Tag: Pollock

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Germaine Thomas: Big Boats and Little Boats and How They Fish Differently, August 10, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Germaine Thomas (she/her)

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

August 7 – August 21, 2023

Mission: Acoustic Trawl Survey (Leg 3 of 3)
Geographic Area of Cruise: Pacific Ocean/ Gulf of Alaska
Date: Friday, August 10, 2023

Weather Data
Lat 59.47 N, Lon 149.36 W
Sky condition: Cloudy and rain
Wind Speed: 23.73 knots
Wind Direction: 72.22°
Air Temp: 14.47 °C

Science Log

Comparing Set Netting to Trawling

There are many different ways to catch fish. I am comparing set netting, in a little boat, a 24 ft. skiff to trawling on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson, a big boat which is 208 ft. This is a little bit like comparing apples to oranges; set netting and trawling are different gear types used to catch fish very differently. Set netting targets mostly salmon, while trawling in Alaska targets mostly pollock. Both of these methods of fishing can be used by scientists to collect samples and to catch fish commercially to sell in global markets.

Set Netting:

I am a commercial set netter, which uses a gill net, specifically designed to catch salmon by the gills. Salmon will swim along the shoreline. Set netters place their nets perpendicular to the shore so salmon have to swim around the nets or try to swim through them. When they try to swim through the fish get caught by the gills. Watch the video below on how I pull the net in using a hydraulic roller and pick fish out.

Pulling in the net and picking a Sockeye salmon

[Transcript: Yup, here I am, picking a… Sockeye salmon! Yup, here it is, a beautiful, lovely, amazing Sockeye salmon that I picked. This is what I do in the summer! Yeah!]

When you watch the video you will see the net is a light color that matches the water. Again, salmon do not see the net and try to swim through it and then they are caught. At the end of the video I place the fish in a brailer bag filled with ice and sea water to keep the fish cool. The better the fish are cared for, the better the product that goes to market.

Trawling

Unlike set netting, which is done on a small skiff with just a few people, trawling is done on a large boat with a big crew. The Oscar Dyson has the ability to use echo-sounders to find out where fish are, and then they can lower a trawl net into the water specifically sampling at that depth for fish. A trawl net is like a big bag with are large opening that funnels fish into it.

The Scientists on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson use a much smaller net than a commercial trawler does to catch fish. They compare what they see on their echo-sounders to what is caught in their net. They use this information to get a general idea of what kind of fish are present in a specific part of the ocean they are sampling. This helps scientists provide accurate information to both the federal and state government to help manage fisheries and keep intact healthy populations of fish.

A commercial trawler will try to catch a specific kind of fish, their target species. If they catch fish other than their target species this is known as bycatch. Large commercial trawlers can have nets up to 50 meters in length, so they can catch a lot of fish. They can only keep and sell their target species. The fish that the Oscar Dyson catches cannot be sold or eaten, but the data the collection provides scientists a great deal about what kind of fish, approximately how many, and at what stages of reproductive development, are located in specific areas of the ocean.

How trawling can impact salmon fisheries like set netting:

Knowing what is happening in a different part of the ocean is very important to other fisheries. Salmon initially develop in fresh water lakes or rivers and then migrate to the ocean. They spend most of their adult life migrating large distances in the ocean, and they depend on food that is present out where the trawlers are fishing. They also may be caught by trawlers as bycatch.

Below is a short sped up video of crew members retrieving a trawl net.

Crewmembers aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson retrieve a trawl net. [No audible dialogue.]

In Alaska there is a bit of controversy over one gear type taking away fish from other gear types. Specifically there is concern about commercial trawling, picking up non-target species like salmon from local coastal fisheries and subsistence users. A lot of the answers may exist in the data that the science team is collecting.

Personal Log

At the beginning of the blog in the weather report you will notice that the wind speed is pretty high at 23.72 knots. A gale is heading towards our area in the Gulf of Alaska. We are finishing a transect line and then heading into a protected bay in the Kenai Peninsula to wait out the weather. While the ship is protected, the science team will work on recalibrating the echo-sounders below the ship. The science team has been experiencing a bit of unexplained noise in one of their lower frequencies. Hopefully, the opportunity to do this calibration will help.

