Fish Watch site) that Bocaccio are rockfish and are the Oregon Red Snapper I recall from shopping trips and meals as a kid. For me, the thing that makes NOAA’s Fish Watch site superior to the rest is the comprehensive overview of each species profiled. You get detailed sections on Population Status, Appearance, Biology, Where They Live, Fishery Management, and Harvest all in one place. Bon appetit!

photograph of a hake, cutout and superimposed on a stylized background. text reads: Wild Pacific Hake (Whiting). A North Pacific Speciality. Wild Pacific Hake (Whiting) is unique to the waters off the coast of Oregon and Washington. But chefs worldwide like this sustainable fish for its rich, white flesh, flaky texture, and mild and slightly sweet flavor. Calories: 90 per serving. Protein: 18.31 g per serving. Fat: 1.31 g per serving. Omega-3: 260 mg per serving.
Image of a hake with nutritional information from American Seafoods.
Is Pacific Whiting Sustainable? U.S. wild-caught Pacific whiting is a smart seafood choice because it is sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations. Environmental Impact Icon Availability Frozen whiting is available year-round. Feeds Icon Source U.S. wild-caught from Washington, Oregon, and California. Farming Methods Icon Taste Mild and slightly sweet. Human Health Icon Texture Soft and less flaky than other whitefish such as cod and pollock.  Human Health Icon Color Raw and cooked whiting ranges from pure white to off-white. Human Health Icon Health Benefits Whiting is a good source of selenium, vitamin B, magnesium, and protein. Nutrition Facts Servings: 1; Serving Weight: 100 g (raw); Calories: 90; Protein: 18.31 g; Total Fat: 1.31 g; Total Saturated Fatty Acids: 0.247 g; Carbohydrate: 0 g; Total Sugars: 0 g; Total Dietary Fiber: 0 g; Cholesterol: 67 mg; Selenium: 32.1 mcg; Sodium: 72 mg
A screenshot from NOAA’s sustainable seafood profile on Pacific whiting (hake).
image of plated Garlic Baked Whiting on a bed of rice, garnished with lemon and parsley. Garlic Baked Whiting Ingredients 4 whiting fillets Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 5 Tbsp butter, melted 2 cloves garlic, minced ¼ tsp red pepper flakes Juice and zest from 1/2 a lemon 1 lemon, sliced into rounds Parsley for garnish Directions Preheat oven to 400°. Season whiting with salt and pepper and place on a small baking sheet. Mix together butter, garlic, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, and zest then pour over whiting fillets. Place lemon rounds on top and around fillets. Bake whiting for 10-12 minutes or until fish is fork tender.
Hake recipe courtesy of Pacific Seafood.
Click to enlarge.
image of plated spicy baked whiting with sides of couscous and asparagus Spicy Baked Whiting Ingredients 4 Pacific whiting fillets 2 Tbsp olive oil Rub ingredients: 1 tsp garlic powder 1 tsp dried parsley 1 tsp onion powder 1 tsp red pepper flakes 1 tsp of lime juice 2 tsp of seasoned salt Directions Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix all rub ingredients together. In a baking pan, coat fish with olive oil. Then coat the fish in the spice mixture. Place the fish the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until fish is flaky.
Hake recipe courtesy of Pacific Seafood.
Click to enlarge.


Personal Log

Fog persisted on our steam north back to Newport. Without the temptation of visibility on the flying deck, I took extra time vacuuming the stateroom… that’s a joke because vacuuming a 4-person stateroom takes all of 5 minutes. In truth, my roommate and I took care to leave our space Pine-Sol fresh for Leg 4. After packing away my gear I bounced around the ship like you might in a hotel room—surreptitiously checking drawers for items you may have forgotten. That last nautical mile seemed to take forever. I kept looking out of the portholes in the acoustics lab to see nothing but white. Excitement for home began to build once it was time to gather on the flying deck and peer through the misty water vapor. Yaquina Bay Bridge slowly materialized, an elevated street floating in the sky, weirdly disembodied from the solid ground that usually frames it. As we went under the bridge the fog disappeared. Beyond, an 80° Oregon summer in the Willamette Valley beckoned. The Wet Lab Crew ate dinner together while the crew of the Shimada safely docked and worked with the port crew to reattach the gangplank. After hugs and handshakes all around it was time to part. My drive home was uneventful save a dramatic sky. 

A HUGE thank you to the Shimada crew aboard Leg 3! You welcomed me, answered my questions, allowed me to look over your shoulder, tolerated me taking photographs of you, and clarified things I didn’t understand. You all are amazing. I appreciate your labor and am thrilled to have witnessed you all working in sync to do science! My students at Peninsula thank you as well—even if they don’t know it yet. Your time and attention will enhance not just one, but many ocean-related lessons I share with them in the forthcoming year. A special thanks to my blog editors: Chief Scientist Steve de Blois and XO CDR Laura Gibson. Your feedback polished these meanderings and gave me confidence that I correctly represented NOAA and the hake. 

You Might Be Wondering…

What Next?

To complete my commitment to NOAA as a Teacher at Sea I agree to blog, write one science-related lesson, one career-related lesson, and either present at a conference or publish an article about my experience. I’m back in my school building this week and will soon be working on lessons. At least part of the science lesson will follow the path of hake otoliths (ear bones) from the ocean to the lab back on land. Many thanks to Liz Ortiz, Fisheries Technician, for helping me connect the dots on how the otolith contributes to our understanding of Pacific whiting (hake) life cycles. I’ve decided to publish an article, although I will likely also present at a conference in years to come. I have reviewed children’s books for the national journal, School Library Connection, since 2011, and will start my query for publication there.

view over the aft deck (probably from the flying deck) of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada back at Yaquina Bay, and the Yaquina Bay Bridge. In this photo, the sky is bright blue and clear, and the water is calm and bright blue as well.
The sky was blue when we left Yaquina Bay on Day 1, not so on Day 14.
A brief video reflection of Leg 3.

Hook, Line, and Thinker

Do you eat or consume products harvested from the ocean? Where do those products come from?

If the country of origin for products consumed isn’t the U.S. does that country have an equivalent of NOAA that gathers data and prioritizes sustainability in its policies? For context, consider this recent article from NPR: Demand for cheap shrimp is driving U.S. shrimpers out of business. I’m doing a homemade pad thai recipe this week and reading this motivated me to pay attention to where my shrimp came from. All the shrimp choices at Fred Meyer (Kroger) were imported so I went elsewhere (paid more) and found some from the Gulf of Mexico, harvested in U. S. waters. 

While you’re eating your own pad thai with U. S. shrimp, or Pacific whiting mac ‘n cheese, consider NOAA Fisheries first-ever National Seafood Strategy, just released on August 9th, 2023.

A Bobbing Bibliography: Reflections of a Librarian at Sea

Additions to the Science Crew’s Reading Recommendations:

Chris Hoefer, OSU marine mammal & seabird project – The Three-Body Problem, science fiction by Liu Cixin (Scientific American article about the concept behind the name.)

Samantha Engster, eDNA Scientist – The Shell Collector, short stories by Anthony Doerr

***

Parting thoughts from your Teacher-Librarian at Sea as inspired by quotes from a few children’s literature classics.

“Look at that sea, girls—all silver and shadow and vision of things not seen. We couldn’t enjoy its loveliness any more if we had millions of dollars and ropes of diamonds.”
― Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

In my current reading of this quote, I can’t help but immediately extract the tension between commerce and being. It seems to be a theme I have returned to again and again throughout my blog posts. To be, to exist on our planet, is dependent on a healthy ecosystem, and a healthy ocean. NOAA Fisheries leans on the scientific method to tackle a barrage of pressures: consumer demand, climate change, economic prosperity, pollution.

We would do well to remember that NOAA is made up of ordinary people. The government, by the people and for the people. Many of these you have met in my interviews. I was at a dinner party recently (since I’ve returned to land) and there’s always someone in the crowd who makes half-joking remarks about “the government.” What? You killed fish in the name of science? What? Do the fisherman have the same opportunity to trawl? C’mon. Who do you think “the government” is made up of? Your uncle with a Ph.D. in physics. Your daughter with a passion for birds. “Things not seen,” are confusing, intimidating, sometimes scary. NOAA is utterly transparent. The amount of unfettered data available for citizen scientists to freely examine on the internet is mind-boggling. Keep asking questions, then ask more questions! Then do some research—ask a librarian for help!

“The sea, the sea, the sea. It rolled and rolled and called to me. Come in, it said, come in.”
― Sharon Creech, The Wanderer

It said “Come in” the loudest when smooth and glassy. While there were no swimming opportunities on board the Shimada, I have since returned to swimming at my local health club. While doing laps and staring at the dirt, hair bands, and Band-Aids at the bottom of the pool I thought about the chemicals, hair bands, and Band-Aids at the bottom of the ocean. This is not what the sea meant when she said, “Come in.” NOAA Fisheries is an integral part of the solution to the problems that face us as a species. Homo sapiens is only one of many species that have a right to thrive—both for our benefit and their own.

sparkles of bioluminescence on the ocean surface in the daytime
setting sun, about halfway under the horizon, dark blue waves
puffy white clouds against blue sky, above blue water
last light at sunset, just visible under dramatic gray clouds; gray waves reflect just the edges of the yellow light
mostly-set sun creating a line of orange in between dramatic gray clouds and glassy gray seas
view down at blue ocean water
gray seas, blue sky, sun; might be foggy or blurry
turquoise-blue water; blue sky, line of mountainous coastline in the far distance
glassy seas reflect blue and white sky
fog; g


“The castle of Cair Paravel on its little hill towered up above them; before them were the sands, with rocks and little pools of salt water, and seaweed, and the smell of the sea and long miles of bluish-green waves breaking for ever and ever on the beach. And oh, the cry of the seagulls! Have you ever heard it? Can you remember?”
― C.S. Lewis, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

While perusing a glossary of nautical terms in the downtime after a marine mammal watch, I discovered “caravel” a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship used by the Portuguese in the 15th and 16th centuries. The Niña and the Pinta, of 1492 notoriety, were caravels. I wondered whether this term had inspired C. S. Lewis’ naming of Cair Paravel. I will not remember the cry of seagulls so much as I will the cat-like meow of the common murre, at least that’s what they sounded like to me at the time. I’m a compulsive Googler, so that’s how I came upon this Minecraft version of Cair Paravel.

It made me think of my students and how NOAA scientists are the stars of real-world exploration and discovery. Scientists are also world-builders of a sort—reports on their findings influence policy-makers, lawmakers. As science moves forward, it continuously corrects itself as new things are discovered. Listening to the latest science can make or break the world.  

And oh, the cry of the scientists! Have you ever heard it? Can you remember? 

screenshot from a video game showing a castle near the ocean
A Minecraft version of Cair Paravel.
photo of a hatchetfish and a lanternfish on a metal table, facing one another. Jenny has added speech bubbles so that the hatchetfish says: "So, what did you think of the Teacher at Sea experience on the Shimada?" and the lanternfish replies: "It was illuminating - and that's not just my photophores talking!"
A hatchetfish and a lanternfish reflect on the Teacher at Sea experience.
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Jenny Gapp: Literate Fish, August 4, 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: Friday, August 4, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge
Sunrise 0614 | Sunset 2037
Current Time: 0700 (7am Pacific Daylight Time)
Lat 43 16.7 N, Lon 124 38.0 W
Visibility:  10 nm (nautical miles)
Sky condition: partly cloudy
Wind Speed: 5 knots
Wind Direction: 030°
Barometer: 1020.3 mb
Sea Wave height: 1 ft | Swell: 340°, 1-2 ft
Sea temp: 13.7°C | Air Temp: 16.2°C

Science and Technology Log

On Wednesday night I stayed up to participate in the first CTD cast of the evening. What is a CTD? The short version: a water sample collection to measure conductivity, temperature, and depth. eDNA information is also collected during the CTD casts.

The longer version: As is true of all operations, all departments collaborate to get the science done. The bridge delayed casting due to erratic behavior from marine traffic in the area. When that vessel moved away, the deck crew got busy operating the crane that lowered the CTD unit to 500 meters. The Survey Technicians, along with the Electronics Technician, had just rebuilt the CTD unit days before, due to some hardware failures at sea. The eDNA scientist prepared the Chem Lab for receiving samples that would confirm the presence of hake as well as other species. 

When I arrived, Senior Survey Technician Elysha Agne was watching a live feed of the sensors on the CTD unit. Agne explained what was happening on the feed: There are two sensors per item being tested, then both sensors are compared for reliability of the data. There is one exception: A dual channel fluorometer, which gauges turbidity and fluorescence (which measures chlorophyll). Turbidity spikes toward the bottom in shallow areas due to wave action. Salinity is calculated by temperature and conductivity.  Sometimes there are salinity spikes at the surface, but it’s not usually “real data” if just one sensor spikes. The CTD unit is sent down to 500 meters as requested by scientists. Measurements and water collection occur at 500, 300, 150 and 50 meters. The number of CTDs allocated to a transect line varies according to how many nautical miles the line is. For example, multiple readings at the 500 meter mark may be taken on a line. CTD casts west of the one done at the 500m depth contour are spaced every 5 nm apart. Scientists are not currently taking CTD samples beyond the ocean bottom’s 1500m contour line.

The main “fish,” called an SBE 9plus, has calibrated internal pressure. As it descends you can tell the depth the “fish” is at. Sea-Bird Electronics (the origin of the SBE acronym) manufactures the majority of scientific sensors used on board, with the exception of meteorological sensors. The Seabird deck box (computer) is connected to the winch wire. The winch wire is terminated to a plug that is plugged into the main “fish.”

The other day, the termination failed. Termination means the winch wire is cut, threaded out, and the computer wire plugged into the winch wire. The spot it’s terminated can be exposed to damage if internal wires aren’t laid flat. Tension and tears may occur anyway because it’s a weak point. The plug on the main “fish” where the winch wire cable connects broke too, so the whole CTD had to be rebuilt. The “Chinese finger,” the metal spiral that pulls the load of the CTD on the winch wire, was also defective, so modifications were made. 

A close-up view of what appear to be electrical plugs protruding from one end of a large metal cylinder. Six of them are safely capped with black plastic casings. A seventh has snapped open to reveal damaged and corroded plugs.
Broken plug on the “fish.”
A hand holds up a dark green tube (like a toothpaste tube) so that we may read the label: 150 g of Electrical Insulating Compound by Dow Corning. The label touts: high dielectric strength, low volatility, moisture resistant, good thermal oxidation, etc. In the background, out of focus, we see someone working on the CTD unit.
What you need for a moisture proof seal (electrical insulating compound).
A pile of at least seven, probably more, long gray cylinders capped with what appear to be narrow plugs on each end. These are water sampling bottles that will be set in the rosette array in a circle around the CTD probe.
Niskin bottles in a pile while CTD unit is rebuilt.
A frayed wire, partially wrapped in purple electrical tape, resting on or protruding from a wooden box panel. A hammer lies parallel to the wire, possibly for scale.
Termination failure.
Close-up view of a piece of equipment that looks like a large metal cylinder with two labels affixed to it: the first is the manufacturer's label (Seabird Scientific) with the model, part number, and serial number. The second is a yellow label that reads in large black print: "4127 meters maximum depth."
The main “fish” that the sensors are attached to..

When the CTD is at the target depth, Agne presses a button in the chem lab that logs a bunch of meteorological and location data. She remotely “fires” a bottle which sends a signal to the “cake” that sits on top of the CTD. The signal is an electric pulse to release a magnet that holds the niskin bottle open. If it pops correctly, water is sealed inside. Since two bottles of water were requested at each depth, a second signal is sent to the second bottle. There are 12 niskin bottles on the CTD “carousel.” After two were done at 500 m, the winch operator takes the CTD unit up to 300 m; Agne fires two more bottles there, then two more bottles at 200 m, 150 m, and 50 m. About two and a half liters of water are taken per bottle. 


Samantha stands at a work bench in the wet lab. Wearing blue or purple latex  gloves, she pipettes water onto a filter above a section set up. Elsewhere on the bench, we can see a line of water filters, several styrofoam cases of test tubes, a notebook for recording data.
Samantha Engster, eDNA Scientist

Once the CTD unit returned to the surface, I got to help “pop the nipples” on the bottles to release the water into plastic bags. Back in the Chem Lab, eDNA Scientist, Samantha Engster, pours the water through a filter 1 micron thin. The filter is then folded in half and placed in a vial of Longmire’s solution until the eDNA can be analyzed in a lab back on land. Microscopes are not used for DNA analysis. Phenol-chloroform is used to remove proteins from nucleic acids. Quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) technique is then used to perform gene expression. This is the third hake survey that has been done in conjunction with eDNA analysis. 

While the CTD “fish” and all its sensors are collecting oceanographic data, Engster collects environmental data from the water samples. Surface water samples are also taken at the underway seawater station courtesy of a pump hooked up near one of the chem lab sinks. The eDNA verifies abundance and distribution of hake. When information from these water samples is partnered with data from the echo sounders, and “ground-truthed” with physical hake bodies in the net, the data set is strengthened by the diverse tests. 

CTD unit on deck awaiting deployment. A large cylindrical metal frame contains the central CTD probe (barely visible) encircled by tall gray cylindrical water sampling tubes. The base of the unit is weighted. The top of the frame is attached to cables.
The CTD unit fixed and ready for the next deployment.
Close-up view of the sensors attached to the CTD probe at the center of the unit: looks like metal cylinders with heavy cables and some clear tubing attached.
Sensors reattached to the “fish.”
Close-up view of the top of the CTD unit: a circular thing, containing black components that extend from the center like bicycle spokes. These are attached to wires attached to the tops of the water sampling bottles.
The “cake” that sits on top of the unit that seals off the water samples.

Career Feature

Note: A handful of the people I have met aboard are experienced “Observers.” NOAA contracts with companies that deploy observers trained as biological technicians. Find out more here.

The two Evans stand against an interior wall and smile for a photo. They are each wearing t-shirts and beanie hats. Their similar builds and beards add to the visual symmetry of the photo. On the wall behind them hangs a photo of the ship and several plaques. Right Evan has a walkie-talkie attached to the pocket of his jeans.
Engineers Evan McNeil (Right), and Evan Thomas (Left).

Evan McNeil & Evan Thomas, Engineers

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

Evan M.
I’m a manager over our engineers. Below me is the second engineer. We have three third engineers, a junior engineer, and an oiler, also called a GVA (General Vessel Assistant), or wiper. I set the pace of work everyday. I assign all the jobs. Traditionally the Engine Department is under the First Engineer, but technically the Engine Room is mine. The Chief Engineer and the Captain (NOAA Corps Commanding Officer in this case) are in charge of the safety of the whole ship. The Chief Engineer also directs jobs to me that need to get done and I’ll delegate those jobs out. 

Evan T.
Third Assistant Engineer, soon to be Second. I mostly fix stuff that is broken.

What’s your educational background?

Evan M.
I have a Bachelor’s of Science in Marine Engineering Technology with a minor in marine science from California Maritime Academy. I grew up near Bodega Bay, so my background is oriented toward the ocean. I really enjoy it. 

