Nick Lee: In the Fish Lab, July 12, 2024

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Nick Lee
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
June 29 – July 20, 2024

Mission: Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Bering Sea

Date: July 12, 2024

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 60° 02.17 N

Longitude: 176° 37.3 W

Wind Speed: 14 knots

Air Temperature: 5.5° Celsius (41.9° Fahrenheit)

Science and Technology Log

Once the trawl is completed, the codend is unloaded onto a conveyor belt for sorting. Usually, we just sort by species, picking out any organisms that aren’t pollock and storing them in separate baskets. Overall, I’ve been surprised with how “clean” or uniform the catches have been. We will usually have some jellyfish, but other than that we tend to have only a few fish of other species in a catch with hundreds or thousands of pollock.

Pollock on the conveyor belt. We can see the orange rain coats and long yellow gloves of two scientists standing nearby. — *The catch is first emptied onto a conveyor belt where it is sorted by species.*

When the catch has a mix of juvenile and adult pollock, we’ll also sort them by size, which roughly correlates to age group. The size cutoff used for sorting is only an approximation of age (the exact age is determined later), but it is still useful in ensuring that we sample a consistent number of each size class in every trawl.

Distinguishing between the larger juveniles and smaller adults on the belt can be tricky, so on one trawl we got creative and found what we named a “measuring fish.” This fish was the smallest length that had been designated as an adult in the previous trawls – anything smaller we left on the belt with the juveniles and anything larger we put in a separate basket with the adults. While not the most conventional solution, it served our purpose well and showed that anything can be made into a measuring instrument!

Nick is wearing a heavy orange rain coat and long yellow gloves. He holds up two pollock fish vertically, comparing their lengths to one another. We see more fish on a sorting table in the background. — *Using a “measuring” fish to sort the catch according to size (Photo Credit: Matthew Phillips).*

Once the fish are sorted, we take length and weight measurements for a representative sample of all species in the trawl. We measure the length of hundreds of pollock in a given trawl, so luckily the system is very efficient.

When I length a pollock, I’ll grab the fish in one hand and place it on the magnetic length board so that its head is against the end at zero. Then I’ll use my other hand to straighten the fish and place a magnet at the fork of the tail. The length board records where the magnet touches the length board, measuring what is known as the “fork length” of the fish.

Pollock on length board; its head faces toward the left side of the board, near a digital meter reading the length. toward the right side, a red magnet is placed at the fork of the fish's tail. — *The length board records where the red magnet is placed.*

For a subsample of pollock, we will also record the sex and maturity of each individual. To collect this data, we’ll first make a cut along the side of the pollock. This allows us to observe the pollock’s ovaries or testes and compare them to a chart showing the stages of development. Based on the time of year, most of the pollock we catch are in the “developing” stage. Also visible are the pollock’s liver and its stomach, which is often filled with krill!

Three people stand at a long metal table wearing heavy orange raincoats and gloves. White bins, a white cutting board, and a measuring board line the table. Matthew, in the foreground, holds a fish up with two hands over a measuring board, and looks at someone over his right shoulder. Nick, in the middle, looks down at the fish that Matthew holds, and a third scientist stands beyond Nick, looking on as well. — *Scientist Matthew Phillips showing me how to identify the sex and maturity of a pollock (Photo Credit: Mike Levine).*

For a subsample of the pollock in this group, we’ll also collect otoliths, which are similar to tree rings in that they allow scientists to visually determine the age of the individual. Otoliths are part of pollock’s inner ear, and they help the fish to detect vibrations in the water. Like tree rings, they grow throughout a fish’s life, adding visible layers each year. During times when the fish is actively feeding (usually during the summer), an opaque layer forms around the otolith. In contrast, when the fish is eating less, the otolith layer formed is translucent. By studying otoliths, scientists can determine the age of a fish, as one opaque layer and one translucent layer together represent one year. (Source: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/science-data/age-and-growth)