Crew Member in the Spotlight

The Oscar Dyson has a science team and a crew that work together to collect the data for the acoustic trawl sampling and run the ship. Working for NOAA can provide exciting opportunities for young people to experience life on the ocean. When you are on board the ship, you have free lodging and food, which on this leg of the cruise is quite excellent, so you can save money while on board. So far everyone I met enjoys their job and is willing to let me ask them questions about how they got here.

Dee gives a slight smile for a portrait photo. She is wearing a black NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson hoodie, with the hood pulled up over a gray NOAA logo beanie (which also has the hull number of Oscar Dyson, R 224). She stands in front of a framed watercolor of the ship superimposed on a nautical chart of the waters around Kodiak Island. The frame is surrounded by gold garland.
Dee with a picture of the Oscar Dyson in the background

Meet Elvricka “Dee” Daniels from Jacksonville, Florida. She has been on NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson for about 2 months. She was originally temping for an agency in Florida when a friend told her about a subcontractor for NOAA, Keystone. She is currently working as a deckhand for the contractor Keystone.

What does she enjoy aboard the ship?

“Fishing! What kind of different fish come in the trawl net. There is always something different every time we fish.”

She also really likes being on whale watch on the bridge. The science team cannot set out the net if there are whales in the area, so there is always a crew member looking for whales.

As a high school teacher, I like to ask people what their school experience was like. Everyone has a different experience in high school some good some, perhaps not so good, but many go on be successful adults. What was high school like for Dee?

“It was good at first and then it got bad. I made poor choices that impacted my life, I had to go to summer school to make up for missed school. Doing well in school is very important to my family.”

So now here she is out in the Gulf of Alaska helping science happen and impacting others by what she does.

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Laura Guertin: Collecting Data: Acoustic Survey, June 19, 2023

What looks like a long fishing rod attached to a ship's rail on the ocean

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 (2PM (Alaska Time), June 18): 55o 15.3391′ N, 160o 17.8682′ W

Data from 2PM (Alaska Time), June 18, 2023
Air Temperature: 8.9 oC
Water Temperature (mid-hull): 7.7oC
Wind Speed: 4 knots
Wind Direction: 182 degrees
Course Over Ground (COG): 356 degrees
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 12 knots

Date: June 19, 2023

Acoustic fisheries surveys seek to estimate the abundance and distribution of fish in a particular area of the ocean. In my case, this Summer Survey is looking at walleye pollock in the Gulf of Alaska. How is this accomplished? Well, it’s not through this method:

The Alaska walleye pollock is widely distributed in the North Pacific Ocean with the largest concentrations in the eastern Bering Sea. For this expedition, Oscar Dyson is traveling to specific regions in the Gulf of Alaska and running transects perpendicular to the bathymetry/contours (which are not always perpendicular to the shore) to take measurements using acoustics and targeted trawling to determine the abundance and distribution of walleye pollock which informs stock assessment and management models. For this blog post, let’s focus on how and why we can use acoustics to locate fish.

A map of the distribution of walleye pollock in the waters around Alaska. Alaska is centered in this map, but not disconnected from adjacent portions of Canada, and portions of Russia are visible to the east. Colors representing topography are visible, emphasized on the land of Alaska and depicted faintly on Canada and Russia. The ocean is depicted as a solid blue. We see latitude and longitude lines at ten degree intervals. We can see labels for the Beaufort Sea (north of Alaska), Chukchi Sea (northwest), Bering Sea (west), Bristol Bay (southwest), Gulf of Alaska (south and southeast.) The polygon representing the distribution of pollock is shaded with diagonal red lines. It starts in the Chukchi Sea, extends southwest out to the Bering Sea, and curves around the Aleutian Islands, hugging the coastline around the Gulf of Alaska.
Walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) are distributed broadly in the North Pacific Ocean and eastern and western Bering Sea. In the Gulf of Alaska, pollock are considered as a single stock separate from those in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.  Image from Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
A screenshot of an electronic nautical chart of the area around the Alaska Peninsula. Overlain on the chart are straight blue lines connecting blue points in a boxy meandering path in and out from the coastline, west to east. A few segments are red instead of blue.
An snapshot of a nautical chart with transects plotted. The first transect was run during Leg 1 on June 14 at the furthest location to the west, then the ship worked its way back east with approximately 40 nautical miles between transects. Once Oscar Dyson reached the Shumagin Islands, survey work shifted into this area..

