Tag: reef fish survey

Posted on

Julie Hayes: Shipshape and Onward! May 4, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Julie Hayes

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

April 22-May 5, 2023

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish Survey

Geographic area of cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: May 4, 2023

Weather Data

Clouds: Scattered

Temperature: 74 degrees F

Wind: 4 kt.

Waves: 0 ft.

Science and Technology

Environmental DNA

NOAA fisheries research vessels often work with colleges to help provide experiences for the students by allowing them to come on the ship to collect data for their research. On this leg, Makaila Hernandez was aboard to collect environmental DNA (eDNA) under Dr. Alexis Janosik for the University of West Florida. Water samples are taken from different sampling sights in the Gulf of Mexico. Environmental DNA tells scientists what organisms are in the area of water. DNA can be found in the water when organisms shed materials such as the skin, scales, feces, mucous, and gametes. Once the water is collected, a lab will extract the DNA from the water. The extraction is done in such a way that only the purest form of DNA is obtained. It will then be amplified so that it can go through the DNA sequencing process for organism identification. Collecting DNA for the purpose of knowing what organisms are present is done for several different reasons. It helps check the biodiversity and compare the health of the ecosystem to the previous years.

Makailyn stands at a workbench in the ship's lab. Wearing blue latex gloves, she slides two sample tubes into a plastic bag. On the bench nearby is a squirt bottle with a curved spout. It's labeled, but we can't read the writing. Other cardboard boxes and crates with sampling gear surround the work surface.
Makailyn working on eDNA samples
Julie stands at a workbench in the lab of NOAA Ship Pisces. In front of her is a styrofoam tray for holding sample tubes. The back row is filled with six labeled tubes. All except the foremost tube are capped. Wearing latex gloves, Julie grasps the squeeze bottle with two hands and squeezes its contents into the open sample tube. She does not face the camera, but rather keeps her eyes carefully on her work.
Helping with the eDNA samples

NOAA Ship Pisces

On this mission we have 28 people aboard Pisces. Without the engineers, technicians, deck crew, and the NOAA corps, the scientists wouldn’t be able to do their job. As most of you know, when things go wrong with a vessel out in the ocean, you have to rely on those within. The engineers work hard and I haven’t gotten to talk with them as much as I would have liked, but after all they have been busy down below keeping the ship going. While touring and visiting the bridge, the amount of technology there and knowledge from the officers on maneuvering the vessel is astonishing. I even had a slight go at it, and with the waves and current my travel line was a bit everywhere and not even close to being as straight as theirs. No worries, they were right by my side the whole time.

Drew Barth, Second Assistant Engineer

Drew, facing the camera for the photo, stands at a control panel in the engineering room. We can see screens, buttons of different colors, meters, levers.
Drew Barth, Second Assistant Engineer

Drew grew up in Montana and has been working for NOAA for around 18 years. Drew has worked his way up through the years, and the knowledge he knows about how to keep everything on this ship running is incredible. I had no idea there was so much down below us, and the amount of things that have to be checked and continuously working to keep this working vessel going. Drew tried to summarize all the things he did to me from operating all the equipment (including plumbing, HVAC, engine), maintaining all of the equipment, and every 2 hours all gauges have to be completely checked. At midnight a full report of how much fuel is being consumed as well as other things. Drew said some challenges he has had to deal with are bad weather, flooding, and having to fix multiple things at once. Drew states that working hands-on, growing up with a dad as a mechanic, and taking welding vocational classes really helped him, but training today can be done by attending a maritime school.

view of the bridge: two rows of computer screens facing one another; the captain's chair far toward the back of this view; windows surround three sides of the room
Bridge
Julie stands at the bridge controls, facing away from the camera, attempting to drive the ship. She looks off to her left side to attend to instructions. We can see the ocean out the window ahead of her.