Teacher at Sea Nick Lee removing an otolith. Nick wears a heavy orange raincoat and long yellow gloves. He holds part of a pollock in his right hand and with his left hand holds up a small white object (the otolith) with tweezers. — *Extracting an otolith from the head of a pollock (Photo Credit: Mike Levine).*

One important and sometimes overlooked step in scientific data collection is the clean-up. At Codman Academy, we use the phrase “Leave No Trace,” and I try to model this idea in the fish lab as well. Working with fish can be smelly, and the smell only grows when fish are allowed to sit for extended periods of time. The process of recording sex and extracting otoliths can be especially messy, so we are constantly spraying down baskets and surfaces (and each other!) between data collection steps.

All of the fish that are processed are ultimately disposed of overboard – usually during the processing of the trawl dozens of seabirds follow the ship in search of discarded fish!

View through a doorway of an outer deck; over the railing we see seabirds flying past the fish lab. The sky and the water are gray. — *Seabirds flying past the fish lab.*

Personal Log

Outside of my stateroom, there is a tongue-in-cheek poster claiming to be a “Bering Sea Weather Guide.” The poster has the labels “Good Day,” “Some Days,” and “Other Days,” below paint swatches, all of them different shades of gray. There are also gray paint swatches for “Summer,” “Winter,” and “Days Ending in Y.”

"Bering Sea Weather Guide," a collection of gray paint swatches labeled: Most Days, Good Days, Some Days, Other Days, Last Week, Next Week, This Week, Days Ending in Y, Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring — *“Bering Sea Weather Guide” outside my stateroom.*

We’ve certainly had our share of gray days this cruise, and I’ve become used to falling asleep to the sound of the ship’s foghorn. However, we’ve also gotten a few moments of sunshine and blue sky, providing some great moments for bird and whale watching from the bridge. Being on the night shift, I’ve also been able to observe a couple of sunsets from the water!

View from the bridge on a clear day - blue skys, scattered fluffy white clouds — *View from the bridge on a clear day (left) and sunset at sea (right).*

Sunset behind NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson - nice mix of purples, pinks, blues, yellows — *View from the bridge on a clear day (left) and sunset at sea (right).*

Did you know?

Because we are so far north and west in the time zone, the sun sets very late here, usually around 1 am!

July 12, 2024August 8, 2024

Nick Lee: Fishing, Fishing, Fishing, July 10, 2024

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Nick Lee
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
June 29 – July 20, 2024

Mission: Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Bering Sea

Date: July 10, 2024

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 50° 40.9 N

Longitude: 178° 29.9 W

Wind Speed: 20 knots

Air Temperature: 6.2° Celsius (43.1° Fahrenheit)

Science and Technology Log:

Last blog post, I talked about acoustic backscatter, which scientists on board use to locate fish. When scientists notice high-intensity backscatter – or backscatter that they’re interested in collecting more biological data about – they’ll call the bridge and ask to go fishing. The bridge then makes the announcement over the radio:

“All stations. This is the bridge. We will be fishing, fishing, fishing.”

This announcement sparks a flurry of action from scientists, NOAA officers, and the deck crew. A few scientists go up to the bridge for a marine mammal watch, where they make sure that there are no marine mammals in the area of the operation. NOAA officers navigate to the science team’s target fishing area, and the deck crew prepares the net to go in the water.

Teacher at Sea Nick Lee on marine mammal watch. Nick stands at a window on the bridge and looks out through binoculars at gray waters under a gray sky. — *Marine mammal watch on the bridge.*

Before my cruise, I thought fishing nets were relatively simple and uniform. However, I’ve since learned that the net has many different components and sensors, which help scientists collect additional information about the fish seen with acoustics.

Codend

During the trawl, the net is dragged behind the boat. Near the opening at the mouth of the net, the net’s mesh is over a meter wide. This helps reduce drag from the water, while still funneling fish toward the back of the net. The net gradually gets smaller until the very end of the net – called the codend – where the fish are collected. At the end of each trawl, the net is hauled out of the water, and the contents of the codend are emptied into a sorting table for further processing in the fish lab, where length, weight, sex, and maturity are recorded for a representative sample.