Evan T.
Graduated from Cal Maritime, 2019. I grew up in Southern California, Redlands, a desert that somehow grows oranges. I applied to all the engineering schools in California, and Cal Maritime was one of the few that replied back. I said “Yeah, I could see myself doing this.” And here I am! 

What do you enjoy most about your work?

Evan M.
I enjoy who I work with. It makes work go by quickly. I enjoy our schedule and our time off. This is what I enjoy about my NOAA job and about sailing jobs in general. Shore leave is a type of leave. There’s also annual leave and sick leave. We call it going on rotation or off rotation. Off rotation is usually for a month, and on rotation is usually two months. Every ship is different but that’s how it is for the Shimada, a two-on, one-off schedule. If you talk to other sailors they’ll tell you ratios for time on and time off. For example, I did Leg 2 of the hake survey, I’m on Leg 3, and then I’m off. 

Evan T. Learning new equipment, new ways to do things.

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

Evan M.
If you are interested in going straight to being an officer, I would go straight to a maritime academy. It’s a very niche thing to know about. No one knows what they want to do at 19. NOAA’s always hiring. If you are interested in being an engineer, you start out as a wiper, then you can work your way up in the engineering department pretty easily.  

Evan T. 
Imagine being stuck in an office and you can’t go home for a month. Find something that will distract you when you are out on the ocean for weeks at a time. Hang out with people, play games, read a book. You have to be ready to fight fires, flooding, that sort of thing. 

If you could invent a tool to make your work more efficient—cost is no concern, and the tool wouldn’t eliminate your job—what would it be and why?

Evan M.
A slide that goes from the bridge to the engineering operations deck.

Evan T.
I would go for an elevator on the ship.

Do you have a favorite book?

Evan M.
Modern Marine Engineering volume 1

Evan T. My 5th grade teacher wrote their own book that I found entertaining. I also liked Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain.

Vince reaches both hands to do something with a pile of wires mounted on the wall
Vince Welton, Electronics Technician

Vince Welton

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

I’m an electronic technician. I deal with everything that has to do with electronics, which includes: weather, navigation, radars, satellite communications, phone systems, computers, networking, and science equipment. All the ancillary stuff that doesn’t have to do with power or steering. Power and steering belongs to the engineers.

What’s your educational background?

When I was in high school my father had an electronics shop and I worked with him. He was career Air Force and an electronics technician as well. My senior year of high school  I was also taking night classes at a college in Roseburg, Oregon in electronics. I joined the U.S. Air Force and was sent off to tech school and a year’s worth of education in electronics. Then there was a lot of learning on the job in electronic warfare. I worked on B52s. I was a jammer. In order to learn that you had to learn everybody else’s job. That’s what makes mine so unique. You had to learn radio, satellite, early warning radar, site-to-site radar, learning what other people did so I could fix what was wrong with their electronic tools. I went from preparing for war to saving the whales, so to speak. Saving the whales is better!

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I enjoy the difficulty of the problems. We’re problem solvers.

What are the challenges of your work?

Problems you can’t fix! That’s what disturbs a technician the most, not being able to solve a problem. 

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

The sciences are important no matter what you do. Having curiosity is the biggest thing. My hope is that education systems are realizing the importance of teaching kids how to think. Young people need to grow the ability to ask questions, instead of just providing answers.

If you could invent a tool to make your work more efficient—cost is no concern, and the tool wouldn’t eliminate your job—what would it be and why?

I think AI has phenomenal potential, but it’s a double-edged sword because there’s a dark side to it as well.

Do you have a favorite book?

The Infinity Concerto, by Greg Bear
The Little Book of String Theory, by Steven S. Gubser

What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen at sea?

Actually seeing a whale come out of the water is probably the coolest thing. Watching that enormous tonnage jumping completely out of the ocean. If you look out the window long enough and you’ll see quite a few things. 

Markee, wearing a blue jumpsuit over a black hoodie and a beanie that reads "California Republic," smiles for a photo, standing in an interior hallway.
Markee Meggs, Able Bodied Seaman

Markee Meggs

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

I’m an AB, or Able Bodied Seaman. The job looks different on different ships. On the Shimada I stand watch and look for things that don’t show up on radar. Most ships you drive—only NOAA Corps Officers drive on the Shimada—I can drive rescue boats, tie up the ship, and do maintenance on the outside. I’m a crane operator. On a container ship you make sure the refrigerated containers are fully plugged in. On a refueling ship (tanker) you hookup fuel hoses. Crowley is a major tanker company. On RoRo ships (roll on, roll off) you work with ramps for the vehicle decks, transporting cars from overseas.

AB is a big job on a cruise ship. I did one trip per year for three years, then got stuck on one during the pandemic in 2020.  On the cruise ship you stand watch, do maintenance, paint, tie up the ship, drive the ship. There’s even “pool watch” where you do swimming pool maintenance. You also assist with driving small boats and help guests on and off during a port call.

I’m a member of SIU (Seafarers International Union) and work as an independent contractor for NOAA. I like the freedom of choosing where I go.

What’s your educational background?

I’m from Mobile, Alabama. I spent four years in the Navy (my grandad served on submarines during World War Two), one year in active Navy Reserves, then eight years as a contractor supporting the Navy with the Military Sealift Command. I spent a year as a crane operator in an oceaneering oil field, and have an Associate’s Degree in electrical engineering. On the oil field job we used an ROV to scope out the ocean floor first. After identifying a stable location I laid pipe with the crane, and took care not to tip over the boat in the process! My first NOAA ship  was the Rainier, sailing in American Samoa. 

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I most enjoy meeting different types of people. Once you’ve been to a place you have friends everywhere. I also love to travel—seeing different places. It’s a two-for-one deal because once you’ve finished with the work you are in an amazing vacation place.

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

If ships interest you, do the Navy first. They pay for training, and your job is convertible. Becoming a merchant mariner is easier with Navy experience than coming straight off the street. There is a shortcut to becoming a merchant mariner, but you’ll have to pay for classes. Finally, always ask questions! Yes, even ask questions of your superiors in the Navy. 

What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen at sea?

The coolest things I’ve seen at sea have been the northern lights in Alaska, whales, volcanic activity, and rainbow-wearing waterfalls in Hawaii.

Do you have a favorite book?

Some of my favorite books are Gifted Hands, and Think Big, both by Ben Carson. Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story was turned into a film with Cuba Gooding Jr in 2009. Another book that made an impression was Mastery, by Robert Greene. Its overarching message is “whatever you do, do well.” 

Julia points her left index finger an echogram on a large computer monitor.
Julia Clemons, FEAT Team Lead

Julia Clemons

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

I am the Team Lead of the FEAT (Fisheries Engineering and Acoustic Technologies) Team with the NWFSC (Northwest Fisheries Science Center). The primary mission of our team is to conduct a Pacific hake biomass survey in the California Current ecosystem and the FEAT team was born specifically to take on that mission from another science center. The results of this survey go into the stock assessment for managing the fishery. Fisheries and Oceans Canada are partners in this survey. Hake takes you down many paths because their diet and habitat are tied to other species. For example, krill are a major prey item in the diet of hake, so understanding krill biomass and distribution is important to the hake story as well. Rockfish also have an affinity for a similar habitat to hake in rockier areas near the shelf break, so we use acoustics and trawling to distinguish between the two. 

What’s your educational background?

My undergraduate degree from University of Washington was in geological oceanography. I began with NOAA in 1993 and worked for the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory’s Vents program to study hydrothermal systems. This involved a diverse team of scientists: chemical and physical oceanographers, biologists, and geologists. I got my Master’s in Geology at Vanderbilt but shifted to NOAA Fisheries in 2000 working in the Habitat Conservation and Engineering (HCE) Program where we looked at habitat associations of rockfish. We looked at ROV and submersible video of the rocky banks off Oregon to identify fish and their geological surroundings. The HCE program shifted its focus to reducing bycatch by experimenting with net modifications and I moved to the FEAT team.

What do you enjoy most about your work?

I think one of the most important components of Team Lead is to be a supporter—supporting the facilitation of good science, supporting people. I also think about what I can do to support the overall mission of NOAA Fisheries. That’s my favorite thing, supporting others. I love when the focus is not on me!

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

Think about ways you can put yourself in the right place at the right time. Ask about volunteer opportunities. Ask questions, explore, think about what you want to do and look at people who are doing that—ask them how they got to that position. 

What’s the coolest thing you’ve seen at sea?

When I was with the NOAA Vents group in 1994 I got to go to the bottom of the seafloor in the submersible Alvin. I was in there for nine hours with one other scientist and Alvin’s pilot. You think you’re going to know what it looks like, because you’ve seen video, and you think you’re going to understand how it feels, but then you get down there and everything is bigger, more beautiful, in all its variation and glory. We navigated to a mid-ocean ridge system that had an eruption the year previously. There was bright yellow sulfur discharge on black basalt rocks… after all those hours looking at ROV video, to see it in person through the porthole was incredible.

Do you have a favorite book?

The 5 AM Club, by Robin Sharma. I’m a morning person, and this book lays out how to structure those early hours and set you up for a successful day. When I was little I loved The Little Mermaid story by Hans Christian Anderson—the original, not the Disney version. I grew up in Vancouver, Washington and was always asking my parents, “Can we go to the beach?”

Taxonomy of Sights

Day 11. Three lampreys in the bycatch! Risso’s Dolphin (Grampus griseus).
Day 12. Blue Whales! I guess they read my blog post about the Gordon Lightfoot song. What may have been a blue shark came up near the surface, next to the ship. Strange creatures from the deep in the bycatch: gremlin looking grenadier fish.
Day 13. Pod of porpoises seen during marine mammal watch. 

the top of the blue whale is just visible at the surface; a cloud of spray from its spout reaches several feet above the water
Blue Whale. Photo by Nick Metheny, marine mammal and bird observer
close-up view of the head of a fish with a large eye and small sharp teeth
Grenadier Fish

You Might Be Wondering…

How often are safety drills?

Weekly drills keep all aboard well-practiced on what to do in case of fire, man overboard, or abandon ship. Daily meetings of department heads also address safety. One activity of monthly safety meetings is to review stories of safety failures on other ships to learn from those mistakes. Each time a member of NOAA Corps is assigned a new tour at sea they must complete a Survival-at-Sea course. The Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring division (FRAM) also requires yearly Sea Safety Training for the scientists. “Ditch Kits,” found throughout the ship, contain: a rescue whistle, leatherman, food rations & water, and emergency blankets. Additionally, there are multiple navigation and communication tools in the ditch kit: a traditional compass, a handheld Garmin GPS, a boat-assigned PLB (personal locator beacon) registered with the Coast Guard, and a VHF radio with battery backup providing access to marine channel 16.   

After a tour of the engine rooms, I learned that the diesel engines also have built in Emergency Diesel Generators (EDG). If you look up at the lights on the mess deck you’ll see some of the light fixtures have a red and white “E” next to them. This label indicates which would be powered by the generators, and which would not. 

Close-up view of a yellow handheld electronic device. It is labeled ACR, ResQLink+, Buoyant 406 Mhz Personal Locator Beacon. GPS Give Clear view to Sky. It is photographed next to an orange bag labeled Mustang Survival.
An individual Personal Locator Beacon is also assigned–in addition to ditch kit and lifeboat supplies.
Jenny stands on deck, wearing an orange survival suit, with yellow accents and gloves. She reaches both hands triumphantly toward a clear blue sky. We can see that she is wearing a Teacher at Sea beanie.
Teacher at Sea Gapp, trying on an immersion suit.

Floating Facts

The NOAA Corps is not a part of a union, however there are unions that advocate for other NOAA employees. Licensed engineers are a part of MEBA, The Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association. Non-licensed positions are represented by SIU, Seafarers International Union. Both of these unions are a part of AFL-CIO, the largest federation of unions in the U.S.

I had been curious whether there was a database that housed an inclusive list of NOAA Fisheries field research, and NOAA did not disappoint. You can find the Fishery-Independent Surveys System (FINNS) here, and browse as a guest. I’m now brainstorming how I might use the database with students—perhaps as a scavenger hunt—to have them practice their search skills. You can search by: fiscal year, fiscal quarter, science center, survey status, and platform type. 

Which Cook Inlet species is the subject of Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) 2023 research, which is underway in a small boat?
Hint: Raffi 

Another tool I’m looking forward to using in the classroom is NOAA’s Species Directory, which can serve as a scientifically sound encyclopedia for ocean animal reports conducted by students.

Librarian at Sea

“The sea is a desert of waves,
A wilderness of water.”― Langston Hughes, Selected Poems

This quote from Hughes’ poem, Long Trip, had me thinking about the surface of the ocean. I have seen the surface in many states over the past days: soft folds, jagged white-tipped peaks, teal, turquoise, indigo. Sometimes there are long snaking paths of water that have an entirely different surface than water adjacent. Whether it is due to currents colliding, chemical process, biological process, temperature difference—I cannot say. If I were to anthropomorphize the phenomena, I’d say these lines are wrinkles, as the ocean creases into different expressions. A hint of what lies within and beneath.

It also has me thinking about the interviews I’ve conducted with the people on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. I started with a superficial name and title, a face on a board near the Acoustics Lab depicting all hands on Leg 3. When I sat down to talk with people representing Scientists, Engineers, Deck Crew, Electronics, Officers, Survey, and Steward, I began to unspool colorful stories from a broad spectrum of life experiences, many from divergent habitats, all who have converged here to do in essence what the concierge at my Newport hotel said to me as I walked out the door, “Keep our oceans safe!” A tall order in so few words. From shore we’re a small white blip on the horizon; up close there’s a frenzy of activity, a range of expertise, a conviction that our actions can improve living for humans, for hake, and for all the species in Earth’s collective ecosystem.  

a view of the surface of the ocean extending toward the horizon on a clear day
A wilderness of blue water.

Hook, Line, and Thinker

We opened up a hake in the Wet Lab today to find it had a green liver. Why? Parasites? A bacterial infection? An allergy to krill? There’s always more beneath the surface, more stories to suss out. This is what makes science exciting, what makes living with 30+ strangers exciting. It’s what I enjoy about teaching. 

How do the albatross know when we’re hauling back a net full of hake? They seem to appear out of nowhere. First a couple, then maybe 40 of them materialize around the net, squabbling over fish bits. 

Have you ever discovered something unexpected and wondered about its origins?
How could the scientific method support you in finding out an answer… or to at least develop a theory?

A Bobbing Bibliography

Known as “charts” at sea and “maps” on land, NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada has a small library of charts. Find out more at NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. Paper charts are actually being phased out. “NOAA has already started to cancel individual charts and will shut down all production and maintenance of traditional paper nautical charts and the associated raster chart products and services by January 2025.”

view of a stack of long, thin metal drawers with printed labels, most too small to read in the photo
Paper chart library on the bridge.
photo of a portion of a paper nautical chart
Nautical chart of Oregon’s southern coast.
Posted on

Jenny Gapp: An Ode to Big Blue, July 29, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jenny Gapp (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 23 – 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: July 29, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge

Sunrise 0616 | Sunset 2037
Current Time:  1500 (3pm Pacific Daylight Time)
Lat 41 06.7 N, Lon 124 37.6 W
Visibility:  10 nm (nautical miles)
Sky condition: A few clouds
Wind Speed:  13 knots
Wind Direction: 334°
Barometer:  1019.7 mb
Sea Wave height: 2-3 ft | Swell: 330°, 3-4 ft
Sea temp: 14.1°C | Air Temp: 17.6°C

Science and Technology Log

Hake are not the only thing being studied during this mission. In the Chemistry Lab, there are a variety of ongoing tests. Every few transects, seawater is collected and tested for Harmful Algal Bloom (HABs). A vacuum pump sucks the sample through a 0.45um filter, which is then removed and placed into a test tube for microscopic study. The Southern California coast is currently dealing with a bloom toxic to animals. Scientists want to know if the bloom is drifting north. Blooms are a natural phenomenon, but human activity cannot be ruled out from having an impact.

water filtration equipment, and a datasheet on a clipboard, on a metal table
HAB test in the Chem Lab

A seawater pump connects to a software program that allows you to see images of phytoplankton being photographed in real time as they are sucked past the camera. Phytoplankton forms the base of the aquatic food web. They provide food for huge whales, small fish, invertebrates, and zooplankton. Plankton makes up 95% of life in the ocean, they generate half of our oxygen and absorb carbon. A sudden removal of phytoplankton would result in a collapse of aquatic ecosystems, and would accelerate climate change further.

The phytoplankton images are taken using a robotic microscope automating identification. The name of the artificial intelligence is Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB). Flow cytometry uses lasers to create both scattered and fluorescent light signals. These signals are read by photosensitive diodes and tubes, and then those signals can be converted electronically to be read by a computer. The data gathered enables ecosystem modeling, and can act as an early warning to toxic blooms. 

photo of a computer screen displaying data and a black and white image of a magnified phytoplankton
Image of phytoplankton captured by the IFCB
equipment - looks like a large black tube with wires sticking out of it, clamped to the side of a metal sink
The Chem Lab’s seawater pump.

Career feature

Steve stands at a line of computer screens and keyboards on the bridge. Through the bridge windows, we can make out blue water. Steve holds what might be an electronic pad in his left hand and a stylus in his right hand. He looks down, focused on his work.
Chief Scientist, Steve de Blois, on the bridge during a trawl.

Steve de Blois, Chief Scientist

Steve’s favorite thing about his job is getting out in nature, seeing, and photographing marine mammals. Even though the hours are long, the commute is short when you’re at sea! His educational background includes an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; and a Master’s from Humboldt State University (now called Cal Poly Humboldt) in marine mammals. It was tough finding work after graduate school since working with marine mammals generally holds more appeal than fish, and thus more people are competing for a finite number of jobs. Once Steve secured a job at one of NOAA’s regional offices, he found out about other opportunities and ended up on a walleye pollock acoustic trawl survey in Alaska. This is where he had one of those National Geographic moments where the scenery is so stunning it touches you at your core. He has been with NOAA since 1990—the same year the Teacher at Sea Program began. 

Steve’s advice for young people interested in ocean-related careers is to focus on getting your education. He states that getting a graduate degree (PhD and/or Master’s) will make you more competitive in the scientific community. However, he also advises, “get experience.” Nothing can compare to first-hand experience and there are many opportunities for volunteering in the field, in marine labs, and on ships.

During his leisure time, Steve prefers to fly his home-built plane (A Zenith CH 650), go scuba diving, and enjoy photography. When it comes to reading he prefers nonfiction. He has German heritage on his mother’s side and shared some personal history of family members surviving both World War One and World War Two. This part of his family tree has increased his interest in true tales about World War Two German fighter pilots. In his youth, he absorbed science fiction novels by Arthur C. Clarke and recalls enjoying Dune, by Frank Herbert. Recently, he read Rachel Carson’s classic The Sea Around Us and was impressed by its lyrical prose.