Our story starts with the fish itself. Alaska walleye pollock have a swim bladder. The swim bladder is an internal organ filled with gas that allows a fish to maintain its buoyancy and stability at depth.

One interesting effect of the swim bladder is that it also functions as a resonating chamber that can produce and receive sound through sonar technology. This connection was first discovered in the 1970s, when low-frequency sound waves in the ocean come in contact with swim bladders and they resonated much like a tuning fork and return a strong echo (see WHOI’s Listening for Telltale Echoes from Fish).

illlustrated diagram of the internal anatomy of a boney fish. The swim bladder is located in the middle of the fish, beneath the long, skinny kidney and behind the stomach.
Internal anatomy of a boney fish. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0).
Illustration of a survey ship on the ocean surface, with the ocean cutaway so that we can see a cone of sound pulses extending out from the ship's hull to the ocean floor. A school of fish is depicted in the middle of the water column, in the cone of sound.
The sound pulses travel down into the water column, illustrated by the white cones here, and bounce back when encountering resistance. (from NOAA Fisheries)

NOAA Fisheries uses echo sounding, which works by emitting vertical pulses of sound (often referred to as pings), and measuring the return strength and recording the time for the signal to leave and then return. Anything having a different density from the surrounding water (in our case – fish, plankton, air bubbles, the seafloor) can return a signal, or “echo”.

The strength or loudness of the echo is affected by how strongly different ocean elements reflect sound and how far away the source of the element is. The seafloor usually makes the strongest echo because it is composed of rock which has a density different than the density of water. In fish, the swim bladder provides a contrast from the water. In addition, each fish species has a unique target strength or amount of sound reflected to the receiver. The size and shape of the swim bladder influence the target strength. There is a different target strength to length relationship for each species of fish – the larger the fish, the greater the strength of the returning echo.

It’s important to note that echo sounders cannot identify fish species, directly or indirectly. The only way we know which fish species is causing a signal is based on trawl catch composition. There is nothing within the acoustic data that lets us identify fish species, even with the catch data. This is a subtle, but important, distinction. Acoustic data, particularly calibrated acoustic data, in tandem with the information from the trawl, definitely allows us to count fish.

Where is the echo sounder on Oscar Dyson? Look at the figure in the next section of this post – it’s a sketch of NOAA Ship Rainier, but the placement of the echo sounder is the same for Dyson. You can see a rectangular “board” that is extended down from the center of the ship. This is called – what else – the center board! Attached to the bottom of the center board are the echo sounders. When lowered, the echo sounders sit at 9 meters below the level of the sea (~4 meters below the bottom hull of the ship).

Did you know… Southern Resident killer whales use their own echolocation clicks to recognize the size and orientation of a Chinook’s swim bladder? Researchers report that the echo structure of the swim bladders from similar length but different species of salmon were different and probably recognizable by foraging killer whales. (reported in Au et al., 2010)

It starts with a calibration

Typical setup of the standard target and weight beneath the echo sounder. (from NOAA Fisheries)

Before we can begin collecting data, we need to calibrate the echo sounder. The calibration involves a standard target (a tungsten carbide sphere) with a known target strength. The calibration needs to be completed in waters that are calm and without significant marine life for the best results.

The sphere is suspended below the ship’s hull using monofilament lines fed through downriggers attached to ship railings. One downrigger is in line with the echo sounder on the starboard side, and the other two on the port side. This creates a triangle that suspends the sphere in the center of the echo sounder’s sound beam. By tightening and loosening the lines, the sphere can be positioned under the center of the sound beam and can also be moved throughout the beam. By doing an equipment calibration at the beginning and end of a survey, we can ensure the accuracy of our data.

  • What looks like a long fishing rod attached to a ship's rail on the ocean
    One of the port side downriggers
  • Two people holding a ball on string on a ship
    A weight that goes at the bottom of the filament to ensure the calibration sphere remains below the echo sounder
  • Shiny ball being lowered over side of ship
    The tungsten carbide sphere attached to the line, being lowered over the side

For further exploration

NOAA Ocean Service – Ocean Facts – How do scientists locate schools of fish?