Pocket Nets

In portions of the net with larger mesh, small fish and other organisms can escape through the holes in the mesh. This creates a problem for scientists – a trawl could show that only adult pollock are present in a certain area when in reality the population is mixed, but all of the juveniles escaped! Since scientists will be using trawl samples to understand the overall population of pollock, they want to avoid bias as much as possible in their data.

To get around this problem, scientists are studying the rates at which different sized pollock (and other organisms) escape from the net. They use pocket nets, or small nets made of the same fine mesh as the codend, to get an idea of what escaped from each trawl. Nine pocket nets are attached to the side, top, and bottom of three different sections of the net with varying mesh sizes. As the trawl net is being hauled back on the boat, one of my jobs is to help empty these pocket nets and collect what’s inside.

We’ve mostly found krill and jellyfish, but occasionally we’ll find a larval fish or squid!

CamTrawl

Near the codend, there is also a camera, referred to as CamTrawl. This camera provides scientists with a visual of what is going into the net, and can be used to help identify species and length of fish that are caught.

Scientists deploying PelagiCam. View through a doorway of two scientists in orange foul weather gear and green and white hardhats standing close to one another at the railing of the ship. They face away from the camera. In the foreground, on the deck, is a spool containing yellow cable. — *CamTrawl (left) and scientists Matthew Phillips and Mike Levine deploying PelagiCam (right).*

On this cruise, scientists are also testing a camera that they lower over the side of the ship (without a net), known as PelagiCam. They are hoping that PelagiCam may be able to collect species and length data, supplementing the data captured when processing fish from the trawl. If PelagiCam can record this data accurately, it could provide an efficient complement to trawling, which requires a lot of time and collaboration between different teams of people.

Pollock seen on PelagiCam — *A pollock seen on PelagiCam (left). Posing with scientist Mike Levine in front of the PlagiCam (right).*

Teacher at Sea and scientist posing in front of PelagiCam. They are wearing foul weather gear and hard hats; Mike is also wearing a mask and gloves. — *A pollock seen on PelagiCam (left). Posing with scientist Mike Levine in front of the PlagiCam (right).*

FS70 Net Sounder

The FS70, nicknamed the Turtle, collects acoustic data and produces a live image of the net’s opening when it is in the water. This data allows scientists and the deck crew to monitor the shape of the net while fishing, ensuring that the net opened correctly. It also monitors when fish enter the net.

Live data from the FS70. a square screen mounted in a console displaying sonar data. — *FS70 (left), nicknamed the turtle, and the live data it shows scientists during a trawl.*

Personal Log:

Going fishing can sometimes be a lot of “hurry up and wait.” After the marine mammal watch, at least one scientist stays on the bridge to monitor the net using the FS70, and the others get ready to process the trawl. Letting the net out and hauling it back in is far from simple, however. It requires constant communication between the bridge and the deck crew, and it can be made more complicated by the weather or equipment malfunctions. Once the net is in the water, trawling can take anywhere from 15 minutes to over an hour.

Opening the codend is always exciting, because we’re never quite sure what we caught. While our target is always pollock, we’ll often find other interesting organisms mixed in as well. Some highlights include rockfish, squid, and a smooth lumpsucker.

close-up of a Rockfish in a white bin — *Organisms caught in the trawl so far include rockfish, squid, and smooth lumpsuckers.*

Squid in a white bin — *Organisms caught in the trawl so far include rockfish, squid, and smooth lumpsuckers.*

Did you know?

The net used on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson was specifically designed for this survey!