Steve has patiently taught me about how to detect hake sign on an echogram. Acoustically speaking, hake have a unique characteristic. The visualized pings usually show hake near the slope of the continental shelf, and they appear as a diffuse cloud of colored pixels, or as a “hakey snakey” line gently curving up and down.  A calculation called NASC, Nautical Area Scattering Coefficient, makes an estimate of individuals in that defined area drawn by scientists.

The acoustic echogram has a color key representing the strength of return on what the sound waves bounce off. The color scale looks something like you’d see in an art room class teaching color theory. The weakest return is signified by a pale grey to dark, then a light blue shade into dark, the blue turns teal as it morphs into greens, then when yellow appears the scientists start getting excited. After yellow is orange, pink, then many shades of red ending with a deep magenta. The ocean floor appears as deep magenta. On Leg 2 the Shimada saw several very dense balls of fish; these fish are likely herring or sardines, species smaller than hake.  The acoustic return from these very dense balls of fish is extremely high—their color in the acoustic software is easily deep red, almost brown.

a screenshot likely of a powerpoint slide combining several graphs. most are grids with thousands of colored dots on them, representing acoustic signatures. diagonal, jagged lines of darker colors mark the seafloor. this slide is labeled AWT 27, Transect 38, July 27, 2023. 40 degrees 36.67'N, 124 degrees 31.82'W. 15:05 PDT (22:05 GMT), 20.7 min. TD 210 m/bottom depth 550 m.
The thicker reddish brown line you see is the continental shelf/ocean floor. The greenish-yellow cloud represents an acoustic signature historically found to be hake. The thin red lines in the echograms on the right represent the head rope from imaging by the SBE (Sea-Bird Electronics) camera, aka “the turtle.”

Taxonomy of Sights

Day 5. Bycatch highlights: Intact squid, Chinook salmon (also known as King salmon), and excited albatross following a record haul.

Day 6. More salmon, two kinds of rockfish, a Thetys vagina salp (more on the awkward name here), and a marine hatchetfish so small my camera found it difficult to focus on. Ethan Beyer, Wet Lab Lead, shared a trick to determine the difference between a yellowtail rockfish and widow rockfish (they look similar). The difference? Widow rockfish have a “widdle” mouth. Meaning, the mouth is smaller than the yellowtail’s (ha, ha). The two types of rockfish we caught were the widow and the shortbelly (Ethan says they make great tacos!) Speaking of tacos, the widow rockfish are due to make an appearance on our mess deck menu soon. 

Day 7. Not much…

You Might Be Wondering…

What is the furthest you’ve been from shore?
To date (July 28th), an extension of transect 39 took us a total of 62 nautical miles from shore, which beat our extension record on Wednesday, July 26th. Leg 3 has extended more transects than Leg 2. The reason for extending a transect is to go where the fish sign is. The NOAA Fisheries protocol is to discover what the western extent is for schools of hake on that transect. So, they wait for at least one mile without seeing hake before ending the transect.

What is the deepest trawl you’ve made?
So far on Leg 3 we’ve gone 400 meters (about a quarter of a mile) to reach a target depth. Simply put, target depth is where the fish are estimated to be.

Floating Facts

Vocabulary

Bycatch – Some dictionaries call them unwanted creatures caught in the pursuit of a different species. NOAA however, thinks it worthwhile to catalog the biomass of these tag-alongs.

Biomass – The total weight (sometimes quantity) of a species in a given area or given volume.

One of these things is not like the others
Tow, Haul, and Trawl are used interchangeably in reference to fishing.
“Catch” is what we’ve caught in the net.

Survey Permits

You know how you ask permission at school and at home to do a thing? The hake survey requires a number of permits to conduct its research. A permit is an official document saying you have asked for and been granted permission. 

NOAA’s Western Region office issues “Authorizations and Permits for Protected Species.” The protected species are salmon and eulachon, a thin silvery thing about the size of a herring. The permit dictates what you can (measure and weigh it) and can’t do (eat it) with protected species.

A state’s jurisdiction over ocean waters only extends three nautical miles from shore. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wants to know the number of all species caught off its coast. California’s Department of Fish and Wildlife issues a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) along with a permit. The MOU calls out particular species they are interested in: longfin smelt, coho and chinook salmon. 

Jenny stands in the wet lab holding a sizable salmon with two hands. She wears black gloves, black overalls, and a Teacher at Sea beanie.
I should be frowning – we don’t intend to be pulling salmon out of the water. However, their appearance does contribute to data about the health of their populations.

While fishing rarely ever happens in Alaskan waters during the hake survey, the Department of Fish and Game issues a permit that is shared with Canadian colleagues who may pursue hake further north. Waters defined by NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries have their own monitoring system and permit issuance. The hake survey passes through three sanctuaries in California waters and one in Washington (the Olympic Coast). Finally, the West Coast Region of NMFS (National Marine Fisheries Service) issues a permit and requires a record of all species caught in U.S. waters, so a grand total of sorts for all states involved. 

Personal Log

Thursday was a huge improvement over the icky Wednesday ride. We made two successful trawls, and two trawls on Friday. Wet Lab Lead, Ethan Beyer, commented during fish processing on Friday, “I feel like I’m the world’s foremost expert on the visual maturity of hake. I look at a lot of hake gonads.” This was memorable.

Saturday dawned with too much fishing line in the water to do anything so we waited until we moved past it before dipping the net in. We did squeeze in a catch before lunch, but it produced exactly one hake among the usual lanternfish and pyrosomes. Disappointing for the science crew.

Note: In an earlier post I referred to lanternfish as “lampfish,” which is incorrect. I’ve also been calling Dramamine “dopamine” for some reason. I’ll blame it on the mild disorientation that is caused by floating around on the ocean.

My Daily Routine

I wake around 0600 and sometimes make it up to the flying bridge to see the sunrise, but usually go up regardless before breakfast to view the morning light. I stop in at the acoustics lab to sit at my workstation, blog a bit, and see what hake sign there is on the echogram (software visualization of what lies beneath us). Breakfast is served at 0700, then I return to acoustics to stay up to date on when we’re going fishing.

When you hear, “Fishing, fishing, fishing,” on the radio you know it’s almost time for the marine mammal watch. Marine mammal watch happens on the bridge, and I continue watching for a while even after the watch ends. I’ll stay up there for most of the trawl until I hear, ”Doors at the surface.” (More on the stages of a trawl next time.)

Next, I’ll go to the “ready room” in the wet lab where boots and fishy rubber overalls are stored. Blog post three walked you through what we do in the Wet Lab once the catch has been dumped in the crate. Processing species takes us into lunch hour at 1100.

A second trawl after lunch, and assuming the catch is decent, processing will take us to dinner. I have down time after dinner, watch the evening light if the weather is amenable, then return to acoustics for more blog time. I’m in bed somewhere between 2030 and 2230.

While there is a general routine, no day is exactly alike. On Saturday I assisted Ethan with collecting sea water from a vertical net dipped by a crane to 100 meters. Scientists will look at the plankton, krill, and other small species to determine stratification and measure abundance.

three crewmembers, wearing hard hats and life vests, guide the narrow end of a suspended vertical net down toward the deck for emptying. it's a clear day and the water is fairly calm.
Deck and Survey Crews work with Ethan to collect samples from the vertical net.
two crewmembers wearing hard hats and life vests work to unhook a large weight from the base of a net suspended high above them. The image focuses on Ethan, in the foreground, while the second crewmember's face is largely obscured by the net's codend.
Wet Lab Lead, Ethan Beyer, removing a weight on the vert net.
close up view of a glass jar of cloudy water, with a white screw-top lid, sitting on a table.
Plankton floating at the top of a sample.

Librarian at Sea

“It is a curious situation that the sea, from which life first arose should now be threatened by the activities of one form of that life. But the sea, though changed in a sinister way, will continue to exist; the threat is rather to life itself.”― Rachel Carson, The Sea Around Us

The cover of Rachel Carson’s book, The Sea Around Us, appears on the wall of the dining room at Sylvia Beach Hotel where I stayed prior to the departure of leg three. Her poetic approach to scientific insight continues to inspire readers. The book I brought with me on the ship does something similar. In How Far the Light Reaches, author Sabrina Imbler blends personal memoir with profiles of ten sea creatures. Imbler attempts to keep metaphors and personal (human) parallels at a distance from the scientific integrity of species. Both titles are recommended reading.

image of the cover of How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler.
How Far the Light Reaches: A Life in Ten Sea Creatures by Sabrina Imbler
photo of an old copy of The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson mounted to a red wall
The Sea Around Us by Rachel L. Carson

Hook, Line, and Thinker

When I was a kid, my Dad sometimes sang Gordon Lightfoot’s ‘Ode to Big Blue’ as a lullaby before bed. It’s one of the only songs I know all the lyrics to, although sometimes I scramble the verses up. I think it was my first exposure to the tension between commerce and the sustainability of natural resources. The sixth verse says,

Now the gray whale is run and the sperm is almost done
The finbacks and the Greenland rights have all passed and gone
They’ve been taken by the men for the money they could spend
And the killing never ends it just goes on

Herein lies another ethical debate on balancing preservation, economics, and the needs and wants of Homo sapiens. The song celebrates the natural wonder of whales alongside the biting reality of human enterprise.

In April 2023 NOAA released a 2022 Status of Stocks report. Data displayed overfishing status of 490+ stocks managed by NOAA. 

a NOAA Fisheries infographic showing two pie graphs in the shape of fish silhouettes. the first is labeled 355 Stocks with Known Overfishing Status. This graph shows that 93% are not subject to overfishing (331 stocks) while 7% (just the tip of the tail of this snapper-shaped fish) are subject to overfishing (24 stocks). The other graph is labeled 249 Stocks with Known Overfishing Status. It shows that 81% are not overfished (201 stocks) while 19% (a little more than the tail of this tuna-shaped fish) are overfished (48 stocks).



NOAA Fisheries assistant administrator, Janet Coit, said in the Status of Stocks news release, “Managing fisheries sustainably is an adaptive process, relying on sound science and innovation to conserve species and habitat, and meet the challenge of increasing our nation’s seafood supply in the face of climate change.” NOAA Fisheries priorities for fiscal year 2023 are full of words like: sustainability, resilience, mitigate, adapt, diversify, ensure equity, safeguard, propel recovery, conservation, protect, and restore. NOAA continuously strives to balance the scales between conservation and consumption.

What are the ethical concerns that should guide economics?
Is it possible to view the ocean other than as a natural resource?
Is that view in fact imperative to the sustainability of life on Earth?

A Bobbing Bibliography

If you keep your eye out for books, you will find them. Tucked away on the bridge is a shelf containing…

photo of books on a shelf. we see: Marine Weather, Cold Weather Handbook... , Dutton's Nautical Navigation, Solas, American Merchant Seaman's Manual sixth edition, Shiphandling with Tugs second edition, Watch Officer's Guide fifteenth edition, Stability and Trim for the Ship's Officer fourth edition, Naval Ceremonies, Customs, and Traditions sixth edition, The Bluejacket's Manual, Nautical Almanac 2023, Nautical Almanac 1981
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Jenny Gapp: Aboard a Floating Library of Data, July 27, 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: July 26, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge

Sunrise 6:31am | Sunset 8:46pm
Current Time:  0700 (7:00am Pacific Daylight Time)
Lat 40 16.7 N, Lon 124 33.6 W
Visibility: 10 nm (nautical miles)
Sky condition: broken cloud cover, aka partly sunny
Wind Speed: 25 knots
Wind Direction: 355°
Barometer: 1014.3 mb
Sea Wave height: 4-5 ft | Swell: 340°, 6-8 ft
Sea temp: 9.8°C | Air Temp: 12.6°C

Science and Technology Log

The Wet Lab:

In addition to interviewing members of the crew, working on my blog, and doing a bit of independent research, I am here to help in the wet lab. What does this entail? It begins with waiting. First, there is a marine mammal watch that lasts for 10 minutes. If an animal is within 500 meters we wait until it moves off. Then a second 10-minute watch is started. We continue monitoring mammal activity even after the net is deployed. Sometimes the navigation crew scouts the transect first to make sure the ocean floor won’t cause issues with the net when it is deployed. 

Deploying the net is a team effort among deck crew, navigation officers, and scientists. Once the net is off the reel and in the water, the crew disconnects the wire line to the reel and it is transferred to the doors. Winches connected to the trawl doors take the weight of the load. Depending on fish sign, the net is payed out according to depths the acousticians wish to fish at.

The length of time the net is streamed is also determined by the scientists. They monitor how many fish are going into the net via an FS70 third-wire trawl sonar which has a similar function to Doppler radar. Nicknamed “the turtle,” it is attached to the head rope. Sometimes there’s a “thunderstorm” of fish, and sometimes a “drizzle.” Once the acousticians have determined how much to punish the wet lab (joke), the lead scientist calls, “haul back.” The average fishing time is around 20 minutes, although it can be as little as a half minute in a fish thunderstorm or as long as 40 minutes in a fish drizzle. A sensor attached to the net records temperature and depth.

Once the net is back on board and we get a look at the catch size, a decision is made where to dump the haul. Under 100kg (220lbs), the catch goes in a black crate; over 100 kg, it goes into a hopper that leads to a conveyor belt inside the wet lab. The hopper door is opened a little at a time to avoid a fishy waterfall over the sides. Dominant species—hake in this case—go down the belt, and all other species are pulled out and sorted. 

a photo of a shark (only the front half, the head to the pectoral fins, is visible) on a metal table.
Brown cat shark
three crewmembers, wearing hard hats and life vests, bend down to work on a bright orange net
Removing the video camera
two small fish on a white background; they are narrow with very large eyes
Blue lantern fish
six plastic white bins or baskets containing different organisms (perhaps fish, squid, krill); two orange gloved hands reach into view
Sorting the species
a view mostly of the head of a viperfish on a metal table; its mouth is open wide to show its deep jaw and frightening teeth of different lengths
Viperfish


All our hauls to date have been on the smaller side, and so the net is hoisted and dumped into the black crate containing three smaller baskets. The deck crew slides this through double doors leading into the wet lab and we begin sorting species. Crew members often linger to see what cool things have been hauled aboard, and when they are impressive enough—like medium-sized squid and King-of-the-Salmon almost as long as you are tall—we take photos of each other, shaking our heads at the marvel of it. Ethan weighs the biomass of creatures that are not hake, then they go down the chute back to the ocean and return to the food chain. 

Jenny, wearing black overalls, rubber boots, gloves, and a Teacher at Sea hat, stands in the wet lab surrounded by plastic sorting bins. With her right hand, she hoists up a very large fish by its gills. it is pinkish in color, with a large head and a body that tapers all the way from a large round eye to the tail. the top of its open mouth is about in line with Jenny's hat, and the tip of its tail rests on her boot.
A King-of-the-Salmon almost as long as me!


The goal is 400 hake per haul, and to date we’ve counted 282 as the biggest catch. A handful of other species are measured, usually others that are commercially fished.

Depending on the number of hake collected, 50 have otoliths (ear bones) removed for aging and a random 10 of these have their stomachs examined. Krill and Blue lampfish appear to be favorite foods. A measuring device for the stomachs provides us with a number for the volume of food in their stomach.

If the ideal haul is taken, 350 hake are sexed and measured. The sexes are sorted into baskets of different colors: green (“little green men”) for the males and white (“snow white”) for the females. A set number of females have their liver and gonads taken for examination. I have yet to find out why just the females have this done.

After we’ve processed everything we clean the lab after each haul. If you don’t, the fishy aspect can get out of control quickly. Allegedly herrings are the smelliest. 

two scientists work at adjacent tables in the wet lab; Ethan in foreground, and Liz in the background. each wears navy blue shirts, orange overalls, orange gloves, and hats. they are working up fish on electronic boards connected to computer screens mounted above the tables. With his left hand, Ethan holds a sliced-open fish (probably a hake) steady; with his right, he reaches with tweezers to remove a part of the fish.
Ethan Beyer, Wet Lab Lead
Liz Ortiz, Fisheries Technician

Taxonomy of Sights

Day 3. Multiple whale spouts throughout the day. Species that appeared in our hauls: King- of-the-Salmon, Pyrosomes, Spiny dogfish, Brown cat shark, Glass shrimp, Jewel squid, and a viperfish that looked like the stuff of nightmares! A couple of albatross cruised behind us during one of the trawls, hoping for some fishy treats.

Day 4. One Jack mackerel mixed in with hake, a monitored species, so we took its measurements. One partial squid tangled in the trawl net.

You Might Be Wondering…

Do you have to wear a life jacket the whole time?

Life jackets and hard hats are required on the aft deck when there is an operation in progress. The safety mantra is, “If you don’t need to be on the deck, don’t go on the deck.” Each of us carries a PLB, or personal locator beacon, in the event of a worst-case scenario. Life jackets, along with immersion suits, are located in staterooms as well as the wet lab. No, I do not wear a life jacket while sleeping, showering, and spending time on the interior of the ship. Safety equipment is never far away. Emergency egress arrows show you a way out, and there are three emergency shower and eye wash stations on the ship. There are also devices called EEBD (Emergency Escape Breathing Device) that contain 15 minutes of oxygen. 

If you have questions you are curious about, please leave them in the comments section!

Floating Facts

Nautical Terms
Aft is the back of the boat where the trawling happens. The bow, or forward, is the front of the ship. Port is left, which you can distinguish from starboard because port and left have the same number of letters. Starboard is right. Stairs are referred to as “ladders,” walls are “bulkheads,” not to be confused with “bulwark,” which are the sides of the vessel above the main deck.

New Blue Economy
The “blue economy” is a new term for me. According to Dr. Richard Spinrad, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere & NOAA Administrator, it’s “a knowledge-based economy, looking to the sea not just for extraction of material goods, but for data and information to address societal challenges and inspire their solutions.”

40% of the U.S. population lives in or near coastal communities. A NOAA article on the blue economy states, “If American coastal counties were an individual country, they would rank third in the world in gross domestic product, surpassed only by the United States and China.” I assume this means as compared to the remainder of the United States that do not qualify as a “coastal community.”

The demands of climate change only hasten the need for information about our oceans and coastal regions. NOAA serves as a foundation for the blue economy, providing free, open source data–temperature, water level, hydrography, fisheries health, pH, salinity, and surface currents to name a few. The shipping challenges that the recent global pandemic posed have increased the need for U.S. seaports to add terminals and piers. Maritime commerce is expected to triple by 2030. (source: New Blue Economy, NOAA)

Educator Resources
If you are an educator and have not been to the Oregon Coast STEM hub website, it is highly recommended. It is managed by Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center. There’s something for everyone, even if you and your students aren’t located in Oregon.

While aboard I learned that the University of Oregon—my alma mater—also has a Marine Biology program. In fact, U of O’s Oregon Institute of Marine Biology (OIMB), located in Charleston, Oregon near Coos Bay, is a field institute like the Hatfield Marine Science Center. OIMB also has a section on its website for educators including lessons and resources. There is some crossover with the STEM hub, but both sites are valuable and worth examining. Note that at the time of my visit to the OIMB site there were some broken links on the resources page. 

watercolor illustration of a Pacific giant octopus. handwritten words at the top read: HATFIELD MARINE SCIENCE CENTER Oregon State University.
A watercolor and pen drawing from a previous visit to HMSC.