Discovery of Sound in the Sea – How is sound used to locate fish?

NOAA Fisheries – Acoustic Echosounders–Essential Survey Equipment and Acoustic Hake Survey Methods on the West Coast

NOAA Ocean Service – Ocean Facts – What is sonar?

Science – Sounds like my favorite fish – killer whales differentiate salmon species by their sonar echoes

NOAA Fisheries – Sound Strategy: Hunting with the Southern Residents, Part 2

The Pew Charitable Trusts – Advanced Sonar Technology Helps NOAA Count Anchovy

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Laura Guertin: Alaska Pollock and Sustainable Fisheries 101, June 15, 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, Western Gulf of Alaska
Location (2PM (Alaska Time), June 14): 52o 30.9860′ N, 169o 08.0942′ W

Data from 2PM (Alaska Time), June 14, 2023
Air Temperature: 8.11 oC
Water Temperature (mid-hull): 8.0oC
Wind Speed: 8.27 knots
Wind Direction: 243.96 degrees
Course Over Ground (COG): 239.25 degrees
Speed Over Ground (SOG): 13.05 knots

Date: June 15, 2023

I’m trained as a geologist and oceanographer. My teaching and research has focused on the physical sciences, which is why I’m so excited to have the opportunity to work with scientists in the life sciences. But before I start with the acoustic-trawl survey of walleye pollock, I had to do my homework – namely, learn something about this fish!

There is a wealth of resources on NOAA’s website that are providing me the introductory overview or “101” on pollock and the overall mission of maintaining sustainable fisheries. I started by viewing this NOAA video on Alaska’s Pollock Fishery: A Model of Sustainability.

This video shared so much but also generated so many more questions! I decided to take a step back and do a deeper dive into some of these topics, starting with the fish…

Alaska (walleye) pollock

Photo of dead Alaska pollock on a flat surface
Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) on the sorting table, from NOAA Photo Library

NOAA Fisheries is doing an incredible volume of work in the Alaska region – including a focus on the Alaska pollock.

A member of the cod family, Alaska pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus) is also referred to as pollock, walleye pollock, and Pacific pollock. The NOAA Fisheries Species Directory for Alaska pollock states that Alaska pollock typically grow between 12 and 20 inches and weigh between 1 to 3 pounds. Their speckled coloring allows them to blend in with the seafloor to avoid predators such as Stellar sea lions, fish, seabirds – even older pollock will feed on juvenile pollock! Humans feed on pollock in products from fillets to fish sticks to surimi.

Alaska pollock are found throughout the North Pacific Ocean but are most common in the Bering Sea. Pollock migrate inshore to shallow water to breed and feed in the spring, then move back to warmer, deeper waters in the winter.

Sustainable fisheries

I always like to start by ensuring I’m using the terminology correctly. The NOAA web page for Understanding Fisheries Management in the United States defines fishery as the following:

The word “fishery” is used in many ways. It can refer to the occupation, industry, or season for catching fish. It can also refer to the area of ocean where fish are caught, or the business of catching the fish. U.S. fisheries include commercial (catching/marketing fish and shellfish for profit), recreational (fishing for sport/pleasure), and subsistence (fishing for personal/family/community consumption or sharing.

Next, what is meant by sustainable fisheries? NOAA defines this in the following video and in the quote below:

“U.S. fisheries are big business, providing jobs and recreation and keeping our coastal communities vibrant. In fact, the United States is a global leader in responsibly managed fisheries and sustainable seafood. Working closely with commercial, recreational, and small-scale tribal fishermen, we have rebuilt numerous fish stocks and managed to create some of the most sustainably managed fisheries in the world. U.S. fisheries are scientifically monitored, regionally managed, and legally enforced under 10 national standards of sustainability. Managing sustainable fisheries is a dynamic process that requires constant and routine attention to new scientific information that can guide management actions.” — from NOAA Fisheries – Sustainable Fisheries

[*Note – To help my students with ocean definitions, I also like to show video clips from the Pew/Jim Toomey (cartoonist behind “Sherman’s Lagoon”) Visual Glossary of Ocean Terminology, such as the videos for What Is U.S. Fisheries Management? and What Is Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management? ]

NOAA’s FishWatch website is a great place to find the most up-to-date information on popular seafood harvested or farmed in the United States. This helps each of us as consumers to make smart choices! Check out the page for the Alaska pollock to see the details available for this fish, currently classified as a smart seafood choice because it is “sustainably managed and responsibly harvested under U.S. regulations.” This is so important to note, as according to FishWatch, the Alaska pollock fishery is one of the most valuable in the world, with commercial landings of Alaska pollock from the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska in 2020 totaling more than 3.23 billion pounds and were valued at approximately $420 million.