NOAA Corps

LCDR Kidd, in NOAA Corps navy shirt and shorts, satnds on deck looking over the rail. We see his face in profile. Other crewmembers, their faces obscured, stand to either side of him and look in the same direction.
LCDR John Kidd, Commanding Officer
LCDR VanDine sits at a table in the mess, turned to face the camera for a photo.
LCDR Ben VanDine, Executive Officer
LT DeProspero, on deck, pauses for a photo. He is wearing a navy blue NOAA Corps t-shirt. His right hand holds a travel mug, and his left is on his hip.
LT Nicolas DeProspero
ENS Macy pauses for a photo in the computer lab. He is wearing a dark-colored sweatshirt with the NOAA logo and the words NOAA Ship Pisces, R-266 at the logo.
ENS Aaron Macy, Junior Officer

Personal Log

Today is our last day at sea. Later this evening we will start working our way towards Pascagoula, MS. We are finishing up our last camera drops and preparing to disembark. I can already tell this morning by looking at the water that we are getting closer to Mississippi. The coloration of the water is more of a brown hue than blue due to the Mississippi River meeting the ocean. Several deck crew are making last minute plans as we prepare to port. I have met so many amazing people from all walks of Earth, and listening to their stories and how they ended up on Pisces is remarkable. There are a lot of hard-working and dedicated people who keep this ship running.

I can’t believe I have been on the ship now for two weeks. I have several more questions from my students back home that I can’t wait to answer when I get back. When I return there are only 10 days of school left, so it will be a whirlwind. I have been blessed to have experienced this, and I have learned so much that I hope to inspire my students to dream big and put themselves out there. I told them before I left how nervous I was and that blogging for the first time ever and doing the unknown was way out of my comfort zone. However, hopefully I have taught them that it is important to take chances and pursue things that they want to do even though they may seem scary. My hopes are to also talk about all the different career paths involved in keeping this mission going aboard NOAA Ship Pisces.

view over the bow of NOAA Ship Pisces from an upper deck. the water is calm and blue; the sky is blue with fluffy white clouds.
Front (Bow) of Pisces
view over the aft deck of NOAA Ship Pisces from an upper deck. We can see an A frame, davit arms, a large spool. the water is calm and blue, and the sky is blue with small white clouds.
View of the back of Pisces
Julie takes a selfie in front of an orange life preserver mounted on an outside wall. The life preserver is stamped NOAA Ship Pisces. Julie's t-shirt has a tiger on it, her school mascot, and the letters MMS for Macon Middle School.
Final Day at Sea!
Posted on

Julie Hayes: Women at Sea, May 2, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Julie Hayes

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

April 22-May 5, 2023

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: May 2, 2023

Weather Data

Clouds: Scattered

Temperature: 80 degrees F

Wind: 1 kt.

Waves: 1 ft.

Science and Technology Log

Seafloor Mapping

The survey technician team collects data on the bathymetric seafloor using a precise timing and ranging system. Multibeam echosounders emit different frequencies to capture different particles in the water (fish, plankton, gases like oxygen), as well as the bathymetry of the seafloor (basically, what the bottom of the floor is made up of.) This will then provide a 3-D picture of the seafloor. A larger version of this, called Kongsberg ME70, was used during the Deepwater Horizon Spill tracking the oil and methane gas. Often, sea floor mapping occurs at night in designated locations.

A rendered image of the seafloor bathymetry, color-coded to represent different depths: red is the most shallow, while blue or purple is the deepest. This section is mostly flat, with a round red peak to the left. The bathymetric image is superimposed on a nautical map, at the same scale, to indicate the location of the surveyed area.
Seafloor mapped during this leg

Vocabulary Check

What is Bathymetry?

Bathymetry is the study of underwater depths of lakes, rivers, or oceans.

What is Sonar?

Sonar (SOund NAvigation and Ranging) is used to not only measure the water’s depth but to also detect objects underwater. This is done by emitting sound pulses under water and measuring their return after being reflected.

Sophie Caradine-Taber, Survey Technician

Sophie stands at a computer desk, facing an array of monitors. She controls the computer mouse with her right hand. We cannot see her face.

Sophie got her degree in biology and environmental studies. She got her start at the National Marine Fisheries Service working for NOAA on a hydrographic survey vessel on the Bering Sea in Alaska for four and half years. Her job on Pisces is part of the survey technician team that does seafloor mapping.

Makailyn Hernandez

Makailyn, wearing blue latex gloves, leans over to work on something at the base of water sample bottles attached to the CTD rosette. We can't clearly make out what she is doing with her hands.