July 9, 2024July 11, 2024

Nick Lee: Finding Fish, July 6, 2024

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Nick Lee
Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
June 29 – July 20, 2024

Mission: Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Bering Sea

Date: July 6, 2024

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 61° 15.0 N

Longitude: 174° 56.8 W

Wind Speed: 13 knots

Air Temperature: 5.3° Celsius (41.5° F)

Science and Technology Log:

On NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, the science party’s mission is to understand the population of walleye pollock in the Eastern Bering Sea. To collect data, scientists rely on two main tools: acoustics and targeted trawling. Before any trawling can happen, scientists must first locate fish using acoustics, so I’ll be focusing on acoustics in this blog post – stay tuned for a post on trawling next time!

Scientists use two kinds of acoustics: active and passive. Many of my students are familiar with how bats use echolocation to navigate in the dark – active acoustics relies on the same principle. First, the echosounder on the ship emits a pulse of sound, or ping. This sound travels through the water and bounces off of objects that have different densities than water (such as fish, krill, or the ocean floor). The echosounder then “listens” for and records these echoes, also known as backscatter. Passive acoustics work similarly, except the echo sounder only listens for sound and doesn’t emit any itself.

illustration of a pulse of sound, depicted as a triangle, emanating from the bottom of a ship at the surface of the ocean. the triangle encompasses some of the sea creatures swimming by (depicted as simple white silhouettes) and ends at the ocean bottom. — *The echosounder emits a pulse of sound, which gets reflected by objects of different densities, like pollock.* *Image Credit: Wieczorek, Schadeberg, Reid (2021) “How do Scientists Use Sound to Count Fish in The Deep Sea?” Frontiers for Young Minds.* *https://kids.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/frym.2021.598169*

The greater the distance between the echo sounder and the object reflecting the pulse, the greater the amount of time between when the signal was emitted and backscatter. Based on this time, echosounder can determine the depth of the object producing the backscatter. This information is represented visually in an echogram:

Screenshot of an echogram. Backscatter is depicted as colored dots on a grid. in this case, the dots are densest and darkest at the shallowest depths (the ship bottom) and the deepest depths (the hard ocean botttom) — *Screenshot of an echogram. The space between vertical grid lines represents 100 pings, and the space between horizontal grid lines represents 10 meters of depth.*

The echogram shows depth on the y-axis and time on the x-axis. The intensity of backscatter is color-coded, where more intense backscatter is represented with red and brown, and less intense backscatter is represented with blue and green. The vertical grid lines represent all the backscatter from one ping, and the space between lines represent 100 pings.

On the cruise, pings are typically emitted at a rate of 1 Hz, or once every second. With every new ping, the echo sounder adds data to the right end of the echogram. This means that the horizontal grid lines represent the backscatter at one depth over time (or distance, if the ship is traveling at a constant speed).

At least one scientist monitors the backscatter throughout the duration of the transect. During the first day, the echogram was blank except for some lower-intensity backscatter near the surface and high-intensity reflection from the ocean floor. Because the mission of this cruise is to survey pollock, which tend to live at greater depths, we don’t pay much attention to the backscatter near the surface which is comprised of smaller organisms like krill. However, when scientists notice backscatter consistent with scattering from pollock, they may trawl to collect a sample for more detailed biological information.

Screenshot of two echograms showing low-intensity backscatter and high-intensity backscatter. — Echograms from two different locations showing low-intensity backscatter (left) and high-intensity backscatter (right). When the backscatter looks as it does on the right, the science team may decide to fish in that area.

As we traveled along the first transect line, there was very little backscatter that the science team thought represented pollock. Our CTD (conductivity, temperature, depth) measurements also showed that the water temperature was cold, right around freezing. This may suggest that we were traveling through the Bering Sea cold pool, a mass of cold water that forms from melting ice. This water tends to be too cold for pollock and other fishes, however, other animals, such as snow crabs, can still survive the lower temperatures. Fish like cod prey on snow crab, so the cold pool offers these crab an important refuge from predators. Read more about the importance of the cold pool for crab here!