Personal Log

The NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada has seven levels: (from top to bottom) flying bridge–where our marine mammal and bird observers spend much of their time; bridge–where officers spend much of their time, where navigation happens, where a marine mammal watch happens before a trawl, where the boatswain, also known as a bosun, (deck boss) has a view of the nets going in and out, operates the net reel and communicates between nav crew and deck crew; officers berth–along with the hospital and quarters for the Chief Engineer; science berth–including lounge and offices; labs, mess deck, and access to the aft deck where the net is pulled in and the catch is transferred to the wet lab; deck crew berth–along with gym, winch and trawl rooms, centerboard access; and finally additional machinery rooms–including one for the bow thruster. I have been promised a tour of the engine room toward the end of our cruise, so I am looking forward to that!

photo of an open metal locker with space for hanging clothes and smaller shelves for shoes, etc.
Stateroom locker
view of bunk beds (berths), with a metal ladder up to the top level. the upper one appears to be used for storage right now, filled with what might be survival suits in their bags. the lower berth has a reading light and a curtain.
Stateroom bunk
a crocheted seagull wearing a little red knit hat, perched on a bunk
The third bunkmate in our stateroom



Monday and Tuesday were great days, particularly Tuesday. I felt good, held all my meals, talked with a variety of crew members about their work, and got my hands dirty for the first time in the wet lab. Julia Clemons said of Tuesday, “It was a great day for science!” We made a record number of trawls—three—for the 2023 survey thus far.

sun rising over a mountain range beyond blue waters
Sunrise on Tuesday.
sun setting over the horizon
Sunset on Tuesday.
a gloved hand holds a fish (possibly a hake) straight toward the camera so we can see down its open mouth to its gill rakers
Oh, the horror of being seasick!


Highlights of Wednesday’s trawl were part of a squid tangled in the net (much larger than the jewel squid), and some baby hake. I got into a rhythm assisting Ethan with entering data. He measured, weighed, sexed, examined stomach contents of some, and removed otoliths. I supported by entering the barcodes from the otolith collection vials manually (nothing new for a librarian who has her own trouble with temperamental barcode scanners from time to time), entered sex and maturity level, entered data on stomach contents (primarily blue lanternfish, and euphausiids, aka krill).

a small squid on a metal table
Jewel squid
just the tentacles of another squid
Squid remnants
a fish on a white surface
Jack mackerel
a pile of seven small hake, about 10 cm long, rests at one end of the measuring board. this close-up photo shows the printed measuring lines and the board's name - Ichthystick - and logo, a stylized picture of a fish
Baby hake, known as fingerlings once scales and working fins are developed.

Librarian at Sea

“The world turns and the world spins, the tide runs in and the tide runs out, and there is nothing in the world more beautiful and more wonderful in all its evolved forms than two souls who look at each other straight on.” ~Gary D. Schmidt, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy

In this middle-grade novel, a friendship is formed between Turner Buckminster, son of a preacher, and Lizzie Bright Griffin, a resident of Malaga Island. Malaga is located off the coast of Maine and was founded by people who were formerly enslaved. The quote above refers to a moment when the two young people are in a boat and Turner comes eye to eye with a whale five times the size of the dory they are traveling in. It reminds me a little of looking into the eyes of the creatures who come aboard in our net. I wonder if some are still capable of seeing… 

Hook, Line, and Thinker

The NOAA Teacher at Sea program requires fortitude, flexibility, and following orders.
On Monday the crew followed orders for our first safety drills. These include special signals indicating fire, abandon ship, and man overboard. The science crew (which includes me) musters in the wet lab for fire, where the Chief Scientist reports muster to the bridge. “Muster” means that all are assembled who should be there. During an abandon-ship drill, the crew is split up between six life rafts, three on each side of the ship. New members of the crew try on their immersion suit, a bulky get-up that guards against hypothermia and increases flotation. I tried on two different sizes, and while neither was quite right we concluded bulkier was better than too small. As the XO put it, “It will save your life. Throw in your shoes and a loaf of bread and you’re good to go!” The man overboard drill requires the science crew to muster on the flying bridge where we locate the individual in trouble (in the case of a drill, a couple of buoys tied together) and point.

Can you think of an example in which following orders may save your life?

A Bobbing Bibliography

On the bridge you will find binoculars on the sill of many windows. You will also find whale and dolphin identification guides, as well as one for birds. Some of the binoculars are “reticulated.” When you look into the eyepieces of these you see a series of fine lines (reticules) to determine distance between marine mammals and the vessel. Line up the top line to the horizon and you have the distance between objects and the ship.

There are many great spots along the Oregon Coast for whale watching that don’t require going out on the ocean. Oregon State Parks has a whale watching site with more information. 

The book Whales and Other Marine Mammals of Washington and Oregon, by Tamara Eder and illustrated by Ian Sheldon, is propped up against a window. Through the window we can see a deck of the ship, the ocean, sea spray.
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Jenny Gapp: Let’s Get Specific in the Pacific, July 24, 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 of Oregon.
Date: July 24, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge

Sunrise: 05:46 | Sunset: 20:51
Current Time: 8:30am Pacific Standard Time (0830)
Lat 42 06.5819 N, Lon 124 58.5931 W
Visibility: less than 1 nautical mile
Sky condition: overcast, Present weather: fog
Wind speed: 10 knots
Wind direction: 115° (east southeast ESE)
Barometer: 1017.5 mbar (millibars), approx. 30 hg (inches of mercury)
Sea Wave height 1 ft | Swell 260°, 3-4 feet in height
Sea temp 15.2°C (59.36°F) | Air Temp 57.38°F
Course Over Ground (COG): 359.2°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 11.3 knots (13 mph)

Science and Technology Log

Let’s break down the weather and navigation data that you may not be familiar with:

What is a nautical mile as compared to a “regular” mile?
Nautical miles are used to measure the distance traveled through the water. A nautical mile is slightly longer than a mile on land, equaling 1.1508 land-measured (or statute) miles. A nautical mile equals exactly 1,852 meters or approximately 6076 feet. The nautical mile is based on the Earth’s longitude and latitude coordinates, with one nautical mile equaling one minute of latitude. (Source: NOAA)

What are knots?
One knot equals one nautical mile per hour. A knot is a unit of speed that ties directly into the global latitude and longitude coordinate system. Aviators and sailors find knots are easier to navigate due to their relationship with degrees of latitude. Land-based miles per hour do not share a relationship with latitude and longitude. A knot is equal to about 1.15 land-based miles. Knots are tied (pun intended) to nautical miles traveled. The origin of measurement comes from a piece of wood tied to the ship with a piece of knotted rope, with the crew members then counting the number of knots between the ship and the piece of wood after a certain amount of time.

an animation on loop of a ship sailing away from view. it deploys a piece of wood tied to a knotted rope, which extends in length as the ship sails away. an animated hourglass drips sand as the ship sails to show the passage of time.
Measuring ship speed with a knotted rope. (GIF credit: NOAA)

What is a millibar?
A unit of atmospheric pressure equal to ¹/₁₀₀₀ bar or 1000 dynes per square centimeter. Wait, what’s a dyne? This is a physics concept. A dyne is a force that acts for one second and produces a change in velocity of one centimeter per second in a mass of one gram. When I blow on the surface of my peppermint tea to cool it off I am exerting the force of my breath and changing the velocity of the tea’s surface.

The air around you has weight and exerts pressure on everything it touches. Press lightly with your fingers on the back of your other hand to feel more noticeable pressure. Gravity is pulling on the air as well, just like it is keeping you anchored to Earth.

Atmospheric pressure is an indicator of weather. It’s obviously a windy day down in the land of peppermint tea when (my) wind is blowing. When a low-pressure system moves into an area, it usually leads to cloudiness, wind, and precipitation. High-pressure systems usually lead to fair, calm weather.

Barometers gauge pressure. Hg represents inches of mercury in a classic barometer. One inch of mercury is the pressure exerted by a 1-inch high column of mercury at 0°C (32°F ) Millibars is a metric measurement while inches of mercury (hg) is the English unit of measurement.

a graph of atmospheric pressure versus altitude. The x-axis is labeled "pressure (mb)," with a scale of 0-1,200 mb. the y-axis is labeled "altitude (km)," with a scale of 0-50 km. A curved red line plots the inverse exponential relationship. Pressure is near 0 mb at 50 km; it reaches more than 1,000 mb (1,013.25 mb, to be exact) at 0 km, or sea level. dotted lines mark the troposphere (0-10 km high) and the stratosphere (13-50 km high).
Atmospheric pressure at various altitudes. (Image credit: Britannica)

What is a heading?
The direction in which a vessel’s bow points at any given time. It is the angle between North and the bow of the boat.

What is Course Over Ground?
Course Over Ground is the actual direction of progress of a vessel, between two points, concerning the earth’s surface. The vessel’s “heading” may differ from the Course Over Ground (COG) due to the effects of wind, tide, and currents.

an illustrated diagram of a ship's headings (HDG) and courses over ground (COG) at different points of time. A. the boat points to the right; HDG: 90 degrees, COG: 90 degrees. a right arrow connects this illustration to the next at B, again with HDG 90 and COG 90. At C, the boat begins to experience strong wind, current, or tide. Now it faces diagonally toward the lower right. It's HDG: 135 degrees, but COG still 90 degrees. Same for time point D. Between D and E, the boat experiences COG 135 (moving toward the lower right) but straightends itself to a heading of HDG 90. at F it resumes HDG 90 and COG 90.
A ship’s headings v. its course over ground. (Image credit: FleetMon)

How do you read wind direction in degrees?

a compass rose with 32 labeled wind directions. N is 0 degrees, E is 90 degrees, S is 180 degrees, and W is 270 degrees; 28 other arrows are labeled pointing to directions in between.
How to read wind direction (Image credit: Windy.App)

Career feature

NOAA works with a multitude of contractors that are associated with other entities such as Oregon State University (OSU) and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC). The science crew on leg 3 includes three individuals associated with OSU concerned with marine mammals and birds (Nick Metheny, Chris Hoefer, and graduate student Jake Marshall), one fisheries technician (Liz Ortiz, with PSMFC), two independent contractors (Ethan Beyer, Wet Lab Lead; Samantha Engster, environmental DNA sampling), and two NOAA employed scientists: Steve de Blois (Chief Scientist, Acoustics), and Julia Clemons (Acoustics). 

The lesson here is that you can be contributing to NOAA’s Fishery work but not necessarily receiving your paycheck from them, as is the case with contractors. NOAA also welcomes ocean enthusiast volunteers, which is true both of myself and second-year graduate student Jake. Jake’s focus is to examine how proposed wind farms off the Oregon Coast, along with rising sea temperatures, may impact the migratory patterns of hake. His undergraduate degree is in applied math. 

Career trajectories are well represented within the science crew. Liz represents an entry-level position, while Steve represents a senior scientist with many surveys under his belt.  

Tour of Hatfield Marine Science Center Campus

On Friday, July 21st I had the opportunity for a brief tour of buildings on the Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC) campus. The general public is limited to the Visitor Center where a Giant Pacific Octopus is on display along with numerous educational exhibits.

My guide was Alicia Billings, a Fishery Biologist who specializes in engineering (such as underwater cameras) and database management for NOAA Fisheries. She is currently working on a Master’s in Data Analytics at Oregon State University. Truly a renaissance woman, who crafts all sorts of contraptions for expeditions, she also serves as a point of contact for the TAS program.

I met her at a cafe just inside the new Marine Studies Building. It’s the newest structure on campus and allegedly designed to withstand a magnitude 9.0+ earthquake and subsequent tsunami. It’s touted as a vertical evacuation structure and contains a community cache with emergency supplies. An imposing stairway leads to the upper floors and is lined with an art installation that imitates portholes on a ship. Alicia pointed out an Innovation Lab on the main floor which appeared to have many interesting mechanical devices to experiment with. A bulletin board at the entrance announced summer and fall classes: Food From the Sea, Phycology (micro & macroalgal biology), Aquaculture Lab.

The next stop was the OSU Guin Library, which I couldn’t resist peeking into. An impressive whale skeleton hangs near the entrance. Marilyn Potts Guin was the first librarian for HMSC. Under her “exuberant guidance,” she convinced the HMSC director at the time that the site needed a real library. The education building had room so Guin started filling it.

HMSC is an academic research field station that evolved into a multiagency research campus. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Oregon Fish and Wildlife Department along with its federal counterpart are all partners on campus. When the EPA provided funding for a new library building, Guin provided guidance on the design. Sadly, she passed away from breast cancer at age 45 while construction was underway.

Guin’s exuberance echoed long after her departure when a 2014 remodel was assisted by the sale of her house, which she had left to the university. The library continues to adapt to the ever-changing information landscape but maintains its core focus on materials related to marine fisheries and mammals, and information specific to the Northeast Pacific Ocean. A ‘new books’ display included: Tales of the Sea Cloud, Coastal and Deep Ocean Pollution, Seaweed Biotechnology, and (appropriate to the survey) Advances in Fish Processing Technology. 

A myriad of bookish treasures presented themselves: color plates of tropical coral fish from the Indo-Pacific, a glass-enclosed case of old tomes like Eniwetok Marine Biological Laboratory Contributions 1955-1974. Then, lo and behold, a modest collection of children’s books! All non-fiction science as far as I could tell. Rounded shelf marker stickers announced: Oceanography! Zoology! Sharks! On the way out I noticed a whiteboard asking, “What Are You Excited About for the Summer?” See the gallery images below for how I answered.

Corner of a building with a sign reading 909 OSU Guin Library
a whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling in front of an outside wall. we can see the top portion of signage that reads 'WHALES: WHAT'S DIFFERENCE?'
new books display
shelves of old reports
antique books: several volumes of the Den Norske Nordhavs Expedition, The Great Barrier Reef of Australia, Fossil Botany. a small book in front is open to reveal an illustration of "sea beet." a small bookmark sticking out of this book reveals that it was published in 1880.
more antique books, including Eniwetok Marine Biological Laboratory Contributions 1955-1974.
children's books display; most are marine-themed; on top are The Brilliant Deep and The Encyclopedia of Sharks. There are some toys on a lower shelf.
a whiteboard asking, What are you excited about for the summer? answers: sunshine, fishing, birding, berries, aquarium trips, tide pooling, vacation, diving, food, research, trees, roadtrip, microscopes, staying at Hatfield, Teacher at Sea Experience on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, eelgrass, and sulfide.
children's book sections labeled with round illustrated markers, such as Octopuses QI 430.3 (with a picture of an octopus)

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any better, there was a shelving cart labeled “Free Books.” I’m not sure that my elementary students will be as excited about a withdrawn copy of ‘Proceedings of the West Coast Squid Symposium (February 1983)’ as I was, but perhaps I can use it to introduce them to the word “symposium” and to use as scientific realia during a lesson on squids. 

Following the library tour, we walked over to NOAA’s Barry Fisher Building #955. In one room, otoliths (ear bones from which a fish’s age is determined) from previous legs of the hake survey were being processed. Other items of note in the building included a -80°C freezer for fishy samples awaiting transport. For example, gonads are processed in Seattle, not in Newport. Another freezer was filled with labeled crates: Big Skates & Black Skates, Deepsea Skates & Starry Skates.

Offices belonging to many of the science crew joining me on leg 3 were upstairs. This is where I first met Liz Ortiz, meticulously counting otoliths. One year is equivalent to an opaque ring (feeding activity) and a translucent one (lean times in the mess hall). The feeding cycle has to do with a pattern of upwelling, which produces elevated nutrients, and downwelling: “Hey! Who took away the salad bar?” Liz was looking at walleye pollock at the time and had recently counted 88 rings. The oldest fish on record are upwards of 200 years old. Hake are shorter lived with 15-20 years being the top end of the grumpiest specimens.

Alicia also showed me a room that houses a host of technology components. One of the items was a broken underwater stereo camera she attempted to fix. Unfortunately, it will not be ready for leg 3.

The final part of the tour was a preview of the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. In the wet lab, Alicia pointed out her contributions. Alicia’s knowledge of electrical engineering is self-taught (most NOAA tech is DIY). She used Python to create a software called CLAMS–Catch Logger for Acoustic Monitoring Survey. Data from the wet lab is added to the software and is backed up to a database (the mother CLAM, if you will) that lives in the acoustics lab. Alicia wired something together called the ‘electronic back deck’ where the fish data initially goes prior to being backed up to the Mother CLAM. There are four separate networks on the ship, but all data is shared among them. The old system used isolated spreadsheets… welcome to the 21st century!

Technology
Remember the ship tracker technology from blog post 1? Here’s a look at the AIS equipment on the bridge. Additionally, there are two radar screens in the suite of instrument panels available to navigators. One uses an X band for short range and the other an S band for long range. A gyroscope is used for maintaining orientation, and an analog compass serves as a last resort if redundancies in backup power fail more contemporary instruments. Two pedestals on the exterior bridge deck contain the gyro bearings. 

the automatic identification system technology - looks like two black boxes mounted to the bottom of a shelf
AIS on Bell M. Shimada allows you to track us.
instrument panels on the bridge.
A view of the “driver’s seat.” A few of many instrument panels on the bridge.

Taxonomy of Sights
Day 1. An albatross (observed by OSU marine mammal observer), a pod of humpback whales feeding last night near sunset (observed by fisheries technician with PSMFC).

Fog has impeded observations on day 2 of our leg.

Day 2. Several whale “blows” during our marine mammal watch prior to trawling. If mammals are within 500 meters of the ship we wait until they move off before dropping the net.

You Might Be Wondering…
Where exactly is this survey taking place?
We steamed south from Newport to a transect off the California coast– #35 in the image below. We’ll follow those lines similar to mowing the lawn, a back and forth to case the continental shelf for hake. The goal is to complete all transects through 57. A transect is simply a straight line along which observations, measurements, and samples are taken. The first hake survey on the West Coast occurred in 1977. In 1992 a partnership with Canada was formed, and in 2003 the FEAT Team started conducting biennial surveys. 

  • Like any industry there are acronyms that can get confusing. 
  • The FRAM division is Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division.
  • The FEAT Team is Fisheries Engineering and Acoustic Technologies Team (not to be confused with Fishery Ecosystem Analysis Tool).
  • The NWFSC is Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

Further reading on the Hake survey.

A photo of a paper map of a portion of the coast of California. Red horizontal lines mark transects extending west from the coast line; they are connected to the next horizontal line either on the west or the east end, where the ship will travel. The red lines are marked with black dots (showing previous sampling locations, perhaps).
Map of planned transects for the hake and ecosystem survey

Floating Facts

The Bell M. Shimada flies the NOAA Service Flag along with the flag of the United States (National Ensign) and the POW/MIA flag of the National League of Families of American Prisoners and Missing in Southeast Asia. In port she also flew a Union Jack pennant from the bow mast. 

a view up at three flags flying on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. on top is the NOAA service flag: the NOAA logo, surrounded by a red triangle, inside a white circle, surrounded by a navy blue background. next is the American flag. finally, there's a mostly black flag whose design we are unable to make out. the sky is bright blue and clear.
Flags aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

Government Nesting Dolls:
The Department of Commerce is one of 15 departments in the federal government. View an organization chart here. See where NOAA falls under the 13 arms of the Department of Commerce here. NOAA has multiple branches as well. Our survey is made possible by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO), including NOAA Corps, working together. Notice the nautical theme on the Department of Commerce emblem in the image below.

the logo for the United States Department of Commerce includes an eagle atop a shield; inside the shield is a large sailing ship, and a lighthouse.