Alaska pollock library of articles

Several articles on NOAA’s website were helpful in not only providing me more background information to prepare for my time on Oscar Dyson, but the content really showed me the context of what NOAA is doing for fisheries research/management and why it matters. My students probably recognize this as a list of articles I would give them to develop their current event literacy, as these are recent dates of publication and from a credible source (NOAA, of course!) – and of course, contribute to advancing their ocean literacy.

If you wish to learn more about the current state of Alaska pollock research with NOAA, I highly recommend these recent articles from NOAA Fisheries News & Announcements:

For podcast fans, this 2013 NOAA Fisheries podcast episode titled Keeping an Eye on Pollock is an excellent overview of how “scientists and fishermen work together to understand how walleye pollock respond to a changing environment” (transcript available online).

NOAA Fisheries podcast, Keeping an Eye on Pollock

In reviewing these articles and the podcast, it is clear that NOAA is focused on advancing the technology to survey Alaska pollock with new tools such as saildrones. There is also an interest in closely monitoring the impact climate change is having on the juvenile and adult populations of pollock (see the NOAA Fisheries site on Climate Change). This video, released January 2022, is a great snapshot of how NOAA Fisheries is preparing and responding to the impacts of climate change (link to web page that supports the video).

OK, I’m feeling good about my background on the “what” and “why” of Alaska pollock, and I hope you are, too! Next, it’s time to share the activities of the science team that is applying science knowledge and technology tools to studying pollock on Oscar Dyson!

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Phil Moorhouse: Look What the Net Dragged In! September 12, 2019

Pavlof Volcano

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Phil Moorhouse

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

August 27 – September 15, 2019


Mission: Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations.

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska (Kodiak – Aleutian Islands)

Date: September 12, 2019

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 57 35.35 N
Longitude: 153 57.71 W
Sea wave height: 1 ft
Wind Speed: 14 knots
Wind Direction: 208 degrees
Visibility: 8 nautical miles
Air Temperature: 15.4 C
Barometric Pressure: 1002.58 mBar
Sky:  Overcast


Science and Technology Log

Well, we only have a few days left on this trip and it looks like mother nature is going to force us to head for Dutch Harbor a little early.  I thought this might be a good time to spend some time sharing some information on some of the species we have been pulling out of the ocean.  This is far from a complete list, but just the ones that made “the cut”.

  • Pollock Age 3
    Pollock Age 3
  • Pollock age 0
    Pollock Age 0

At the top of the list has to be the Pollock.  After all, this is the primary objective of this study.  On the left is an adult three-year-old pollock and on the right is an age-0 pollock.  The sampling of age-0 pollocks is a good indicator of the abundance of the future population.

  • Coho salmon
    Coho Salmon
  • Pink salmon
    Pink Salmon

There were several species of salmon caught on our trawls.  On the left is a Coho Salmon and on the right is a Pink Salmon.  These fish are very similar, but are classified as separately Coho Salmon are larger and have larger scales.  Coho also has a richer, fuller flavor with darker red meat while the Pink Salmon has a milder flavor and a softer texture.

zooplankton
Another important part of this survey is the collection and measurement of zooplankton as this is a primary food source and the amount and health of the zooplankton will have a lasting impact on the ecology of the fish population in the area.
capelin
Capelin is another common fish caught in our trawls. This fish eats krill and other crustaceans and in turn is preyed upon by whales, seals, cod, squid, and seabirds.
Pacific Saury
The Pacific Saury was a fish that wasn’t expected to be found in our trawls. Also called the knifefish, this species always seemed to be found in substantial quantities when they were collected – as if the trawl net came across a school of them. They are found in the top one meter of the water column.
Prowfish
The Prowfish was another interesting find. This fish is very malleable and slimy. Adults tend to stay close to the ocean floor while young prowfish can be found higher up in the water column where they feed on jellyfish. As with the saury, the prowfish was not kept for future study. It was weighed, recorded, and returned to the water.