Makailyn is on Pisces collecting Environmental DNA (eDNA) for the University of West Florida’s lab under Dr. Alexis Janosik. Makailyn graduated from UWF with a degree in marine biology, and worked as a research technician under Dr. Janosik. She has volunteered for numerous career opportunities, including this trip and sea turtle monitoring. Her goal is to attend graduate school and get a job as a researcher in either lab or field work.

ENS Grace Owen, Junior Officer

Grace stands at an instrument panel on the bridge. She is facing the rounded bridge windows, but looking off to her left side. She wears a navy blue sweatshirt with the words NOAA CORPS written prominently on the back.

Grace is a Junior Officer for NOAA Corps. She is from North Carolina, and didn’t originally start her path on the ocean, but towards the mountains. She went to college in Colorado and worked as a climbing guide. She felt like she needed to do something more, and began looking at the Coast Guard. This is when she discovered the NOAA Corps and she felt like it aligned more with her values. Grace learned that she didn’t have enough STEM credits to join NOAA, so she moved to Florida to attend the University of Miami and got her graduate degree in exploration science. Training for the NOAA Corps takes around 5 months at the Coast Guard Academy. Once training is completed officers can then go to driving and navigating vessels for NOAA. Grace also has her pilots license and her next goal is to attend NOAA flight school with the future hopes to fly for the NOAA Hurricane Hunters. She even says there is a hurricane name in rotation named “Grace” that has yet to be used, and that would be super neat if she was the one who helped find it.

Heather stands at the controls on the bridge, peering out the window ahead of her. She is wearing the casual blue NOAA Corps uniform.
ENS Heather Gaughan, Junior Officer
Marina poses for a photo in front of a computer desk. Several monitors are visible on the desk or mounted on the wall.
Marina Rowen, Survey Technician

Student Questions of the Day

Jonathan asks: Have you ever found a sunken ship in the ocean?

Sophie works with sea floor mapping, and last year NOAA’s hydrographic ship on Lake Erie found 5 shipwrecks.

Anabelle asks: What is daily life like on the ship?

Sophie calls each ship she is on home, because she spends most of the year on them. She works the 12am-12pm shift 7 days a week. She tries to stay in touch with family, and reads a lot of books on her down time while on the ship. If they port between legs for the weekend she tries to make sure she takes time for herself.

Levi asks: How many years did it take to be able to drive a ship?

Grace states that the NOAA Corps training is 5 months, but once you’re on a ship that is when the real training takes place. Officers will do 2 years on a ship and then usually 3 years off on land assignments.

Ethan asks: What challenges are there when driving the ship?

Grace states that part of the challenges of driving the large ships are learning the physics and maneuvering of the vessel. NOAA is also mostly male dominated, but she feels confident in what she does and it has been an easy fit for her.

Personal Blog

I am enjoying learning all the different backgrounds of everyone on this ship. Even though it is predominately men, I am impressed with the determination that the four women of the crew have. Myself and Makailyn are guests aboard Pisces, but it was nice to see how the women fit in on the ship and are respected. Everyone on board continues asking how I am doing, and making sure I am learning as much as I can. Chief Survey Technician Todd Walsh even spent days building up an extravagant event by having me deploy an Expendable Bathythermograph Sensor (XBT). Todd had convinced me that it was going to be like an “explosion” when it went off, and I was in charge of it. He even gave me a training pamphlet that I studied, and he had me convinced that I must be crazy to agree to do this but I am here for the experience… right? Little did I know that the entire ship was in on the joke. After all the hype of how things could go dangerously wrong, training on how it could backfire, and the special safety attire the day of; the device literally just dropped into the ocean falling out of the holder. Todd… I will get you back!

Several on the ship are looking forward to the end of leg 3 to have a few days off before they are back at it to finish the last leg of this mission. Today I heard the countdown, “2 days and a wake up”. The crew spends so much time out here they look forward to a few days off the ship and a chance to see family. The current scientists will go back to their land jobs after this leg and new scientists will finish the last leg of this mission. Today was by far the prettiest day we have had yet. The ocean has finally calmed down and the Sun is shining bright. This evening it was as if the ocean came alive. We saw whales, dolphins, mahi-mahi, a shark and a trigger fish. I was able to do some laundry on the boat which was great because I tried to pack as light as possible so that I didn’t have to check in luggage at the airport. I am trying to do a little grading when I get a chance. There will only be 10 days left of school when I return. I have missed the students and have really enjoyed reading the letters they wrote me to bring along. Below, you will see a drawing that a student did for me to give to the ship. It is amazing and she is so talented!