GIF showing historical bottom temperatures in the Bering Sea from 1983 to 2018. The years 2015, 2016, and 2018 are notably warm. — *Historical bottom temperature showing cold pool in blue / purple (Image Credit: NOAA Fisheries)*

Personal Log:

The start of the cruise has been busy learning new faces, maritime practices, and scientific terms. However, in the past few days, with the help of meclizine (seasickness medication), I’ve begun to feel more settled and like I have some sense of routine.

When I’m on shift, I bounce around between a few different places. The science team tends to be in the acoustics lab, where we monitor backscatter and make decisions on when to fish.

Photo of the acoustics lab. Computers and many computer screens mounted on the wall above a long desk. — *Acoustics lab, also called “the cave” for its lack of windows.*

Once the scientists decide to fish, we first go up to the bridge, where NOAA officers control the direction and speed of the ship. The bridge has windows on all sides, so we’re able to make sure there are no marine mammals before putting the net in the water.

From the bridge, you can also see the trawl deck, where the deck crew works in collaboration with NOAA officers to put the net in the water. Once the fish are caught and hauled back to the ship, the science team processes the catch in the fish lab.

Photo of the bridge. Navigation computers surrounded by windows. — *The bridge and its view of the trawl deck.*

Photo of the trawl deck. Unspooled trawl net visible in A-frame. — *The bridge and its view of the trawl deck.*

When we’re not working, we’ll grab food from the galley / mess deck. The stewards on the ship serve three meals a day, but since I’m on the night shift, I often heat up leftovers or take advantage of the wide selection of snacks they leave out. There’s also a lounge, two gyms, and places to do laundry while at sea!

Photo of the galley, the ship's cafeteria. Tables and chairs, a refrigerator. Chair legs are capped with tennis balls to reduce sliding. — *The galley, where food is available 24 hours a day!*

Did you know?

NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson has six onboard laboratories including a wet lab, dry lab, electronics lab, bio lab, acoustics lab, and hydrographics lab. Read more about the ship here!

July 3, 2024

Nick Lee: First Days at Sea, July 2, 2024

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Nick Lee

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

June 29 – July 20, 2024

Mission: Pollock Acoustic-Trawl Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Bering Sea

Date: July 2, 2024

Weather Data from the Bridge:

Latitude: 59° 54.8 N
Longitude: 171° 54.9 W
Wind Speed: 14 knots
Air Temperature: 5.0° Celsius (41° F)

Science and Technology Log:

We’ve been sailing for just under two days, and I’ve already had an opportunity to witness lots of science aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson!

We spent the first day transiting to the start of the survey – I am part of Leg 2 for this cruise, and so we are picking up where Leg 1 left off. Since we won’t be able to find every pollock in the Bering Sea, we will need to rely on a representative sample, and then our data will be used to estimate the total stock.

The map below shows the intended path of our cruise, and the vertical lines represent transects, or lines along which we will collect data, spaced 40 nautical miles (or 74 km) apart so that we can cover the entire region with the time we have. Since we just recently arrived at the start of our survey, I’m still learning about the different data the science team will be collecting – more on that in a future blog post!

nautical chart of the Bering Sea, showing the land of Alaska to the east and a portion of Russia in the northwest. The cruise trajectory is overlaid in bold blue or red lines, with north-south transects connected by shorter westward connections. The blue transects start in Dutch Harbor and head west; the red transects are farther west — Map of the survey with the portion that I’ll be participating in shown in red, and the portion that has already been completed in blue.