Personal Log

The Road from Portland to Newport

I woke up with the birds on Friday, July 21st to travel via personal vehicle to Newport, Oregon from my home in Portland. Hwy 18 crosses the Willamette Valley in a south-westerly manner when originating from the north. The view out the window is something like an advertisement for “Made in Oregon.” A cornucopia of agricultural goods beckon: orchards of walnuts, hazelnuts, apples, pears. A combine parked under a tree made me think of my Dad, retired from the agricultural community, but driving a combine “for fun” for a farmer friend. Just the day before he had driven the behemoth machine onto the Buena Vista Ferry in Marion County crossing the Willamette River—which dumps into the Columbia, which runs into the Pacific, which is where I was heading.

Many years back, during the Ice Age floods, a rock came to rest on an improbably flat spot in what is now Yamhill County. An unassuming brown sign marks the road you turn down to view it. Unremarkable looking except for its size and location. This glacial erratic serves as an example of the power contained in collective molecules of H2O. The Valley (as locals call it) is fertile in part due to the rich silts washed here by ancient floodwaters (our apologies to Eastern Washington—here’s a glass of merlot from Siltstone Winery for your troubles). Farmer John’s Market boasts peaches, strawberries, apricots, raspberries, smoothies, shortcakes, and milkshakes—the latter of which do not grow on bushes or trees. After passing the sign for Wetzel Winery you get a few more grass seed fields, some fallow, some with boxes for bee colonies. The landscape then begins to transition into the foothills of the coast range. Queen Anne’s lace and Himalayan blackberry fill in the gaps between the field and road.

Yamhill is traded for Polk and the fir trees start to get serious, accompanied by ocean spray (the bush also called ironwood or Holodiscus discolor), vine maple, and rhododendron. The flower clusters of ocean spray are reminiscent of lilac, except these are a peachy off-white. At a distance, the multi-toned green of trees on distant hillsides illustrates staggered replanting after a patchwork of clearcut harvests. As Hwy 22 East merges with 18, I think about childhood trips to the beach. Our family most frequently traveled 22 to 18 to Lincoln City which sits 25 miles north of Newport. We made a pilgrimage about once a year, sometimes in the off-season to avoid crowds. A series of billboards still promote businesses that we patronized in the 1980s and 90s. Undersea Gardens—which is no more—was of particular interest to me. I was captivated by “Armstrong,” the Giant Pacific octopus who entertained visitors by interacting with a diver in his tank. The name made an impression on me, signifying that this was a creature to be respected. Our family stayed at The Inn at Otter Crest, Pelican Shores, and other establishments whose names are lost to me. Mo’s Chowder was a frequent stop, where I delighted in the chewy clam pieces floating in cream. I admit that as an adult I find the chowder a bit too rich, a bit too heavy in butter. Or maybe it’s just me that’s heavy!

Hwy 22 diverts from 18 just before Spirit Mountain Casino—operated by The Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. CTGR puts on an excellent educator summit that happens annually. Oregon educators are compelled by the legislature to fulfill SB13, which promotes “Tribal History is Shared History.” It strives to share the stories of Oregon’s First Peoples with young Oregonians. Indigenous communities persist in our state and there are always a few students in my elementary school who declare tribal affiliations.

Among the other billboards are Chinook Winds, The Oregon Coast Aquarium (which broke ground in 1990), and one recommending, “Explore Lincoln City” with a sea lion balancing a glass float on his nose. When I was a child, the billboards were key in the escalating excitement of reaching the beach. The first glimpse of the Pacific was always a special moment in the car, often accompanied by celebratory mouth trumpets and squeals. The H.B. Van Douzer corridor and its whopping 760-foot Murray Hill summit is the last section of road to traverse before hitting Hwy 101. The coast range is fraught with landslides in winter and there are multiple patches of rough road. Cue the chorus of voices in a car full of children, “Ruh-ro!”

The sign for Tillamook County flashes by and the turquoise sky becomes populated with purple-hued clouds that have a misty edge, a tell-tale sign of marine influence. Lincoln County comes next and the sun is left behind at Slick Rock Creek. Speaking of rocks, the local news was all aflutter this past week with the tale of a cougar trapped by tides on Haystack Rock at Cannon Beach. Another recent story comes from an Australian sailor and his dog (!) rescued by a Mexican tuna boat after three months adrift at sea.

You know you’re really close when you see the white and blue sign proclaiming, “Entering a Tsunami Hazard Zone.” I will do my best NOT to think about the statistical probability of a Cascadia Earthquake during the next two weeks. D Sands was often the first stop during family trips of yesteryear. It’s adjacent to D River, claiming to be the world’s shortest. Depoe Bay is the next town south of Lincoln City. Between Newport and this charming and often congested whale-watching spot is Beverly Beach State Park. During a geology project in college, I was infamously caught on camera here discussing “sands of grain.”

I was equally tongue-tied when I entered the gated MOC-P facility where the Bell M. Shimada lives when in port. “I’m with the Teacher at She program!” To which I sheepishly told the security guard, “Um, yes, I’m a she, but I’m here to go to sea.” I am now, in fact, at sea. Over the course of the following blog posts, I’ll share more about what life at sea is like. 

Librarian at Sea

“Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago.― Herman Melville, Moby-Dick or, the Whale


Day 1. 7:30pm As my stomach screamed over the yawning gulf it couldn’t quite reconcile what was happening and promptly evacuated its contents on the main deck about an hour after dinner. At which point I upgraded to scopolamine (prescribed slow-release patch behind the ear) over a cocktail of dramamine and meclizine. The lesson here: sometimes you can only learn through the school of hard knocks.

Hook, Line, and Thinker
What’s a whale’s favorite phrase? Where there’s a whale, there’s a way.

Innovating on the spot is a hallmark of research excursions. Chief Scientist, Steve de Blois, shared an anecdote about a time in 2005 when an instrument pod fell off the hull-mounted centerboard of an older vessel, making acoustic data impossible to gather. Where there’s a whale there’s a way, and the team sprung into action creating a new apparatus from parts available, though the frame for the solitary transducer was made off-site. In contrast, the Bell M. Shimada has fancy watertight doors that open up to its instrument pod, which can be raised or lowered as needed. This allows easy access for cleaning and tinkering as needed. This improvement in ship design eliminates the need for NOAA Divers in this case, who previously could only work on instrument pods from beneath the surface. 

view of the doors to the instrument pod
watertight doors to instrument pod

A Bobbing Bibliography

The ship’s lounge is where movie nights occur, where the ship store is located (clothing, stickers, and swag), and where you can grab a game, magazine, or book to pass the time. 

the library in the ship's lounge consists of two shelves of books, which have an extra bar across front to prevent the books from sliding off in rolling seas. a small sign labels this the Goeller Regional Library.
Library in the ship’s lounge
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Jenny Gapp: Reporting to 551.46 (Oceanography), July 19, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jenny Gapp (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 23 – August 5, 2023 

Mission: Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) Survey (Leg 3 of 4)
Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean off the coast of Newport, Oregon
Date: July 19, 2023 (pre-cruise)

Weather Data from Newport, Oregon
NOAA Weather Service forecast for Wednesday, July 19th as of 7/17/23 6:35pm:
Mostly sunny, then sunny and breezy, with a high of 61 degrees. Wednesday night’s low around 55 degrees.

“Weather” is what it’s doing today. “Climate” is what it did today in 1942. Climate equates to the prevailing weather trends for a particular region. Having been born and raised in Oregon I know that you always dress in layers when going to the Oregon Coast. I know that sunburn is possible in March (anytime really) and balmy 60-degree weather is possible in February. Historically, the average temperature for the month of July in Lincoln County has remained between 60 and 63 degrees with a slight trend upward. I imagine it is a bit chillier out on the Pacific. I have packed accordingly!

A week from departure (July 16th) I was looking south from the cliffs on Cape Lookout near Tillamook, Oregon. The breeze was visible in shimmering white flashes across the surface of the ocean even as the tidal swells plowed steadily into shore beneath the gusts. The infamous summer fog shrouded much of the cape’s seaward view due to temperature and pressure differences between the coast and inland.

view of Cape Lookout from the cliffs. Beyond dirt cliffside and conifer trees, we can see the water is a vivid blue-teal color. A mountain range marks the far side of the cape. The sky is blue, but fog rises off the water.

As air heats up it ascends (rises), leading to low pressure at the earth’s surface. As air cools down it descends (sinks), leading to high pressure at the surface. Hot summer air rises inland and creates low pressure. Since the temperature of the ocean is much colder, high atmospheric pressure is formed. Higher-pressure air tends to move into lower-pressure regions, so the moist marine layer (caused by evaporation) gets pulled off the top layer of the water and moves inland. All that moisture creates low-flying clouds, known as “fog” when it touches the ground. Marine fog moves eastward (inland) and usually clings to the shoreline. Sometimes it moves further depending on the topography of the coast range. Summer winds on the Oregon Coast are caused by temperature-driven atmospheric pressure disturbances where the two pressure systems collide.

a diagram in three panels. each panel includes an illustration, in cross section, of a hilly coastline rising above the ocean. icons shaped like thermometers show temperature readings right near the shoreline, at the seaward base of the mountain, and at the far side of the mountain. Top panel: Early Morning, cloudy, temps of 60, 65, 75 degrees. Middle: Late morning, fog, temps of 60, 70, and 85 degrees. Bottom: Afternoon, sea breeze, temps of 70, 85, and 105 degrees.
https://www.seasonsinthesea.com/may/phys.shtml
diagram depicting cold air as straight black arrows flowing to the right, wind as a curvey blue triangle, and warm air as wavy orange lines rising diagonally
Why does wind blow? NOAA SciJinks | https://scijinks.gov/wind/

Listening to the weather forecast was something of a ritual in my childhood home. Mom would tune in to WKL96 at 162.475 and we’d dutifully hush up when the familiar “ding!” occurred to signal the top of the broadcast. To this day she still writes down the short-term forecast and puts it on the fridge. (Mom is an old-fashioned gal and doesn’t use the internet.) Find your local station here.

I got to tour my local National Weather Service office –home of the “ding!”– in Portland, Oregon during a DataStreme Climate class I took in 2016. Sponsored by the American Meteorological Society, I also took their DataStreme Oceans course. I highly recommend these classes to educators.

I’m a bit of a NOAA snob when it comes to the forecast. My old Subaru had a channel entirely devoted to NOAA Weather Radio. My new (used) one doesn’t, and I miss it! Friends and family look at a variety of weather apps, but I will always check their predictions against what NOAA says. When you visit National Park Visitor Centers around the country it’s usually the short-term NOAA forecast that is posted on visitor information boards. It is possible to access NOAA Weather from your phone. Go to the following website to learn how to add a bookmark to your phone’s home screen.

the cover of the book A Crack in the Sea by H. M. Bouwman.

Librarian at Sea

“Traditionally, a few people from Raftworld would decide to stay on the island; and a few from the Islands would elect to join Raftworld. These were volunteers, and they were celebrated for their choosing, for some people were simply happier living on land, and others happier at sea.” 
~H. M. Bouwman, A Crack in the Sea
(G.P. Putnam, 2017)

A Crack in the Sea is a middle-grade novel that blends fantasy with historical fiction, including characters who flee a slave ship, and those fleeing post-war Vietnam. One character also has a special skill: talking to fish. My special skill is talking to children about books…but I do much more than that. 

Introduction & Background

I have reported to 551.46 many times over my 18 years as a school librarian, but this will be my first reporting to its physical manifestation. Despite growing up near the coast I have never been out on the open ocean in a boat. I have visited the nonfiction shelves (organized by Melvil Dewey) countless times. You’ll find oceanography topics at 551.46. You’ll find my school, Peninsula Elementary, on an earthen finger of Portland, Oregon bordered by the Willamette River to the west and the mighty Columbia River to the north. Peninsula has been my anchor as an educator for the past 12 years. I call myself a “teacher librarian” in order to emphasize that my priority is to design and deliver lessons to students on top of managing a small library. My profession has state and national standards that cover information literacy, reading engagement, and social responsibility. One of the things I love most about being a school librarian is the academic freedom that I have. I can teach my standards by using the story of the haenyo mermaids of Korea, by analyzing infographics of the water cycle, and by playing truth or lie with shark facts. Cross-curricular approaches to learning are what get me excited about teaching. Science in particular is a subject I have long gravitated towards. 

My career in a, er, clamshell: As an undergraduate with a BA in Comparative Literature I said, what next? I promptly got a seasonal job as a Ranger Aide for Silver Falls State Park. What next? I applied to permanent ranger jobs…and my old school district (where I graduated high school) was looking for a school librarian. My alma mater hired me with zero experience on a restricted transitional license–which means I promised to go back to school and get certified. So, I got my teaching license, then a Master’s in Library Science–two distinct programs. While in graduate school I began branding myself as a “Ranger Librarian.” While working for the same junior high I once attended, I had the odd experience of working with colleagues who were formerly my teachers. A beloved high school social studies teacher still worked next door on our shared campus. He encouraged me to seek out opportunities for educators that provided residencies, travel opportunities, and hands-on learning. So, when I saw a brochure in the staff lounge for an Outward Bound course designed just for teachers I applied. What next? I applied for a Cultural Resources Internship at Grand Teton National Park where, among other things, I created an information package for prospective researchers to help them navigate the application process and eliminate research redundancy. I learned, for example, there is such a thing as collecting too many voles. I applied for a “Teacher Ranger Teacher” position at Grand Canyon National Park. I applied to be a seasonal ranger again, this time in the Columbia River Gorge. I applied for a Comparative Mountain Geography Institute with the Center for Geography Education in Oregon. I did all those things in the margins of my life as a teacher librarian. What next? I applied to be a NOAA Teacher at Sea! 

As the others in NOAA TAS Class of 2022 and 2023 will confirm, I then played the pandemic waiting game while the world figured out how to function with COVID. TAS candidates have to pass a medical clearance within a year of sailing so I even gave blood not once, but twice, while time and tide marched on. I have yet to sweat, and yet to cry, but the salt swims at the ready.   

we see only Jenny's and her husband's bare feet on the sand. The beach stretches well ahead of their feet to the ocean, a dark teal green lined with whitecaps where the waves are breaking. a vessel is only just visible on the horizon.
Getting a sunburn in March 2023 near Manzanita, Oregon with my husband. You can see a fishing boat in the distance.

Science, Technology & Career Log
You can track the location of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada as well as other vessels here.  Alternatively, you can try this tracker.  Marine traffic includes all ships at sea such as tankers, military vessels, passenger ships, and fishing boats. An automatic identification system, or AIS technology, is used to follow traffic locations. The International Maritime Organization (a branch of the United Nations) launched the development of AIS as a collision avoidance tool for large vessels at sea that were not within range of tracking systems based on shore.

The IMO decided that all vessels over 300 gross tonnages on international voyages must have AIS aboard. A gross tonnage is calculated by measuring a ship’s volume. AIS allows ships to “see” each other and improves situational awareness before visual contact is possible. AIS is considered by some to be the most significant improvement to navigational safety since the development of radar. However, AIS is considered an enhancement and not a replacement for radar and other traffic services. Using a broadcast transponder system, AIS operates in the VHF (very high frequency) radio waves mobile maritime band. A complete system includes a transmitter and a receiver with data displayed on a screen (revealing the bearing and distance of nearby vessels). Originally, AIS made broadcasts from ships to land and had a capacity of 20 miles or so. Today, satellite-detected AIS allows us to “see” ships no matter how far away.

screenshot from Marine Traffic website marking the position of NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada with a tiny aqua-blue triangle just west of San Francisco. many other markers of different colors and shapes mark the positions of other vessels or buoys.
Position of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada not long after the departure of Leg 2. Destination: Newport, Oregon
another screenshot from Marine Traffic, with a large arrow pointing offscreen to Bell M Shimada's marker off the coast of Oregon. an inset popup window shows a photo of the ship and shares its navigation status, speed/course, and draught.
Location as of 7/17/23 just coming into view at the bottom of the screen and headed for smiling Newport. Cruising Earth ship tracker.

Radio waves are one type of electromagnetic radiation–in the same family as X-rays, visible light, microwaves, infrared, and ultraviolet. Naturally occurring radio waves include lightning and objects in space including Jupiter and The Sun. It is possible to turn information like text, sound, and images into electrical signals. These signals are combined with radio waves–energy that moves–to send information across long distances. High-frequency waves have a shorter wavelength and send more wavelengths per second than low-frequency waves. In general, higher frequencies do not travel as far, which is why satellites have proven so useful to AIS. (Further reading)

physics diagram comparing high frequency waves (with short wavelengths) to low frequency waves (with long wavelengths)
Electromagnetic Spectrum: Radio Waves (BestOfScience)

Career feature

I am excited to meet all the people behind the research and ship operations. Prior to sailing, I checked out the professional mariner hiring portal facilitated by NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.  Current fleet vacancies included able seaman, oiler, and first assistant engineer. Reading the job descriptions brought to mind two things. One is my maternal grandfather. He was a World War Two Navy Veteran who worked as a motor machinist and drove a Higgins Boat on D-Day during the invasion of Normandy. He did not die in the war, but lived to age 89 and passed away in 2012. Among the family archives are records of his completion of a diesel mechanics course. This association made me think about encouraging students to make personal connections to whatever we are learning about.  After reminiscing about Grandpa, my train of thought spitballed keywords like boat, engine, ship, sailor, mechanic, and Titanic–which served as a bridge to thought number two. The fleet vacancies prompted a daydream about the next time I am helping a student interested in library books on one of these tangential ocean topics. In addition to a forthcoming lesson on NOAA careers, I should remember to mention a related career during book shopping and plant a seed. “Hey Johnny, I see you are interested in ships. Did you know that being a sailor is an actual job that you could do one day?”

a WWII-era headshot of a sailor in uniform
My maternal grandfather, Leroy Bowers. WWII Navy Veteran.

NOAA Fisheries has its own job opening portal. Openings at the time of my website visit included a statistician, IT Specialist (systems administrators are needed everywhere!), fish biologist, physical science technician, grants management specialist, budget analyst, enforcement technician, and acquisition management specialist. Fish biologist was an obvious choice but I had to click on enforcement technician to find out more. It appears to be an entry-level position related to NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement (see video insert).  

Holy mackerel, this initial career investigation blew my mind with how many employment opportunities there are within NOAA. I think my students will be impressed with the broad scope of career choices as well. 