Julie readies to deploy the expendable bathythermograph (XBT). She's wearing a life vest and facing away from the camera, across the railing of NOAA Ship Pisces. She stands with her left leg behind her right, for balance, and holds the XBT deployer up with both hands, as if she is about to fire a gun.
Training for deploying the XBT
Julie, wearing a life vest and perhaps unnecessary face mask, holds the now-empty XBT launcher pointed down over the railing of NOAA Ship Pisces. She smiles at the camera. Todd, wearing a life vest and hard hat, stands next to her and points toward the launcher, mid-explanation.
Chief Survey Technician, Todd Walsh and myself after finding out the “joke’s on me.” The XBT just fell in the water with no explosions.

Student Drawing

A beautiful and detailed pencil drawing of NOAA Ship Pisces. It's signed at the bottom: Pandora Hennessy, 4/19/23, NOAA Ship Pisces.
Macon R-1 Middle School student Pandora’s drawing of NOAA Ship Pisces
View inside the bathroom of the stateroom. Through an open door, we see a shower and a toilet. The sink and mirror are mounted outside the door (in the main part of the room.)
“Head” (bathroom) in our stateroom
stacked washing machines and dryers
Laundry room
blacktip shark seen from above, swimming near the surface of the water
Shark on starboard side of ship
Julie leans into view of the camera to point behind her to Joey, who wears a life vest, sunglasses, and hard hat. Joey stands in front of a CTD apparatus on deck.
Finally, I got a picture of Scientist, Joseph “Joey” Salisbury.
Joey tried to avoid the camera most of the mission. He agreed to at least let me tag him in a picture.
Posted on

Julie Hayes: What’s Below Us? April 29th 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Julie Hayes

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

April 22-May 5, 2023

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: April 29, 2023

Weather Data

Clouds: Broken

Temperature: 66 degrees F

Wind: 25 kt.

Waves: 4-6 ft.

Science and Technology Log

Sphere Cameras:

As we travel along the coastal shelf of Texas to Louisiana, scientists have already mapped out drop sites for the Sphere Cameras. There are five cameras that have a 360 degree view, one camera is stereo paired for measurements, and one is facing straight up. The cameras are attached to a rosette (cage), as well as bait to attract fish. Once the cameras are dropped in their designated location they will record for approximately 30 minutes. It is a process dropping the cameras in and picking them up that both the scientists and deck crew all have to help out with. It is hard to believe that by the end of their mission (Legs 1-4) they will have done this over and over around 500 times. Once all footage is collected from the day and downloaded it is then stitched together. This information allows scientist to see a number of things including biodiversity, distributions, and habitat classifications. This is helpful because it is also a much less invasive way for scientists to collect data.

Two members of the science crew, wearing hard hats and life vests, stand on deck, facing a large metal cage hoisted up on ropes. The cage houses underwater cameras. The crewmembers are steadying the apparatus with additional ropes as a davit arm lifts it over the railing of the deck.
A view over the railing of the ship’s deck of the camera array, lowered on a cable and ropes, making contact with the surface of the ocean.
Image gallery imageFour members of the science crew, wearing hard hats and life vests, stand on deck. Two are guiding the underwater camera array as it is raised over the railing of the deck. A third stands farther away, holding one end of a rope attached to the camera array as backup.
Three members of the science crew, wearing hard hats and life vests, stand on deck, looking over the railing where the camera array is being lowered down to the ocean. The crewmember in the foreground holds slack a blue rope attached to the top of the camera array. Another yellow rope, likely held by another crewmember, is also visible.
Three members of the science crew, wearing hard hats and life vests, stand on deck, facing a large metal cage hoisted up on ropes. The cage houses underwater cameras. The crewmembers are steadying the camera array as a hook (connected to something out of view) lifts it over the railing of the deck. In this photo, the array is now suspended entirely over the water.
Four members of the science crew, wearing hard hats and life vests, stand on deck, facing out toward the ocean. One holds a line (rope) attached to something in the water out of view. A camera array awaiting deployment is visible on the deck behind them.