On our way to our survey site, I was able to launch a drifter buoy through NOAA’s Adopt-a-Drifter Program. Unlike some other buoys, a drifter buoy is not fixed to the ocean floor. Instead, they float and “drift” with the ocean currents. Importantly, drifters are equipped with some sort of drogue – an underwater anchor. This way, the surface float (and the drogue) will move with ocean currents, but won’t be influenced as much by wind.

illustrated diagram of a drifter buoy. a white ball floats at the water line; this is labeled "Surface float - designed for moving on the surface with currents." The float has an Antenna, labeled: "the drifters transmit the data they collect as well as their position via satellite." Data is depicted as a gray triangle extending up from the antenna to a satellite in the sky, which is communicating with a satellite dish on land. Beneath the float, down into the water, extends a black cable, thicker toward the float. It's labeled: "Sensors: Sea Surface Temperature sensor and various measuring systems." The cable connects to what appears to be gray cylindrical tube, waving in the water labeled "Drogue: The buoys have some form of subsurface drogue or sea anchor." — Drifter Buoy diagram (Image Credit: NOAA Adopt a Drifter Program)

Deploying a drifter is as simple as dropping it into the ocean! I was able to deploy our first drifter last night off the stern (back of the ship). Our drifter was wrapped in biodegradable packaging for a safe deployment, but once in the water it should have opened up and extended to its full length.

a repeating video clip of Nick starting to toss the drifter buoy over the rail of NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson. he is wearing a helmet and a life vest, and looking away from the camera. — Deploying an ocean drifter.

Once deployed, the drifter transmits its location via satellite, and scientists are able to use this data to better understand ocean currents. You can track my drifter’s trajectory here!

In addition to a GPS that tracks location, drifters are often equipped with sensors for temperature, pressure, salinity, and more. Below is the path my drifter took in its first day after deployment, and the sea temperatures it encountered.

a map of a small section of the ocean between 191.2 to 192.0 degrees W and 55.4 to 56.2 degrees N. A series of colored squares form a small spiral in the middle; the squares range in color from orange to purple. Beneath the map there's a key explaining that the colors indicate temperature, ranging from purple (6 degrees Celsius) to red (7 degrees Celsius.) — Drifter trajectory and sea surface temperature.

I also was able to observe the deployment of a CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) sensor. CTD measure some of the same properties as drifters, but CTDs are lowered down into the water and then raised back into the boat. This means that CTDs only collect data at one geographic location at a time, however, they collect data throughout the entire water column, from the surface down to the ocean floor (~80 meters at our last deployment). CTDs can also collect water samples at different depths, allowing scientists to study them further. NOAA has a great resource on CTDs here!

view of the conductivity, temperature, and depth probe (in the center of a cylindrical metal apparatus) suspended from a cable just beyond the railing of the ship; it is about 10 feet above the ocean's surface at this point. in the distance, the sky is gray and cloudy, and the ocean is gray and calm. — CTD being lowered to collect data.

Personal Log:

When I applied to NOAA’s Teacher at Sea Program, I was told that one thing that was required of all its participants was flexibility. This is especially true for cruises leaving from Dutch Harbor, where bad weather and flight cancellations are common. On this leg, a series of travel delays meant that we left port a day later than expected. However, this meant that I was able to spend some time exploring Dutch Harbor!

Dutch Harbor is one of the most remote and beautiful places I’ve ever visited. During my wanderings around the town, I spotted whales, a fox, and plenty of bald eagles. Alaska’s military history is also apparent in the hills surrounding Dutch Harbor, which are full of World War II bunkers.

view of calm blue ocean waters from a green hillside; in the distance, two ships are visible — Views from Dutch Harbor (left), inside a World War II bunker (center), and one of many bald eagles (right).

view under the archway of a bunker - there's sand underneath and open vegetation beyond — Views from Dutch Harbor (left), inside a World War II bunker (center), and one of many bald eagles (right).

Since we left port, there’s been a lot to adjust to about living on a ship. The ship is a bit of a maze – lots of narrow hallways and hidden staircases. After making a lot of wrong turns, I’m starting to get a sense of the layout.

Work happens on the ship at all hours of the day – I’ve been assigned the night shift (4 pm – 4 am), so as a natural morning person, I’ve completely changed my sleep schedule! Because someone is always working, that also means that someone is always trying to sleep, so I’ve learned to be careful about not letting doors slam behind me.

view of a stateroom: two berths (bunk beds), a chair, a window with curtains, a hiking backpack and a bag. — My stateroom for the next three weeks.