Floating Facts

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada (in service since 2010) serves the entire West Coast and furthers the NOAA Fisheries mission to be “responsible for the stewardship of the nation’s ocean resources and their habitat.” The imperative of NOAA Fisheries is to maintain healthy ecosystems, safe sources of seafood, productive and sustainable fisheries, as well as the recovery and conservation of protected resources. NOAA’s parent agency is the U. S. Department of Commerce and so relates to economic growth and opportunity. Bell M. Shimada is known as a “quiet” ship, using technology to decrease its noise signature and increase scientists’ abilities to study fish without disturbing them. 

Bell M. Shimada, the man, was known for his studies of Pacific tuna stocks important to the development of commercial fisheries post-World War Two.  His name was chosen by a group of California high school students in a contest to name a new ship in the NOAA fleet. Born to Japanese immigrants in Seattle, Washington, he was imprisoned at Minidoka War Relocation Center in 1942 during the mass internment of Americans with Japanese ancestry. He was 20 years old at the time. He was able to leave the camp by enlisting in the U. S. Army. Shimada began as an infantryman, then an interpreter, translator, and radio traffic monitor, then compiled data on the impact of bombings in Japan. He ended up in Tokyo during its occupation and remained after the war in a civilian position where he analyzed the activities of Japanese fisheries. He returned stateside to finish a college degree that had been interrupted by internment. He went on to earn a Master’s and moved to Honolulu to work for the Fish and Wildlife Service. He worked with an influential fisheries scientist pioneering a holistic approach to fish management, blending fish biology with oceanography and meteorology. While in Honolulu he also began work on a Ph.D. The tuna research he is most well known for occurred when he was transferred to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission in La Jolla, California. 
His scientific pursuits were cut short in a plane crash en route to Mexico City on a return trip from a scientific cruise to Clarion Island off the west coast of Mexico. Shimada was just 36 years old. Think of this remarkable scientist next time you open a can of tuna…

front of a collector's card of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, fisheries survey vessel
ttext reads: Bell M. Shimada. This ship is used to study marine life, sea birds, and ocean conditions along the U.S. West Coast. Homeport: Newport, OR. Commission date: August 25, 2010. Length: 208.6 ft. Areas of operation: Pacific ocean. Fun Fact! This ship was designed to run queitly as not to disturb fish and marine mammals during research studies. www.noaa.gov/education. www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/marine-operations/ships
Bell Shimada sits, shirtless, on the deck of a vessel surrounded by coils of rope

Hook, Line, and Thinker

As a part of my interdisciplinary approach to learning in the library, I often use philosophical questioning in order to inspire dialogue among my students. Something to think about…Is taking a creature’s life justified when it benefits the greater good? Many hake have given their bodies to science in order to not only benefit human activity but their own species as well.

Hmm, I made a Freudian slip just now. I originally wrote, “when it benefits the greater food.” I guess I’ve outed myself as a meat eater and a utilitarian when it comes to the sacrifice of creaturely bodies–within reason (remember the voles)–in the name of science. 

A Bobbing Bibliography

Books I currently use in the classroom to further ocean literacy with elementary students.

Books I use with grades K-2:

  • Inky’s Amazing Escape: How a very smart octopus made his way home, by Sy Montgomery (Simon & Schuster, 2018)
  • Inky the Octopus, by Erin Guendelsberger (Sourcebooks Wonderland, 2020)
  • Octopuses One to Ten, by Ellen Jackson (Beach Lane Books, 2016)
  • Whale in a fishbowl, by Troy Howell & Richard Jones (Schwartz & Wade, 2018)
  • Deep in the Ocean, by Lucie Brunelliere (Abrams Appleseed, 2019)
  • In the Sea, by David Elliott and Holly Meade (Candlewick, 2012)
  • Alien Ocean Animals, by Rosie Colosi (National Geographic Kids, 2020)
  • Ocean! Waves for All, by Stacy McAnulty (Henry Holt and Co., 2020)

Books I use with grades 3-5:

  • The Brilliant Deep: Rebuilding the World’s Coral Reefs: The Story of Ken Nedimyer and the Coral Restoration Foundation, by Kate Messner (Chronicle Books, 2018)
  • Science Comics: Coral Reefs: Cities of the ocean, by Maris Wicks (First Second 2016)
  • Otis & Will Discover the Deep: The record-setting dive of the bathysphere, by Barb Rosentock (Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018)
  • The Mess That We Made, by Michelle Lord (Flashlight Press, 2020)
  • The Ocean Calls: A Haenyeo Mermaid Story, by Tina Cho (Kokila, 2020)
  • Manfish: Jacques Cousteau, by Jennifer Berne (Chronicle Books, 2008)
  • Ocean Speaks: How Marie Tharp revealed the ocean’s biggest secret, by Jess Keating
  • Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean’s Most Fearless Scientist (Sourcebooks Explore, 2017)
  • Marine Science for Kids: Exploring and Protecting Our Watery World, by Josh & Bethanie Hestermann (Chicago Review Press, 2017)

During the three years I was sailing through the rough waters of the pandemic I took a hard look at the ocean-themed books in our school library collection. Library acquisition budgets are always tight, so I wrote a Donors Choose grant to purchase about 50 new titles. Since this occurred while I taught remote classes, my thank you package was also virtual. Students did a lovely job documenting their thanks using the tools they had available to them. I believe my NOAA experience will help me further promote the content of 551.46!

collage of digital children's artwork, and photos of children holding up handdrawn artwork, saying "Thank you donors, we love our new ocean books!" The children's faces are covered for privacy.
collage of digital children's artwork, and photos of children holding up handdrawn artwork, saying "Thank you donors, we love our new ocean books!" The children's faces are covered for privacy.
collage of digital children's artwork, and photos of children holding up handdrawn artwork, saying "Thank you donors, we love our new ocean books!" The children's faces are covered for privacy.
book shelf displaying ocean-themed kids' titles, including Field Trip to the Ocean Deep, Maps of the World's Oceans, Inky the Octopus, Alien Deep, Down Down Down, the Ocean Book, W is for Waves, Citizens of the Sea, Whales, The Mess That We Made, Ocean! Waves for All, The Ocean Calls, and others that are not as easy to ready.
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Lisa Carlson: “No life is too short, no career too brief, no contribution too small,” July 16, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Lisa Carlson

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 5, 2023 – July 19, 2023

Mission: Fisheries: Pacific Hake Survey (More info here)

Geographic Region: Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California

Date: July 16, 2023

– – ⚓ – –

Weather Data from the Bridge

July 14 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 38° 34.9’ N, 123° 42.7’ W
15nm (17mi) West of Stewarts Point, CA

Visibility: <1 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast, fog
Wind: 19 knots from NW 330°
Barometer: 1014.6 mbar
Sea wave height: 3-4 feet
Swell: 5-6 ft from NW 300°
Sea temperature: 11.0°C (51.8°F)
Air temperature: 13.1°C (55.6°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 330°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

July 15 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 38° 56.3’ N, 124° 02.1’ W
13nm (15mi) West of Point Arena Lighthouse, Point Arena, CA

Visibility: 10 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast
Wind: 20 knots from NW 340°
Barometer: 1013.1 mbar
Sea wave height: 3-4 feet 3-4
Swell: 7-8 ft from NW 320°
Sea temperature: 10.8°C (51.4°F)
Air temperature: 13.3°C (55.9°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 270°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 9 knots

July 16 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 39° 36.2’ N, 124° 01.6’ W
14nm (16mi) Northwest of Fort Bragg, CA

Visibility: 10 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast
Wind: 29 knots from NW 320°
Barometer: 1011.4 mbar
Sea wave height: 3-4 feet
Swell: 5-6 ft from NW 320°
Sea temperature: 11.3°C (52.3°F)
Air temperature: 13.9°C (57.0°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 280°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 7 knots

– – ⚓ – –

Science and Technology Log

Without a vessel and without a crew, none of this mission would be possible. As I’ve said before, this crew is special. Like any job, employees are required, but that does not mean that you will work well cohesively and passionately towards a goal. The two weeks I’ve been spending with this crew who is so wholeheartedly excited about their job and role, while being on the ocean, has been so rewarding and inspiring. More later, this is starting to remind me of crying along with my sobbing fourth graders on the last day of school.

While I’ve discussed a lot of the daily operations of the crew and ship, and what I’ve been learning and working on myself, however, I have not discussed the vessel and agency that has made all of this possible. Many people question, “What is NOAA?” when I explain this opportunity.

About NOAA

NOAA logo: a circle bisected by the outline of a seagull, dark blue above the seagull's wings and lighter blue below. Around the circle read the words: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce.

“The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is a U.S. government agency that was formed in 1970 as a combination of several different organizations. The purpose of NOAA is to study and report on the ocean, atmosphere, and coastal regions of Earth.”

National Geographic Education: “National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)”

“Our mission: To understand and predict changes in climate, weather, ocean, and coasts, to share that knowledge and information with others, and to conserve and managecoastal and marine ecosystems and resources.”
NOAA: “About Our Agency”

NOAA: “About Our Agency”

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada can carry a total crew of 24, which include NOAA Corps officers, engineers, other crew members, and scientists.

“The NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps (NOAA Corps) is one of the nation’s eight uniformed services. NOAA Corps officers are an integral part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, and serve with the special trust and confidence of the President.”

NOAA OMO: “NOAA Commissioned Officer Corps”

The Vessel

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, commissioned in 2010, is a fisheries survey vessel designed to produce a low acoustic signature, built to collect data on fish populations, conduct marine mammal and seabird surveys, and study marine ecosystems. The quiet operation provides scientists the ability to study fish and marine mammals without significantly altering their behavior.

Stats and Specs (Link for more information)
Length: 208.60 ft
Beam (width): 49.2 ft
Draft (bottom of the lowered centerboard to waterline): 29.7 ft
Displacement (full load): 2,479 tons (4,958,000 lbs)
Speed: 11.00 knots
Endurance: 40 days
Range: 12,000 nautical miles
Home port: Newport, Oregon
Crew:
– 24 (5 NOAA Corps officers, 4 licensed engineers, and 15 other crew members)
– Plus up to 15 scientists

Namesake

“[Dr.] Bell M. Shimada (1922-1958), served with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, and was known for his studies of tropical Pacific tuna stocks.”

Wikipedia: “NOAAS Bell M. Shimada”

The ship’s namesake was known for his contributions to the study of Tropical Pacific tuna stocks, which were important to the development of West Coast commercial fisheries following World War II. Dr. Bell Shimada and colleagues at Pacific Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (POFI) Honolulu Laboratory were among the first to study the population dynamics of tunas and the oceanography affecting their abundance and distribution.

a man (Dr. Shimada) wearing a white t-shirt, shorts, and red baseball cap stands holding a penguin. He grasps the penguin securely beneath its wings, which are spread out to each side. The man, and the penguin, look at the camera. He appears to be on a vessel - we can see some ocean water in the background - and we can tell that two other people are behind him, mostly obscured.

Dr. Bell M. Shimada, circa 1957.
Wikipedia: “Bell M. Shimada”

“In her remarks at the christening and launch, [Dr. Shimada’s daughter] Julie Shimada offered the following, “I hope the Bell M. Shimada is a lasting testament that no life is too short, no career too brief, no contribution too small, to make a difference.”

NVC Foundation: “NOAA Honors Nisei With Launch of Fisheries Vessel “Bell M. Shimada””

– – ⚓ – –

Interviews with the Crew
(Part 1 of 2)

(Take note of the similarities and differences between how these crew members chose an ocean-related career and got to be assigned to NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada)

A photo of a photo in a wooden frame with a name plaque reading CDR Laura Gibson. The photo is a portait of a woman posing in a survival suit, hands in the air. She's wearing a navy blue hat that says Bell M Shimada R-227.

Executive Officer
Commander Laura Gibson

What is your role aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada?
CDR Gibson’s role includes a lot of administrative work, handling the budget, standing bridge watches as the Officer on Duty (OOD), along with other executive duties.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?
The mission and camaraderie of the crew, as well as getting to know the ship and happy, successful operations.

When did you know you wanted to pursue an ocean-related career?
CDR Gibson enjoys Scuba diving and grew up on lakes. She worked on a research ship in college and continued working on the water which led her to NOAA. She mentions her Dad as a large motivator and inspiration of wanting to pursue an ocean-related career.

What do you think you would be doing if you were not working for NOAA?
Working a boring 9-5 desk job!

Favorite animal
Rhinoceros

Fun Fact: she brings a stuffed animal dog with her from her son, named Barfolomew.

His nickname is Barf!

a stuffed animal (a brown dog with long black ears) photographed against a carpet
A photo of a photo in a wooden frame with a name plaque reading LT Nicole Chappelle. The photo is a portait of a woman wearing a blue jacket.

Operations Officer
Lieutenant Nicole Chappelle

What is your role aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada?
Coordinate with scientists to make the plan of the day, assist in navigation and operation of the vessel.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?
Nicole enjoys seeing all of the sea life and creatures, and hearing and learning what the scientists are doing and why.

When did you know you wanted to pursue an ocean-related career?
She originally wanted to work with animals, which she did as a member of a rehabilitation team at Sea World. She then wanted to join uniformed service. Nicole chose NOAA’s uniformed service (NOAA Corps) because their science missions aligned with her interests.

What do you think you would be doing if you were not working for NOAA?
Working with animals and marine life or being a scuba instructor.

Do you have an outside hobby?
Horseback riding, Scuba diving, jogging, kayaking, hiking.

What’s something you were surprised to see or learn about living and working onboard when you first started?
Nicole remarked on the times she’s been out in the ocean, hundreds of miles away from shore, and how few other vessels you see there. She says it gave her a much greater appreciation for just how big the ocean is.

Favorite animal
Horses

A photo of a photo in a wooden frame with a name plaque reading Deb Rose. This is a photo of woman wearing a green NOAA t-shirt, a purple bandana, and sunglasses.

Junior Engineer
Deb Rose

What is your role aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada?
Junior Engineer Deb Rose (in her words) handles the “hotel services” of the vessel. Her role includes plumbing, electrical work, repairs, and many other behind the scene tasks to keep the vessel running safely.

What do you enjoy the most about your role?
I get to fix stuff! Troubleshooting, figuring out what’s wrong, and fixing the problem were among steps that she described as part of her work onboard.

When did you know you wanted to pursue an ocean-related career?
While working at Firestone, Deb met and befriended Jason who became a wiper on NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. She saw pictures and heard his stories of how he is now a licensed engineer, and decided to follow in his footsteps! She mentions Jason as a motivator that inspired her to pursue an ocean-related career.

What do you think you would be doing if you were not working for NOAA?
Continue to work on the Alaska Marine Highway ferries. (These ferries cover 3,500 miles of Alaska’s coastline.)

Outside hobbies: Video games, Scuba diving, swimming, fishing

What’s something you were surprised to see or learn about living and working onboard when you first started?
How few women there still are in the industry. Deb has often been the only or one of the only female crew members both on land and at sea. She hopes that this trend will keep changing and that women will be in more engineering industries.

Favorite animal
Her favorite animals are the Jackson Chameleon and dogs.

Fun Fact: Humans are more related to salps than any other creatures we catch. She can also identify 12 Rockfish species!

A photo of a photo in a wooden frame with a name plaque reading Connor Rauch. The photo is a portrait of a man with glasses standing against a wall.

Deck Department
Connor Rauch

What is your role aboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada?
Connor is a General Vessel Assistant as part of the Deck Department. He helps deploy and recover the trawl net and CTD rosette, stands watch as a lookout, helps keep the ship clean, and much more! He took classes at Seattle Maritime Academy for one year and is now applying his education on his first NOAA vessel!

What do you enjoy the most about your role?
He is enjoying his first assignment on a NOAA vessel and traveling up and down the Pacific coast. He says he is also enjoying being on the water, applying new knowledge to tasks, and training to a real ship. He also enjoys learning about trawling and commented on how nice the people onboard are.

When did you know you wanted to pursue an ocean-related career?
He wanted to try something new after working for a non-profit group during the Covid-19 pandemic assisting those in need. He decided to work on the water since he grew up sailing and kayaking. He thought of working on local ferries, but after taking classes at Seattle Maritime Academy, he had the confidence to apply for NOAA.

Do you have an outside hobby?
Reading, kayaking, camping, and hiking.

What’s something you were surprised to see or learn about living and working onboard when you first started?
Connor said he was pleasantly surprised at how tight the crew is, how easy it is to sleep, how comfortable the ship is, and the good food!

Favorite animal
Beavers and dog

– – ⚓ – –

Personal Log

As this experience comes to the end, I reflect on all parts of this mission. The crew, vessel, marine life, food, sleep, friendships, and more. I’m so thankful I was able to have this experience and share NOAA’s Teacher at Sea program more with coworkers, family, friends, and my students. Meeting and talking with the crew resulted in long conversations and plenty of laughs and connections amongst each other that they previously had not known.

Winds and swells picked up over the weekend and on Sunday July 16 we only caught six Hake. After that trawl and an increase in marine mammals being sighted when we were trying to trawl, fishing was called off for the rest of the Leg. At 1020 Monday July 17, we completed our last transect for Leg 2 of the Survey and headed due North for the long trek to Newport, Oregon. We still found ways to entertain ourselves, nap, snack, share stories and riddles, take photos of sunsets and marine mammals, watch shooting stars and have a movie night. Below are photos of our art craft: fish prints of two Chilipepper Rockfish!

art supplies, and one rockfish now covered in pink paint, strewn across a metal table
Art station
a pair of orange gloves and two fish print papers hang to dry from a clothes line in a lab
Fish prints hanging to dry
a close up of a finished fish print -the impression of a rockfish in pink, with black and yellow colors added to emphasize the eye
Finished fish print

– – ⚓ – –

Did You Know?

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada has an endurance, the amount of time the vessel can be at sea in a row, of forty days. This is not because the ship can’t make its own fresh water through reverse osmosis from sea water, or a lack of fuel, oil, extra parts, or a way to exhume waste and trash in an environmentally friendly way…

but because of food!