Jellyfish were abundant on our hauls.  Here are the five most common species that we found. 

bubble jellyfish
The Bubble Jellyfish, Aequorea sp., is clear with a rim around it. This jellyfish is fragile and most of them are broken into pieces by the time we get them from the trawl net and onto the sorting table.
moon jellyfish
The Moon Jellyfish, Aurelia labiata, is translucent and when the sun or moon shines on them, they look like the moon all lit up.
white cross jellyfish
The White Cross Jellyfish, Staurophora mertensi, was another mostly clear jelly that was very fragile. Very few made it to the sorting table in one piece. You have to look close it is so clear, but they can be identified by their clear bell with a distinctive X across the top of the bell.
Lion's mane jellyfish
The Lion’s Mane Jellyfish, Cyanea capillata, are the largest known species of jellyfish. These guys can become giants. They are typically a crimson red but could appear faded to a light brown.
sunrise jellyfish
The Sunrise Jellyfish, Chrysaora melanaster, was the most common jelly that we found. It is also arguably the least fragile. Almost all made it to the sorting table intact where they were counted, weighed, recorded, and returned to the water. It lives at depths of up to 100 meters, where it feeds on copepods, larvaceans, small fish, zooplankton, and other jellyfish.
arrowtooth flounder
Arrowtooth flounder are a relatively large, brownish colored flatfish with a large mouth. Just one look at its mouth and you can tell how it got its name. Their eyes migrate so that they are both on the right side and lie on the ocean floor on their left side.
Eulachon
Eulachons, sometimes called candlefish, were another common find on the sorting table. Throughout recent history, eulachons have been harvested for their rich oil. Their name, candlefish, was derived from it being so fat during spawning that if caught, dried, and strung on a wick, it can be burned as a candle. They are also an important food source for many ocean and shore predators.
vermilion rockfish
The Vermilion Rockfish – This guy was the only non-larval rockfish that we caught. Most can be found between the Bering Sea and Washington State.
  • Smooth lumpsucker
    Smooth lumpsucker
  • Spiny lumpsucker
    Spiny lumpsucker

While the Smooth Lumpsucker is significantly larger than the Spiny Lumpsucker, both have unique faces.  The Smooth Lumpsucker is also found in deeper water than the smaller Spiny Lumpsucker.

  • squid
    Squid
  • squid
    Squid

Most of the squid caught and recorded were larval.  Here are a couple of the larger ones caught in a trawl.

  • seabirds
    Seabirds
  • Black-footed Albatross

There were a variety of seabirds following us around looking for an easy meal.  The Black-footed Albatross on the right was one of several that joined the group one day.

Pavlof Volcano
And of course, I couldn’t leave out the great view we got of Pavlof Volcano! Standing snow capped above the clouds at 8,251 feet above sea level, it is flanked on the right by Pavlof’s Sister. Pavlof last erupted in March of 2016 and remains with a threat of future eruptions considered high. Pavlof’s Sister last erupted in 1786. This picture was taken from 50 miles away.


Personal Log

In keeping with the admiration I have for the scientists and crew I am working with, I will continue here with my interview with Rob Suryan. 

Robert Suryan is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Scientist. He is currently a Research Ecologist and Auke Bay Laboratories, Science Coordinator, working on the Gulf Watch Alaska Long-term Ecosystem Monitoring Program.

How long have you been working with NOAA?  What did you do before joining NOAA?

One and a half years.  Prior to that, I was a professor at Oregon State University

Where do you do most of your work?

In the Gulf of Alaska

What do you enjoy about your work?

I really enjoy giving presentations to the general public, where we have to describe why we are conducting studies and results to an audience with a non-science background. It teaches you a lot about messaging! I also like working with writers, reporters, and journalists in conducting press releases for our scientific publications. I also use Twitter for science communication.

Why is your work important?