Deploying Cameras

Camera Recordings

A black and white view, through the bars of the camera array, of a shark swimming underwater above a mostly sandy ocean bottom.
Shark
A black and white view, through the bars of the camera array, of about seven red snapper who appear to be jostling over the bait attached to the array.
Red snappers

Tony VanCampen, Electronics Technician

Tony, wearing khaki pants, a khaki shirt, glasses, and a large white beard, stands at a control panel lined with computer monitors, keyboards, and radios. He holds a telephone up to his right ear and grasps papers in his left hand.
Tony demonstrating the Global
Maritime Distress System

Tony is responsible for anything electronic. This could include things like wind, temperature and pressure sensors, electronic connections for the scientific computer systems, and GPS position for mapping. He states, “Anything that can be recorded for future data collection accuracy is very important.” Tony is also in charge of letting others know if the ship needs help. Tony has been on several ships in his lifetime including spending twenty years in the Navy. When Tony retires he hopes to work at a train museum in New York, due to his fascination with trains. He has been a great person to talk to while on this journey and is always willing to give me any information I ask. He even took time out to give me a tour of the bridge and flying bridge, as well as giving me several lesson ideas of coding for my students.

Chris Rowley, Lead Fisherman

Chris, wearing a hard hat, life vest, and sunglasses, stands on deck near a large camera array. He works to hook a cable to the top of the apparatus.
Chris helping deploy cameras

Chris is the lead fisherman on Pisces. His job is to assist the scientists in deploying cameras and CDT, and anything else needed. NOAA provides great benefits to support his family. Chris also is a coxswain who drives the Fast Rescue Boat (FRB) if needed. He is also part of the fire drill and you can see him in the pictures below during the drill. Chris lives in Louisiana and enjoys spending any off time he has with his twin daughters and wife.

Student Questions of the Day for Tony and Chris

Alivia and Tucker ask: How many different ships have you been on?

Tony was a great one to answer this question. Tony was on two naval ships, and eight different NOAA ships. I would say he has had a lot of experience in maritime.

Aryan and Alivia ask: When did you start working for NOAA?

In 2004 Tony started working for NOAA.

Maverick asks: What do you do in your free time?

Tony enjoys woodworking, religious teaching, and is involved with a food bank rescue ministry when he isn’t out to sea.

Konnor asked: What did you do before this job?

Chris started in High School working in the summers on shrimp boats as a deckhand in Louisiana. Before working for NOAA, he worked several years on offshore supply vessels (OSV).

Holden, Karson, Gary, Macie, Zane, Haylee, and Liam ask: What is the coolest and largest thing you have seen in the ocean?

Chris states that at night, while working on the supply vessels, lights would shine in the dark water and he saw an albino barracuda. The largest marine life he has seen has been a whale shark and he has seen several orcas.

Meela and Parker ask: Do you get lonely and do you get personal time?

Chris works out on the ocean over nine plus months out of the year. He looks forward to vacation where he can spend more time with his family back home. The ship now has internet that helps keep them in touch with family.

Personal Log

Last night we had to start working our way inland about 20 miles offshore, due to a large storm out in the Gulf. Tomorrow we plan to head back out towards our mission locations to continue where we left off. We have been tracking the storm for a few days and knew that we would need to go somewhere due to the heavy winds and waves. Since we can’t deploy cameras at our designated locations, everyone is using this day as a catch up day. We also did fire drills and abandon ship drills today. Safety is a huge priority on the ship, and I am confident that if there were to ever be an emergency situation, that everyone on Pisces would handle it excellently. I am taking advantage and downloading photos and working on the blog today, and checking in with my students work back home. Yesterday was amazing! I love getting my hands dirty and take every chance I can get to help cut bait for the baited cameras. I got to see my first whale at sea, and I have had the opportunity to see dolphins a few times now. I find myself often looking for marine life. There are always amazing sunsets at the ocean.