Our galley crew is amazingly talented and spoils us with a huge all you can eat buffet, desserts, and drinks every day! But, as per various laws and for the safety of the crew, they are lawfully entitled to fresh fruit, vegetables, meat, etc. within set guidelines and window of time.

view of the salad bar and food service window in the mess; crewmembers receive their meals here
Salad and food service bar in galley
a fruit bar with melons, strawberries, grapes, kiwis, cherries, etc
Fresh fruit
the seating area for meals; we can see blue tables and black chairs. the chairs have blue tennis balls stuck on the ends of their legs to reduce sliding on a moving vessel
Ship’s mess


– – ⚓ – –

Animals Seen Today

Pacific White-Sided Dolphins! Although these energetic friends caused us to abandon a trawl attempt after multiple marine mammal watches ended early because of their presence, they were so much fun to watch! I brought my DSLR camera up to the bridge deck and eventually sat down on the deck watching them jump and race through the ocean waters next to the hull. Below are some of my favorite photos I took of the pod.

a gray-and-white dolphin leaping entirely out of the water - this photo captures the point where it is almost perfectly horizontal
two gray and white dolphins leaping out of the water; only their heads and dorsal fins are visible emerging from an explosion of sea spray
a gray and white dolphin leaping entirely out of the water; this image catches it with nose down and tail fin up as it returns to the ocean
three gray and white dolphins leaping above the water, about to re-enter
5 dolphins are visible in this shot; four below the surface of the water, while the farthest one leaps above the water
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Lisa Carlson: Where Did You Come From, Where Did You Go? July 13, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Lisa Carlson

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 5, 2023 – July 19, 2023

Mission: Fisheries: Pacific Hake Survey (More info here)

Geographic Region: Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California

Date: July 13, 2023

– – ⚓ – –

Weather Data from the bridge:

July 11 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 37° 46.7’ N, 123° 26.6’ W
43nm (50mi) West of San Francisco, CA

Visibility: 2 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast, fog
Wind: 20 knots from N 250°
Barometer: 1015.2 mbar
Sea wave height: 2-3 feet
Swell: 6-7 ft from NW 320°
Sea temperature: 12.2°C (57.2°F)
Air temperature: 12.7°C (57.9°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 270°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

July 12 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 38° 06.8’ N, 123° 01.6’ W
7nm (8mi) North of Point Reyes Lighthouse, Inverness, CA

Visibility: 2 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast, fog
Wind: 12 knots from N 350°
Barometer: 1016.0 mbar
Sea wave height: 1-2 feet
Swell: 3-4 ft from W 280°
Sea temperature: 11.0°C (57.2°F)
Air temperature: 11.5°C (57.9°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 270°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

July 13 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 38° 17.3’ N, 123° 06.1’ W
2.5nm (4mi) Southwest of Bodega Bay, CA

Visibility: 3 nautical miles
Sky condition: Few clouds, fog
Wind: 13 knots from NW 300°
Barometer: 1015.9 mbar
Sea wave height: 1-2 feet 1-2
Swell: 3-4 ft from NW 300°
Sea temperature: 10.7°C (51.3°F)
Air temperature: 13.7°C (56.6°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 340°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

– – ⚓ – –

In my July 6 post, I explained how NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada is equipped to collect acoustic data in the form of echo grams and therefore find fish to trawl for. In my July 10 post, I explained how we get the fish onboard, and what we do with the sample once it is collected from the net. These entries described what work is done in the Acoustics Lab and the Wet Lab, but there is one more Lab onboard to explore and explain: the Chemistry Lab.

view down the starboard side of NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada shows a wooden nameplate (reading Bell M Shimada) on a railing, the fast rescue boat mounted aftward, and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada leaving Pier 30/32 in San Francisco, CA on July 5, 2023. (Just a nice photo taken by me that I wanted to include)

Science and Technology Log

Each morning after breakfast, we usually gather in the Acoustics Lab, determine what transect we are on, if we are inshore or offshore, and in some ways: hurry up and wait. Once certain patterns and blips show up on the echo grams, the Acoustics team talks with the bridge and may request to turn around and attempt a trawl. After all marine mammal observations are completed, the net is retrieved, and the samples are brought to the Wet Lab, we sort and collect data on the samples. These operations usually take place between 0800 and 2000. (8am to 8pm)

So what happens at night? In the Chemistry Lab, scientists work with the Deck and Surveys Departments to deploy a collection of electronic instruments and 12 Niskin bottles (open bottles used to collect and hold water samples, about one meter long) secured to a cylindrical frame called a rosette. It is deployed from the side sampling station instead of the stern. Scientists onboard NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada use the instruments and collection of water samples in two ways: measuring Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth (CTD) within a water column to study oceanography, and collecting environmental DNA (eDNA).

photo of a large piece of sampling equipment on deck. a large white metal cylindrical frame houses a ring of perhaps ten tall gray canisters - the Niskin bottles. The bottles circle the conductivity, temperature, and depth probe, which is barely visible. Behind the frame, past the ship's rail, we see vivid blue water with a few white caps and a coastal mountain range beyond.

CTD Niskin bottles arranged on a circular rosette frame.

“Nighttime operations primarily consists of deploying the Conductivity-Temperature [-Depth] (CTD) rosette which gathers oceanographic data such as conductivity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll fluorescence. The CTD can also be triggered to collect water at specific depths.”

NOAA Fisheries: “eDNA Part 2: There’s a Lot of Water in the Sea – and the Chemistry Lab”
NOAA Ocean Exploration: “What does “CTD” stand for?”

Conductivity, Temperature and Depth: CTD

CTD stands for conductivity (ability to pass an electrical current), temperature, and depth. Scientists use the rosette frame, which is attached to the ship by cables, and has the CTD and 12 Niskin bottles attached, to collect electronic data and multiple water samples.

“A CTD device’s primary function is to detect how the conductivity and temperature of the water column changes relative to depth. Conductivity is a measure of how well a solution conducts electricity and it is directly related to salinity. By measuring the conductivity of seawater, the salinity can be derived from the temperature and pressure of the same water. The depth is then derived from the pressure measurement by calculating the density of water from the temperature and the salinity.”

NOAA Ocean Exploration: “What does “CTD” stand for?”
Elysha, wearing an orange life vest and white NOAA logo hard hat, sits at a metal desk with two computer monitors and a keyboard. The monitors display data from the CTD. Elysha has her right hand on a computer mouse while her left grips a pen over a yellow legal pad. She is turning to smile at the camera.
Senior Survey Technician Elysha Agne gives commands to the Deck Department running the winch and cable to the rosette, and ensures quality data is being collected at each sampling depth.

“For more detailed analyses back in the lab, each of the large gray bottles captures a water sample at a different depth. The data provide scientists important information about the local aquatic environment.”

NOAA: “Photo story: Virtually cruise aboard a NOAA ship for a fish trawl survey”

Depending on the depth at which the vessel is currently operating, the rosette will descend to one to five predetermined depths (50m-500m) for sampling. For example, if the vessel depth reads 400m, water samples will occur at 50m, 150m, 200m, and 300m (more information in Table 1 below). A water sample is also taken just below the ocean surface using a through hull fitting, which allows seawater to be collected via a hole in the hull that feeds directly to the Chem Lab.

Table 1. Sample depths for eDNA. Two independent samples should be taken at each depth. The total ocean depth of location for the CTD cast determines the depths at which water samples will be collected. The rows of the table are labeled Sampling Depth (m) and the columns are labeled Topography depth of CTD cast.
Table 1 in Protocol manual, written by Chem Lab member and eDNA scientist Abi Wells.

While the rosette descends, data is recorded from multiple sensors and are later used by scientists to compare with Acoustic and Wet Lab data and compile and categorize new information from the survey. Pressure, depth, temperature, conductivity, salinity, oxygen, fluorescence, and turbidity were all being recorded during this leg of the survey mission.

photo of a computer screen displaying data. two graphs depict depth (m) on the y-axis and salinity or dissolved oxygen on the x-axes.
Program displaying data collected from the CTD rosette in real time.

Environmental DNA: eDNA

During the day, Hake stay in deeper waters, averaging around 200-350m, but at night the nocturnal feeders start their daily migration through the water column to shallower depths. They feed primarily on zooplankton, shrimp, myctophids (Lanternfish), and even young Hake at this depth. As Hake move throughout the water column, they leave behind DNA in the water that can be collected later as sort of a signature of their presence in that location. The collection, filtering, and preservation of sampled water in the ocean environment is categorized as collecting eDNA. This environmental DNA can be in the form of gametes (reproductive cells), fish scales, feces, etc.

Collecting water samples at different depths in the same vertical column can show what marine life was present at that location, and what depth they were at. I relate it to reviewing school security cameras or talking to other teachers at the end of the school day, to determine where a student was at a certain time and why.

The apparatus housing the CTD probe and Niskin rosette sits on deck. Abi, wearing a yellow hard hat, orange life vest, blue gloves and brown rubber boots, stands between the equipment and the rail of the ship to empty water from a Niskin bottle into a plastic bag. The profile of her face is mostly obscured by her long yellow ponytail.
Chem Lab member and eDNA scientist Abi Wells collecting a 2.5L water sample from a Niskin bottle after a successful CTD deployment.

When the rosette is back on deck, scientists use gloves and new collection bags called Whirlpacks, to collect approximately 2.5L of water from each 10L Niskin bottle. This process is conducted with a great emphasis on sterility, including wiping the bottle spigot with DNAway to remove any contaminants, using new materials, and not allowing fingers or the spigot to touch the collection bag.

White paper is taped down on a bench in the wet lab. On it are rows of water filtering cups mounted on gray horizontal pipes attached to hoses. Each filter cup is topped with a paper filter. Two have funnels attached; additional funnels, still sealed, line the workbench behind the filtering cups.
Sterile work site being set up to pour water samples into the cups and strain through the filters.
blue gloved hands pour water from a clear plastic bag into a funnel attached to a filtering cup. nearby, three plastic pitchers serve as holders for open plastic bags will filled with water.
Chem Lab member and eDNA scientist Abi Wells pouring a 2.5L water sample into the corresponding cup to strain through the filter.

Once the collection bags are filled and brought to the Chem Lab, filtration occurs using 1.0 micron filters. Although this size of filter, compared to smaller filters, allows some cells to pass through and not be collected, it is faster and results in less breakage of cells and loss of DNA. After 2.5L of the water sample is poured through individual filters for each depth sample, they are placed in pre-labeled (location and depth information) tubes with 2mL of preservative buffer. The tubes are stored at room temperature and away from UV light until NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada is back in port and the samples can be further researched in on-land laboratories. Results from additional studies help to compile lists of marine life that was present in the water column and can be compared to acoustic data and species caught and logged in the Wet Lab.

– – ⚓ – –

Personal Log

So, there you have it. Three Labs onboard that conduct very different research, but fit together in the puzzle of Hake development, migration, diet, niches, ecosystem, biomass, and supporting sustainable commercial fisheries. Each additional piece of data; whether it be echo sounds, physical samples, eDNA, or CTD information, strengthens the others and helps to create a cohesive summary of the data. 

This was a lot to learn in the first few days, but as I’ve said before, all of the crew has been welcoming, supportive, and educational. Having a strong team that works together is priceless, and thoroughly noticed and appreciated. 

A few days into the mission my Mom asked me what the best part of my day was. I had three answers and haven’t had a day yet with only one answer. I replied that it was the great salmon dinner, clean clothes, and seeing Risso’s Dolphins for the first time.

Video taken by me of Risso’s Dolphins surfacing for air. (Plays on loop)

We are now a little more than halfway through the mission and it has truly flown by. We’ve shared riddles and daily Final Jeopardy questions. We’ve laughed over daily experiences and the faces Hake fish make. We’ve played music and watched baseball during dinner. We enjoy watching marine life and breathe in the salt air while strengthening our sea legs. Sometimes we just drink coffee and snack and enjoy this opportunity with each other, and that makes every part of the day the best part.

– – ⚓ – –

Did You Know?

Although Hake are occasionally cannibalistic, they are not at the top of their food chain. Humboldt Squid (Remember those 15 foot long tentacles in my Wet Lab post?), Dogfish Sharks, and marine mammals are all predators, as well as commercial fishing.
Today well over 100 Spiny Dogfish Sharks were inadvertently caught in the trawl, in the same location as the baskets of Hake we sampled from.
Maybe there were baby Hake fish in the sharks’ stomachs… we didn’t attempt to find out.

a white plastic basket of small sharks
Basket one of Spiny Dogfish
a white plastic basket of small sharks
Basket two of Spiny Dogfish

– – ⚓ – –

New Terms/Phrases

Although I had learned the terms a few days earlier, I got to help Wet Lab Lead Ethan Beyer collect otolith and stomach samples for the first time from a sub-sample of Hake the other day.

I watched and learned, then helped scan barcodes of otolith sample bottles, add 95% ethanol that is diluted 50/50 with water, and delicately pick up the ear bones with tweezers and place them in the bottle.

Additionally, each Hake in the sub-sample has its weight recorded, along with length, sex, and developmental stage. From that sub-sample, five stomachs are removed for later analysis, and five have their stomachs opened and their diet is recorded. We often find Lanternfish (Myctophids), Krill (Euphausiidae) and small Hake.

Two orange-gloved hands reach toward a fish on an electronic scale. the ichthystick measuring board is on the table in front of the scale. To the right, in the foreground of the photo, is a large styrofoam case holding small glass sample bottles upright. about two thirds are capped with black caps, while the rest are empty.
Wet Lab Lead Ethan Beyer weighing a Hake sample. Otolith tubes are in the foreground, those with lids have samples inside them and have been scanned into the database with other measurements and samples data from the Hake.
Posted on

Lisa Carlson: One Fish, Two Fish, Rockfish, Hake fish! July 10, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Lisa Carlson

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 5, 2023 – July 19, 2023

Mission: Fisheries: Pacific Hake Survey (More info here)

Geographic Region: Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California

Date: July 10, 2023

– – ⚓ – –

Weather Data from the bridge:

July 7 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 36° 00.4’ N, 122° 05.9’ W
16nm (21mi) West of Big Sur, CA

Visibility: 10 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast
Wind: 20 knots from NW 330°
Barometer: 1013.1 mbar
Sea wave height: 3-4 feet
Swell: 6-7 ft from NW 320°
Sea temperature: 14.0°C (57.2°F)
Air temperature: 14.4°C (57.9°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 323°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

July 8 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 36° 34.5’ N, 122° 05.3’ W
17nm (20mi) Southwest of Monterey, CA

Visibility: 10 nautical miles
Sky condition: Few clouds
Wind: 19 knots from NW 330°
Barometer: 1013.8 mbar
Sea wave height: 5-6 feet
Swell: 6-7 ft from NW 330°
Sea temperature: 14.0°C (57.2°F) 13.7
Air temperature: 14.4°C (57.9°F) 14.3
Course Over Ground: (COG): 089°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

July 9 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 37° 06.8’ N, 123° 00.5’ W
30nm (35mi) West of Pigeon Point Light Station, Pescadero, CA

Visibility: 10 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast
Wind: 13 knots from NW 332°
Barometer: 1016.0 mbar
Sea wave height: 2-3 feet
Swell: 4-5 ft from NW 310° 4-5
Sea temperature: 14.3°C (57.7°F)
Air temperature: 15.2°C (59.4°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 093°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

July 10 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 37° 26.7’ N, 123° 06.4’ W
32nm (37mi) West of Pescadero, CA

Visibility: 8 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast, fog in vicinity
Wind: 20 knots from NW 330°
Barometer: 1015.9 mbar
Sea wave height: 2-3 feet
Swell: 3-4 ft from NW 320°
Sea temperature: 14.5°C (58.1°F)
Air temperature: 13.6°C (56.5°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): 314°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 3 knots

– – ⚓ – –

Science and Technology Log

Lisa poses for a photo in the wet lab with a hake fish. She's wearing heavy-duty orange overalls and large orange gloves. With her right hand, she grasps the fish by its open mouth, and her left hand holds on to the tail. We can see metal tables and equipment in the background.
Me holding a Hake before sorting. After observation, we determined this was a developmentally mature female, measuring 50cm (20in) long!

In my July 6 blog post, I explained how NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada is equipped to collect acoustic data in the form of echo grams. The acoustics team uses the data to determine if there are enough return signals to suggest fish are present and attempt a trawl. In this blog post, I will explain how we get the fish onboard, and what we do with the sample of marine life once it is collected from the net.

One question I had after learning about the acoustics and environmental DNA (eDNA) pieces of the survey mission was, “How does physically collecting and researching Hake samples fit into the puzzle of understanding their ecosystem and supporting sustainable fisheries?” (NOAA Fisheries quick facts and video here)

“While echosounders are useful, they do not provide certain quantitative data that researchers need to understand the ecology of these organisms and the midwater zone. To collect quantitative data, such as biomass, length and weight, and age class distributions, researchers must gather representational samples and take direct measurements of them. The best way to do this is by employing trawls.”

NOAA Ocean Exploration: “Trawls”

So, although acoustics and eDNA research is important to the overall survey, they are only pieces of the puzzle, and the puzzle is not complete without conducting trawls and physically researching samples. NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada uses a midwater trawl net that is deployed from the stern over the transom, and towed behind the vessel. As the name suggests, midwater trawls occur in the middle section of the water column, versus surface and bottom trawls. The net is conical in shape and uses two metal Fishbuster Trawl Doors, and two sets of heavy chain links called Tom weights, in order to keep the trawl in the middle of the water column.

a simple and stylized monochrome illustration of a fishing vessel towing a midwater trawl behind it. The net in tow is conical, attached at four points to two bars that hold the opening apart, and these bars are attached to lines (ropes) extending back from the vessel. This net is capturing two fish and missing a third.
NOAA Fisheries: “Fishing Gear: Midwater Trawls”

“The midwater region is especially important because the creatures that inhabit it constitute the majority of the world’s seafood. Understanding the ecology of midwater organisms and their vast environment can provide us with better information to manage these important natural resources and prevent their overexploitation.”

NOAA Ocean Exploration: “Trawls”

Deck department assisting in recovering the trawl net after a successful deployment.

Two deck crewmembers work with an orange and white fishing net on the aft deck of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. They are wearing foul weather gear, life vests, and hard hats. At right, one leans over the net, searching for remaining captured fish. The other approaches from the left, looking down at the net, to assist. We can see a cloud-capped mountain range in the distance beyond the water.

Once the net is onboard, the net is emptied one of two ways depending on the size of the sample. For large samples, marine life is deposited into a hopper and subsequent conveyor belt. For smaller samples, the Hake will be put into a large basket then divided into smaller baskets of approximately 100 Hake each. Any other marine life like Salps, Myctophids, Pyrosomes, Rockfish, King of the Salmon, and small bony fish, etc. are recorded in the database and returned to the ocean.

“The ship’s wet lab allows scientists to sort, weigh, measure and examine fish. The data is entered directly into the ship’s scientific computer network.”

NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO): “Bell M. Shimada”
a large black plastic bin filled with fish - mostly hake, but a few splitnose rockfish (eyes bulging from the pressure change) stand out for their red color. An orange-gloved hand reaches toward the basket from the upper left corner of the image.

Large basket containing a sample of Hake with a few (red) Splitnose Rockfish.

a view of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada’s Wet Lab with multiple scales, Ichtystick electronic measuring boards, trawl camera, vials for otolith (ear) bones, disposal chute, and tools including scalpels, tweezers, and knives.
NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada’s Wet Lab with multiple scales, Ichtystick electronic measuring boards, trawl camera, vials for otolith (ear) bones, disposal chute, and tools including scalpels, tweezers, and knives.
Maddie, in the wet lab, holds a hake fish up for a photo. She is wearing a long-sleeved shirt, heavy-duty orange overalls, and large orange gloves. Her hair is tied back in two double braids and topped with a teal bandana. She holds the fish in two hands, horizontally, at the level of her mouth, so we cannot see her smiling, but we can see her arch her eyebrows as she looks straight at the camera.
Wet Lab team member Maddie Reifsteck holding a Hake sample.
a close-up view of a pile of fish and other marine organisms at the end of a metal chute and on a table.
Hake coming down the hopper ramp and onto the conveyor belt. Also in photo: Pinkish-brown Sea Pickle (Pyrosome) and translucent Salp.
a close-up view of a pile of hake fish
Basket of freshly caught Hake waiting to be sexed, sorted and have their length measured.
two hands, wearing blue or purple latex gloves, hold a sampled hake fish upside down against a measuring board on a metal table. the fish has been sliced open lengthwise along its ventral (bottom) side. The hands open the fish's skin to get a better view of the organs inside; the right hand is also grasping a wooden-handled scalpel, not yet in use. 
Chemistry Lab team member Abi Wells using a scalpel to remove an organ sample from a Hake for further research of RNA.