This morning, we practiced our first set of safety drills. To simulate what would happen if we needed to abandon ship, everyone was required to don a survival suit (also called a “Gumby suit”). It was quite a process to put on the suit – luckily one of the other scientists, Mike, gave me some pointers ahead of time!

Nick poses, thumbs up, for a photo in the survival suit; it covers his mouth and nose — Gumby suit

I’m looking forward to learning more about life at sea over the next few weeks!

Did You Know?

NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson was named after an Alaskan fisherman and activist who worked to improve the industry for other Alaskans (https://www.omao.noaa.gov/marine-operations/ships/oscar-dyson )

June 22, 2023June 22, 2023

Laura Guertin: Personal Log for Acoustic-Trawl Survey, June 22, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Laura Guertin

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

June 10 – June 22, 2023

Mission: 2023 Summer Acoustic-Trawl Survey of Walleye Pollock in the Gulf of Alaska

Geographic Area of Cruise: Islands of Four Mountains area, to Shumagin Islands area
Location (in port, Kodiak Island): 57^o 47.0200′ N, 152^o 25.5543′ W

Date: June 22, 2023

Laura, wearing a heavy orange rain coat and large yellow gloves, holds a pollock (fish) up for a photo. She is also wearing a blue Teacher at Sea beanie. She's standing in the wet lab, where plastic green sorting baskets are stacked behind her on a long metal table. — TAS Laura Guertin and a pollock!

I’m wrapping up my time on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson. There was so much that went in to getting out to sea for this expedition, and so many people that did so much work pulling for me and coordinating all the logistics before I joined Dyson (starting in 2020!), during my time at sea, and I’m sure after I leave the ship. Thank you to the wonderful people in the NOAA Teacher At Sea Office (Jennifer, Emily, Britta) and for giving me an opportunity to sail as a Teacher At Sea Alumna in 2023.

While waiting to board Oscar Dyson in 2022 during my first trip to Alaska, I prepared several blog posts that provided a background to NOAA, NOAA Fisheries, fisheries surveys, etc. With my undergraduate students in mind as my audience, I wanted to start the posts at the broadest scale and have the content easily utilized in multiple courses that I teach. As I authored these posts from Alaskan hotel rooms in 2022 and in 2023 and not while on the ship, they do not contain personal logs. Again, I thank the Teacher At Sea Program for giving me this flexibility in having one post that captures my personal log from the shortened expedition and keeping the “academic” focus for the prior content.

I’m trained as a geoscientist. During and after my studies in marine geology and geophysics, I’ve had the opportunity to participate in fieldwork in expeditions that have lasted hours to days to weeks to months. Although I think I know what it takes to live/work at sea, I’m reminded of new challenges on new ships in new ocean basins. It is so important as an educator that I take advantage of opportunities to get out to sea for my own professional development and to remind myself of what to share with students and community members when I present the story of what we did during our time at sea. I know I sound like a broken record – I’ve written these same words before. But that doesn’t mean these points are less important!

First topic of reflection – the people

This expedition had 32 people on board, which included the science party, bridge crew, stewards, engineering, deck, electronics technicians, and survey. The people on Oscar Dyson were born/raised and live in parts across the United States. Some people were sailing on a NOAA ship for the first time, and a few people were working for their first time on the ocean! We all have different backgrounds and training and personalities. In a way, I feel like stepping on to Oscar Dyson was like joining a game of Yahtzee – put all of these people together, shake us up (by sending us out to sea), and see what rolls out. Fortunately, during this “game”, everybody was a winner. On this 208.6-foot long ship, everyone has a purpose and function, and we must all work together to accomplish our research goals and the mission of the expedition. And to be successful, this group was supportive, understanding, respectful, took the time to listen, and made sure to laugh and smile through everything we faced.