Having detailed knowledge about our surroundings, especially the natural environment and the ocean. Finding patterns in what sometimes seems like chaos in natural systems. Being able to provide answers to questions about the marine environment.

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

I provide information and expertise to make well informed resource management decisions, I inform the general public about how our changing climate if affecting marine life, and I train (and hopefully inspire) future generations of marine scientists

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

During middle school

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

Computer! So much of our instrumentation and sampling equipment are controlled by software interfaces. Also, much of my research involves data assimilation, analysis, creating graphs, and writing scientific papers. Although, at the very beginning of my career, most of our data collection was hand written, as were our scientific papers before typing the final version with a typewriter. So glad those days are gone!

If you could invent one tool to make your work easier, what would it be?

For in the office: a computer program that would scan all of my emails, extract the important info that I need to know and respond to, and populate my calendar with meetings/events. For the field: a nano-power source that provided unlimited continuous power for instruments AND global cell phone or wireless connectivity.

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

I joined NOAA later in my career and had collaborated with NOAA scientists for many years, so everything was what I expected for the most part.

What classes would you recommend for a student interested in a career in Marine Science?

Biology, math, chemistry, and physics are good foundation courses. If you have an opportunity to take a class in marine biology at your school or during a summer program, that would be ideal. But keep in mind that almost any field of study can be involved in marine science; including engineering, economics, computer science, business, geology, microbiology, genetics, literature, etc.

What’s at the top of your recommended reading list for a student exploring ocean or science as a career option?

I originally studied wildlife biology before marine science and one of my favorite books initially was A Sand County Almanac, by Aldo Leopold. For marine biology, I would recommend The Log from the Sea of Cortez, by John Steinbeck.

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

I would probably work at a university again – I was a professor at Oregon State University before working for NOAA.

Do you have any outside hobbies?

Pretty much any type of outdoor adventure, most frequently kayaking, mountain biking, hiking, camping, and beachcombing with my family and our dogs.

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Callie Harris: Jellyfish Landslide, August 15, 2019

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Callie Harris

Aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

August 13 – 26, 2019


Mission: Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Alaska

Date: 8/15/19

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 57° 16.15 N
Longitude: 152 ° 30.38 W
Wind Speed: 6.53 knots
Wind Direction: 182°
Air Temperature: 17.1°C
Sea Temperature: 15°C
Barometric Pressure: 1026 mbar


Science and Technology Log

Now that we have been out to sea for 3 days, I can better describe what my 12 hour ‘work shift’ is like. We average about three stations (i.e. research locations) per shift. Each ‘station’ site is predetermined along a set transect.

transect map of stations
Transect Map of all of our tentative stations to survey (red dots). Image credit: Matt Wilson

Before we can put any scientific equipment in the water, we have to get the all clear that there are no marine mammals sighted within 100 yards of the boat. I was thrilled yesterday and today that we had to temporarily halt our survey because of Humpback Whales and Harbor Porpoises in the area. I rushed from the scientific deck up to the bridge to get a better look. Today, we saw a total of 6 Humpback Whales, one of which was a newborn calf. Chief Electronics Technician Rodney Terry explained to me that you can identify the calf because the mother often times pushes the calf up to help it breach the surface to breathe. We observed one tall and one short breathe ‘spout’ almost simultaneously from the mother and calf respectively.

humpback whale spout
Humpback Whale breath spout off of bow.

Once we arrive at each station, we must put on all of our safety equipment before venturing out on the deck. We are required to wear steel-toed boots, a life preserver, and hardhat at all times. On scientific vessels, one must constantly be aware that there is machinery (A frames, booms, winches, etc.) moving above you overhead to help raise and lower the equipment in the water. We survey each station using bongo nets, a midwater trawl, and sometimes a CTD device. In future posts, I will go more into detailed description of what bongo nets and a CTD device entail. This post I want to focus on my favorite survey method: the midwater trawl, aka the ‘jellyfish landslide.’