With our boots and bright orange rubber pants and gloves on, our first task is to distribute the sample of Hake into baskets of about 100 each. Based on how many baskets we fill, a random selection of baskets will be kept, and the others will be returned to the ocean. With the remaining groups of Hake, we determine their sex and length.

In order to do this, we use a scalpel to make an incision on the underside/belly of the Hake. Once open, we are able to examine their organs, including the gonads to determine if the fish is male or female, and if they are developmentally immature or mature. Young Hake are difficult to sex, and it takes practice to get over any initial fears of cutting into an animal; let alone being able to locate and identify the gonads. Hake usually spawn in early winter, so many of the smaller Hake we sample from during the summer are age one or younger.

Our largest Hake thus far was a developmentally mature female, measuring 50cm (20in). In order to accurately and consistently measure the length of the sample, we use a waterproof, magnetic plastic board with metric (centimeter and millimeter) markings called an Ichthystick (think: high-tech meter stick). The fish is placed on the board with its mouth touching the black board at 0cm, then a magnetic stylus is placed at the fork of the fish’s tail. Once the magnetic stylus is placed on the board, the length to the nearest millimeter is displayed on the LCD screen and automatically entered into the database program. The length data is grouped with the date, time, and identified sex for later observation and comparison.

Additional information, abstracts and outline about Ichthystick here

Ichthystick’s LCD display, motherboard, magnetic board, and magnetic stylus. Digital scale in background.

Ichthystick’s LCD display, motherboard, magnetic board, and magnetic stylus. Digital scale in background.

An even smaller subgroup is then selected and examined to record weights of individual Hake, collect ear bones called Otoliths for aging, stomach samples for diet, liver for RNA, and ovaries for maturity development. Otolith bones help determine the age of the Hake because they grow a new “layer” of bone each year, similar to coral structures and annual tree rings. Organs and bones removed from the Hake are sent to NOAA Fisheries centers for analysis and included in databases with the date, identified sex, length, weight, and location in which they were collected.

This data is used to build more of the puzzle, along with acoustical information, water samples, and eDNA data in order to further understand the ecosystem, biomass, diet, and

“support sustainable populations of Pacific hake on the West Coast.” (…)
“It provides vital data to help manage the migratory coastal stock of Pacific hake. The hake survey, officially called the Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Ecosystem and Pacific Hake Acoustic Trawl Survey, occurs every odd-numbered year.”

NOAA Fisheries: “Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Ecosystem and Pacific Hake Acoustic Trawl Survey”

– – ⚓ – –

Personal Log

Although this subtopic of explaining the Integrated Ecosystem and Pacific Hake Acoustic Trawl Survey is a bit easier to understand than my July 6 Acoustics Lab post, it certainly does not mean it’s an easy task!

When I had a tour on July 4, I remarked how clean and organized the Wet Lab is. I hadn’t see it in action yet, but noticed how everything had its place and use. On July 6 we conducted our first trawl and collected a sample of 11 baskets of Hake (approximately 1,100 Hake since we group about 100 Hake together in each basket.) From that sample, we kept four baskets and counted, sexed, and measured 541 Hake.

Five of us were working together in the Wet Lab for that haul. I’ll admit I probably didn’t sex 100+ Hake. It took a few minutes of watching the others carefully and swiftly cut into the underside of a fish, open the two sides, and know what to look for to determine the sex of very young Hake. Eventually I found the courage to slice in and take a look. By the fourth or fifth Hake, the uneasiness had subsided and I found the process very interesting and educational. Although young samples are hard to sex as they are often undeveloped, the others encouraged me and answered my questions and guesses with enthusiasm and support.

While working on measuring the lengths of our samples, one Science Team member paused and remarked how beautiful he found the fish. Although they do not have vibrant, bold colors, shimmering scales, or anything else particularly remarkable, he found the beauty in them. He digressed into a conversation of their role in the ecosystem, how they are living and breathing creatures, and how they probably all have their own personalities and slight physical differences. I noticed some of their eyes were shiny and sparkling, and how their faces and expressions were noticeably unique the more you looked. That “down to earth”, heartfelt discussion was very special and demonstrated how the crew respects the process of catching and sampling Hake, while keeping each other and marine mammals safe.

From the NOAA Corps Officers, to the deck department, to the engineers, electronics, science team, survey team, galley crew, volunteers, and everyone in between; the crew on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada is special. They take pride in their vessel and job, and always seem to have a smile and kind greeting. Being away from land and loved ones for weeks and months at a time will certainly take a toll on the body and mind, but this team is there for each other. To all of the crew, thank you for making me feel so welcomed and appreciated. We’re almost halfway through the mission, and as tired as I may get after (sometimes) 12+ hour days, I sleep well knowing the crew trusts their vessel and each other; and look forward to learning and becoming more and more acquainted each day with the people that make this mission possible. Thank you!

– – ⚓ – –

Did You Know? (FAQs)

1. Are you finding schools of them?

We’ve had seven successful trawls out of nine attempts for Pacific Hake fish. They often come with pyrosomes (Sea Pickle) myctophids (Lanternfish), and salps in the net too. Some trawl attempts are successful without a hitch, but more often than not we have to restart our Marine Mammal watches a few times before deploying in order to keep our ocean life safe and not get tangled in the net. Two trawl attempts have been abandoned because of the amount of persistent marine mammal life and playfulness near the ship. (I think they know we’re watching and show off for our cameras.)

2. What’s your average depth?

The transects (Set and numbered longitudinal east-west lines NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada navigates on while collecting acoustic data) usually range from 50m – 1,500m (164ft – 4,921ft) in depth.

  • However, right now one of the displays in the Acoustics Lab, the depth reading is 3,240m which is about 10,630ft or just over two miles deep! 
  • This depth is only 1,870ft shallower than the wreck of the RMS Titanic! 
  • (We were on a long transect, we do not often see depths this great.)

3. Have you gotten seasick? Seasickness should subside after about 3 days.

I’ve never gotten seasick thankfully! Knock on wood and all the other premonitions, please.

4. What is the Hake role in the ecosystem?

More info on this coming in later posts after explaining our Chemistry lab and technology aboard! 

  • However, as predators, they can be cannibalistic towards their own kind. 
  • As far as their role in human consumption: They are often used as a substitute for Cod and Haddock, and in fish sticks and imitation crab meat.

– – ⚓ – –

Animals seen July 5-July 10:

Mammals: Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Dall’s Porpoise, Risso’s Dolphins, Pacific White-Sided Dolphins, Northern Right Whale Dolphins, Humpback Whales

Birds: Gulls, Black-Footed Albatross

Bony Fish: Hake, Lanternfish (Myctophid), Flatfish, King of the Salmon, Split Nose Rockfish, Chili Pepper Rockfish

Other Marine Life: Giant or Humboldt Squid (15 foot tentacles in trawl), Spiny Dogfish Shark, Shrimp, Plankton, Krill, Sea Pickle (Pyrosome), Salp, Eel Larva

a spiny dogfish - a species of small shark - placed on a fish measuring board atop a metal table. a scale is visible next to the measuring board.
Spiny Dogfish Shark (42cm or 16in long)
three impressively long squid tentacles laid out on the floor; they are orange-brown on top, and white underneath, lined with white suckers (suction cups) of varying size
Giant or Humboldt Squid (15 foot tentacles in trawl)
Posted on

Lisa Carlson: Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are, Hake! July 6, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Lisa Carlson

NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

July 5, 2023 – July 19, 2023

Mission: Fisheries: Pacific Hake Survey (More info here)

Geographic Region: Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California

Date: July 6, 2023

Weather Data from the Bridge:

— July 5 Departure
(1800 PT, 2100 EST)
Location: 37° 44.9’N, 122° 39.2’W
Docked at Pier 30/32
San Francisco, CA

Visibility: 10 nautical miles
Sky condition: Overcast
Wind: 17 knots from NW 300°
Barometer: 1012.8 mbar
Sea wave height: 1-2 feet
Swell: 2-4 ft from W 270°
Sea temperature: 14.2°C (57.6°F)
Air temperature: 14.7°C (58.5°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): N/A
Speed Over Ground (SOG): N/A

— July 6 (1200 PT, 1500 EST)
Location: 35° 38.2’ N, 121° 18.9’ W
16nm (18mi) West of San Simeon, CA

Visibility: 10nm
Wind: 6 knots from 330°
Barometer: 1013.9
Sea wave height: 1-2ft
Swell: 2-4ft from 280°
Sea wave temperature: 14.4°C (57.9°F)
Air temperature: 14.9°C (58.8°F)
Course Over Ground: (COG): W 270°
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 10 knots

– – ⚓ – –

Science and Technology Log

On July 6, our first full day at sea, we gathered in the acoustics lab to observe and keep watch on data from various screens. Data includes our current course plotted on a digital chart, a camera showing current sea state, measurements of the wind speed and direction, and displays of the multiple frequencies at which the Simrad EK80 transmitter emits sound. The EK80 is used while traveling on numbered longitudinal east-west lines called transects. NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada navigates on these lines while collecting acoustic data along the west coast of the U.S. and into Canada, in hopes of finding schools of Hake to collect for surveying.

A topographic map of a portion of the coast of California. The topographies of the both the land (beige and green scales) and water (blue scale) are depicted. Black dots mark the locations of three coastal cities: Crescent City, near the top of the map; San Francisco, a little more than halfway down; and Morro Bay, toward the bottom of the map. Black horizontal lines mark transects extending west from the coast line. The black lines are marked with red or black x's (showing previous sampling locations, perhaps) and a couple have green triangles.
Map showing transects 1-45 off the coast of California. Transect 1 is south of Morro Bay, CA and transect 45 is near Crescent City, CA.
(We hope to survey transects 8-35 by Cape Mendocino, CA before traveling north to dock in Newport, OR.)

“For acoustic surveys, the ship uses a multibeam echo sounder (MBES) that projects a fan-shaped beam of sound that bounces back to the ship. The ship’s MBES—one of only three systems of its type worldwide—acquires data from both the water column and the sea floor.”

NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO): “Bell M. Shimada”

The Simrad EK80 emits sound waves from the hull of the vessel down to the sea floor. The process is very similar to a dolphin or bat using echolocation to find prey. Any object the signal hits that has a different density and reflectivity than the surrounding water will cause the waves to bounce back to the ship. An image, called an echo gram, is pieced together each time this occurs and the acoustics team is able to use this information to determine if there are enough return signals that suggest fish are present to attempt a trawl.

photo of a computer screen depicting data
EK80 displaying returned sound waves at two different wave frequencies.
photo of a computer screen showing sonar readings
Display from sonar camera showing the outer edge of the net (between ring 2 and 3)
illustration of a ship at the surface of the ocean, with the ocean cut away to show a cone (representing sound pulses) extending from the ship's hull, toward the seafloor, over a school of fish
Image demonstrating the use of a MBES
“The sound pulses travel down into the water column, illustrated by the white cones here, and bounce back when encountering resistance.”
NOAA Fisheries: “Acoustic Hake Survey Methods on the West Coast”

Fish that have swim bladders, like bony fish, reflect or echo the sound wave back to the vessel very strongly. Other marine life such as myctophids and zooplankton also have a different density than the sea water, and reflect sound, although not as strongly as fish with air-filled swim bladders. The sea floor itself also reflects sound very strongly, because of the density difference between water and rocks, sand, and mud.

Marine life that have swim bladders (represented in blue) reflect or echo the sound wave back to the vessel. Examples of such marine life include bony fish, myctophids, and zooplankton, as well as the sea floor itself, which has a different density than the sea water.

Image: Cross section example of a Black Sea Bass to show a swim bladder.

an illustrated diagram of the internal anatomy of a bony fish (perhaps a black sea bass). Labels mark the locations of the gills, kidney, swim bladder, urine bladder, gonad, intestine, spleen, stomach, liver, and heart.

If the acoustics team determines there is enough marine life (that they are interested in surveying) to attempt a haul, they will notify the bridge deck and officers that they would like to have the fishing net deployed.

Before an attempted haul, the science team conducts a marine mammal watch for ten minutes. In this time window, several pairs of eyes are observing from the bridge deck and stern for any signs of dolphins, whales, sea lions, seals, and any other marine mammals that are within 500 meters of the vessel. If any marine mammals are spotted within the ten minute observation, we will stand down and wait ten minutes before restarting the marine mammal watch. Net deployment cannot occur until the full observation window has completed.

First haul July 6:
1422-1432 Mammal watch, no marine mammals spotted.
The net deployment started, at which time the vessel continues forward at two knots. Vessel speed increases to three knots when the net is fully deployed with doors and weights in the water, which assist in opening the conical shaped net outwards linearly and laterally. During this time the science team watches displays of the EK80 frequencies and observe the linear width and depth of the net. Scientists can compare these displays to determine if the net is in the correct position to have the best chance of collecting fish.

A man and a woman stand looking down at a row of computer monitors on the bridge. In the background, we see a map table, additional control panels, and the back of a NOAA Corps officer who is likely driving the vessel. A line of windows (only white visible through them) tells us this is the bridge.
Chief Scientist Steve de Blois monitoring EK80 frequencies and net information.
a view over the aft deck of NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada from a high point, perhaps the flying bridge. We can see a large A-frame with a big pulley; a large spool with yellow cables pays out to deploy a net (not visible) into the water. Several crewmembers, wearing life vests and hard hats, attend the operation. In the distance, beyond the water, there is a line of coastal mountains, topped with clouds.
Deck department deploying fishing net.
Two men wearing orange fish gloves lean down to sort through a large black bin full of sampled fish. One is reaching for a fish; the other is moving a handful of fish over to a smaller plastic green basket. Another pair of gloved hands is visible.
Wet Lab team takes over sorting Hake and other marine life.

Hauling back the net occurs after several minutes, at which time the vessel returns to a speed of two knots, and we estimate how many fish were collected. The amount of time in which the net is submerged depends on the depth of the water and acoustic information about the size of the school of fish the net is (hopefully) sampling. After recovery, the haul is deposited into a hopper which feeds onto a conveyor belt in the wet lab, then into large baskets and the wet lab team takes over.

During the first attempt, two sea lions were spotted which required the haul attempt to be paused. We restarted the ten minute marine mammal watch from 1500-1510, the deck department retrieved and reset the net, and the vessel was turned around to return to the start of the noted longitudinal transect. With no marine mammals spotted during the observation period, the second attempt was successful and resulted in:

– 1604-1634: 30 minute haul at 350m depth.

– 11 baskets of Hake collected.

– 4 sample baskets kept at random.

– 541 Hake counted and studied in the wet lab.

Photo: Two deck department members about to open the net to allow the sample to drop into a large collection basket.

Two crewmembers, dressed in orange paints and black and neon yellow coats, face away from the camera, toward a large orange net suspended from above. They may be working to empty the net.

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Personal Log

On July 4 I arrived to pier 30/32 in San Francisco, CA to board NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada. Although I grew up volunteering on the 441’ WWII Liberty Ship SS John W. Brown in Baltimore, MD, seeing a new ship still resulted in a mix of emotions, nervousness, adrenaline, excitement, and everything in between. After five and a half years, finally seeing the 208’ vessel that would become my home for the next two weeks was a core memory and feeling I will always remember.

NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada in port, as seen from a point on the dock beyond the bow. We can see the NOAA logo and read: NOAA R 227. The water is calm and turqoise; the sky is blue with clouds. A portion of what may be the Golden Gate Bridge is visible in the background.
NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada docked at Pier 30/32 in San Francisco, CA on July 4

Once onboard, I met Chief Scientist Steve de Blois and Wet Lab Lead Ethan Beyer. I was given a tour of the acoustic, chem, and wet labs and shown to my cabin. After dinner ashore, I joined some of the crew on the flying bridge to watch the July 4th fireworks. I met additional science team members and enjoyed a long night’s rest.

In the morning on July 5, we had a welcome aboard meeting, various trainings, a safety meeting and orientation, fire and abandon ship drills, and a science team meeting. We introduced ourselves, took an official team photo, and soon departed pier 30/32 for our 14 day mission. After passing under the Golden Gate Bridge and heading to the Pacific Ocean, our cold hands were warmed by a wonderful hot dinner of chicken, steak, fresh veggies, salad, and desserts from our galley crew. After dinner, we settled in for our first night at sea, waiting with anticipation for our first trawl on July 6.

Lisa Carlson, wearing her Teacher at Sea t-shirt, stands on the pier in front of NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada
Last morning on land: July 5 at Pier 30/32 in San Francisco, CA!
view down the starboard side of NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada shows a wooden nameplate (reading Bell M Shimada) on a railing, the fast rescue boat mounted aftward, and the Golden Gate Bridge in the background.
Just after taking in lines and leaving Pier 30/32 on July 5
a group photo of the science team (including Lisa, in her Teacher at Sea shirt) aboard the ship, with the Golden Gate Bridge visible in the background
Science Team!
Back: Maddie, Ethan, Toby, Jamie, Beth
Front: Myself, Steve, Abi
a view of San Francisco buildings from behind a railing of NOAA Ship Bell M Shimada
San Francisco, CA Skyline
View over the aftdeck of NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada from an upper deck, showing the wake of the ship in blue water through the A-frame that will deploy the nets
Heading out to the open sea of the Pacific Ocean

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Did You Know?

an orange-gloved hand holds a hake (fish) up so that it faces the camera. We can see the another smaller hake hanging limply across its open mouth

– Hake can be cannibalistic!
– Some larger Hake we have collected have had a smaller Hake in their mouth, throat, or stomach!
– Their very sharp teeth often stick to our thick rubber gloves.

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New Terms/Phrases:

“Salp: Barrel-shaped, planktonic tunicate in the family Salpidae. It moves by contracting, thereby pumping water through its gelatinous body.”

Wikipedia: “Salp”

“Myctophid: Lanternfish (or myctophids, from the Greek μυκτήρ myktḗr, “nose” and ophis, “serpent”) are small mesopelagic fish (…) Lanternfishes are aptly named after their conspicuous use of bioluminescence.”

Wikipedia: “Myctophid”

Simrad EK80: Multibeam Echo Sounder (MBES) transducer that emits sound waves from the hull of the vessel down to the sea floor. It allows scientists to observe and study returned sound wave signals that may suggest marine life is present.

Transect: Set and numbered longitudinal east-west lines NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada navigates on while collecting acoustic data.