Person standing on a ship on the ocean with clouds and an island in the background — Departing Kodiak aboard NOAA Ship *Oscar* *Dyson*

Next topic – the work

The schedule is very different than one I keep as an instructor. At home, I know the days/times I’m teaching, and I have a calendar to organize meetings and personal appointments. I’m pretty much in charge and in control of my own schedule. At sea, it’s not “me” but “we” when it comes to all day, each and every day. There are no weekends or holidays off. We work 12-hour shifts (mine was 4AM to 4PM) during the entire expedition. Once you leave your room at the start of your shift, you can’t go back to your room until your shift is over (you are sharing a room with someone that works a different shift than you, so the room is theirs during your work time).

But you are plenty busy during your 12 hours! There can be downtime as the ship transits to a site to begin data collection, and the weather can cause a change of plans for where you are headed and what work you can do. High winds, rainstorms, cold air temperatures, the ship rolling and heaving… we faced it all during our 13 days at sea.

And this work is hard! It is a balance of the physical demands faced by the deck crew setting the trawl net, and those working in the fish lab to furiously and accurately process the catch brought on board, and everyone ensuring that safety is a top priority at all times. The Chief Scientist working in the ship’s acoustics laboratory and all the NOAA Corps Officers working on the bridge must balance the scientific mission with the realities of our present situation – is there too much ship traffic to “go fishing” and set out the trawl net? Are there whales or other marine mammals in the vicinity? Is the wind speed too high for us to operate safely?

Everything on Oscar Dyson operates at a different pace and schedule from back home. Fortunately, we are able to balance out our time in the laboratories with taking short breaks to view beautiful sunrises and do some whale watching. Again, it is the amazing group of people on this ship, from the seasoned sailors to those doing fisheries work for the first time, that come together to mentor and support one another. They all make the work not seem like “work” but instead a really enjoyable and exciting time, knowing our efforts are making a difference for sustainable fisheries.

person standing on a ship with a volcanic mountain in the background — TAS Laura Guertin in the Gulf of Alaska

Final topic – what comes next

My time on Oscar Dyson has provided me an amazing opportunity and wealth of information about a field where I have had no training. Now that Leg 1 of the 2023 Summer Survey has wrapped up, I’m reminded of a popular saying from one of my graduate school faculty members – “so what?”

“So what?” stands for a family of questions or an attitude that leads to consideration of the broader significance of specific studies. These kinds of questions are particularly useful in descriptive research because, often, one can get so absorbed in collecting, organizing, and analyzing observations one forgets to consider the implications of the results. — Ginsburg (1982), Seeking Answers; suggestions for students

This “so what” piece is something I will spend even more time in the future thinking about. The “so what” of the survey is clear – NOAA does an excellent job explaining what sustainable fisheries are and why it matters (see my previous blog posts). But I still need to do a better job of figuring out how to connect the dots – the endpoints being what we do on the water (and the data we collect) to the production of the annual Status of Stocks and other products NOAA uses to inform the ecosystem management. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary law that governs marine fisheries management in federal waters, is also something I want to get up to speed on.

In addition, I need to think about defining the “so what” for the various audiences I will be sharing my at-sea experience. I have more NOAA resources to explore, such as The NOAA Fisheries Distribution Mapping and Analysis Portal (DisMAP) and The Fisheries One Stop Shop (FOSS) Public Data Portal. I will certainly be looking for other resources to pull in to my materials for students and presentations to the public, ranging from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to episodes of The Fisheries Podcast. I also look forward to exploring more resources on diversity and representation in fisheries science, with articles catching my eye: Women Leaders Are Essential for Tackling Ocean Sustainability Challenges (Fisheries Magazine, 2023) and Examining Diversity Inequities in Fisheries Science: A Call to Action (BioScience, 2016).

So my learning is not done! The sharing of my adventure and new knowledge is only beginning, and I look forward to sharing my pollock survey stories to not only positively impact the ocean literacy of my audiences, but to show how NOAA’s fishery work helps us address the Ocean Decade Challenges (part of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development).