Tag: NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada

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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.
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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

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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)