A midwater trawl (aka a pelagic trawl) is a type of net fishing at a depth that is higher in the water column than the bottom of the ocean. We are using a type of midwater trawl known as a Stauffer trawl which has a cone shaped net that is spread by trawl doors.

trawl net
Trawl net aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

One of the survey’s goals over the next two weeks is to assess the number of age-0 Walleye Pollock (aka Alaskan Pollock.) These juvenile fish hatched in April/May of this year. As NOAA Scientist Dr. Lauren Rogers, my fellow shift mate, explains, this population of fish species tends to naturally ebb and flow over the years. Fisheries management groups like NOAA study each ‘year class’ of the species (i.e. how many fish are hatched each year).

Typically, pollock year classes stay consistent for four to five years at a time. However, every so often management notes an ‘explosion year’ with a really large year class. 2012 was one of these such years. Hence in 2013, scientists noted an abundance of age-1 pollock in comparison to previous years. Based on the data collected so far this season (2019), scientists are hypothesizing that 2018 was also one of these ‘explosive’ years based on the number of age-1 pollock we are observing in our trawl net samples. It is extremely important scientists monitor these ebbs and flows in the population closely to help set commercial limits. Just because there is a rapid increase in the population size one year doesn’t mean commercial quotas should automatically increase since the population tends to level itself back out the next year.

If you have ever gone fishing before, you probably quickly realized just because you want to catch a certain species doesn’t mean you are going to get it. That is why I have nicknamed our midwater trawl samples, “The jellyfish landslide.” After the trawl net is brought back onto the deck, the catch is dumped into a large metal bin that empties onto a processing table. I learned the hard way on our late night trawl that you must raise the bin door slowly or else you will have a slimy gooey landslide of jellies that overflows all over everywhere. At least we all got a good laugh at 11:15 at night (3:15AM Florida time).

Jellyfish Landslide
Jellyfish landslide! (I’m desperately trying to stop them from falling over the edge.) Photo credit: Lauren Rogers.
jellyfish landslide thumbs up
Jellyfish landslide, managed. Photo credit: Lauren Rogers

Once on the processing table, we sort each species (fish, jelly, invertebrate, etc.) into separate bins to be counted and weighed. Each fish specimen’s fork length is also measured on the Ichthystick.

Measuring fork length
Measuring fork length of pollock.

We then label, bag, and freeze some of the fish specimens to bring back for further study by NOAA scientists in the future. There is a very short time window that scientists have the ability to survey species in this area due to weather, so each sample collected is imperative.

Callie and salmon
Our first salmon catch in the trawl. Photo credit: Lauren Rogers.


Personal Log

This experience is nothing short of amazing. Upon arriving in Kodiak on Sunday, I got to spend the next two days on land with my fellow NOAA scientists setting up the boat and getting to know these inspiring humans. Everyone on the boat, scientists and the Oscar Dyson crew, are assigned a 12 hour shift. Therefore, you may not ever see half of your other ship mates unless it is at the changing of a shift or a safety drill. I did thoroughly enjoy the abandon ship safety drill yesterday where we had to put on our survival (nicknamed the orange Gumby) suits as quickly as possible.

Survival Suit Practice.
Survival Suit Practice. Photo credit: Lauren Rogers

Everyone has been commenting that I brought Key West here to Alaska. The last three days at sea have been absolutely beautiful — sunny, warm, and calm seas. I am sure I am going to regret saying that out loud, haha. At the end of my work shift, I am beat so I am beyond thrilled to curl up in my bunk for some much needed rest. Yes, it does finally get dark here around 10:30PM. I was told we might be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights toward the final days of our survey. I am also getting very spoiled by having three delicious homemade meals (and dessert J) cooked a day by Chief Steward Judy. That is all for now, we have another trawl net full of fun that is about to be pulled back onto the deck.


Did You Know?

NOAA CORPS Officer LT Laura Dwyer informed me of the ‘marine mammal’ protocol aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson. Scientists must temporary halt research collection if any marine mammal (i.e. a Humpback Whale, porpoise, orca, seal, etc.) is within 100 yards or less of the vessel; if a North Pacific Right Whale is within 500 yards; or if a polar bear (yes you read that correctly) is within half a mile on land or ice.


Challenge Yourself

Do you know how to convert Celsius to Fahrenheit? You take the temperature in Celsius and multiply it by 1.8, then add 32 degrees. So today’s air temperature was 17°C and the sea temperature 15°C. Therefore, what were today’s temperatures in Fahrenheit? Answers will be posted in my next blog.