Two crewmembers, dressed in protective coats, pants, gloves, and masks, head down an outdoor stairwell to the deck during the fire drill.
Two crewmembers, dressed in protective gear, spray powerful hoses over the deck of NOAA Ship Pisces during the fire drill.
NOAA Corps Officers, two with protective helmets and gloves, make their way down an outside staircase to the main deck hauling fire extinguishers.

Fire drills

A view off the fantail of NOAA Ship Pisces of the sun setting over the Gulf of Mexico.
Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico
Three mackerel, used for baiting the camera arrays, lay on a teal plastic cutting board.
Bait fish

Bait fish

Julie, right, and an unnamed science team member, left, pose for a photo on deck. Both wear baseball caps and yellow latex gloves. Julie holds a fistful of squid up for the camera. The other person holds an orange mesh baitbag triumphantly above her head.
Bait (squid)
Julie and another science team member stand at a table out on the deck. They are wearing yellow latex gloves. Julie uses a knife to cut the bait into sections on a cutting board. The other person pulls an orange mesh baitbag (filled with cut bait) closed via drawstring. Five other filled baitbags sit on the table.
Cutting and filling bait bags for the baited cameras
Posted on

Julie Hayes: Days at Sea! April 26, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Julie Hayes

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

April 22-May 5, 2023

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: April 26, 2023

Weather Data

Clouds: Scattered

Temperature: 77 degrees F

Wind: 12 kt.

Waves: 2-4 ft.

Science and Technology Log

Each day is started and then ended with a water sample from the ocean. The technology is called a CTD, but the procedure would be called a CTD cast (as if we were casting it in the ocean). CTD stands for conductivity, temperature, and depth. The CTD consists of a collection of electronic instruments that measure the properties of the water, including a laser that checks the clarity of the water. Sampling water bottles are connected to a metal frame called a “rosette”. This information on water characteristics is important to both the scientists and the survey mapping team that use cameras and sonar. This information lets them know how well the clarity of the water is and the speed of sound that helps with the depth finders and sonar.

The apparatus containing the conductivity, temperature, and depth probe sits on the deck of NOAA Ship Pisces, awaiting deployment.
CTD used to check water quality, conductivity, temperature, and depth.

Vocabulary Check

What is Conductivity?

Conductivity is a measure of the ability of water to pass an electrical current.

What is Salinity?

Salinity is the dissolved salt content of a body of water and is a strong conductor of water.

So why is it important for scientist to know what each of these are?

The higher salinity the water is, the higher the conductivity of electrical currents.

Temperature also plays a role in the density. Knowing each of these is important because it lets the scientists know the water quality at different depths so they can make adjustments to their cameras and sonar.

Jack Prior, Chief Scientist

Jack is a pretty “chill” guy, and I have enjoyed watching him in action the past few days. Jack is the field party chief of this mission which involves everything from planning the trip, to deciding the daily sampling locations, deploying cameras, mapping, and figuring out what to do when things go wrong. Jack is in charge of planning and submitting the protocol for the entire mission and also is responsible for the end reports of the mission. You will find Jack on this leg sitting behind multiple computers regulating and keeping a watchful eye on all of the important information regarding this mission. Jack attended the University of West Florida to get his degree in marine biology.

Jack sits at a computer desk with multiple monitors. He smiles at the camera, his right hand giving a thumbs up.
Chief Scientist Jack Prior

Student Question of the Day

Whenever I get a chance, I ask random crew members questions that my students back home were curious about. Here is how Jack answered some of the students’ questions.

Konnor, Nichole, Lillian ask: What degree do you have and what all is needed to do your job?

Jack started his major in biology and had originally planned on going on to be a pharmacist, but then moved to Florida where he ended up getting his degree in marine biology instead. Jack continued to also get his Masters at the University of West Florida, too. Jack changed his career path because he enjoyed marine life. Volunteer work is crucial to get experience, and can benefit you on becoming more diverse when it comes to getting a job in marine biology.

Alyson asks: What would be your dream job?

Someday Jack wants to explore the seafloor in a submarine.

Blake, Sailor, Lilli, Jenna ask: What is your favorite food on the ship?

Taco Tuesdays seem to be a huge hit on the ship, as well as Friday pizza day.

Auburn, Ashton M., Karson, Liam: What would you consider to be the coolest marine life you have seen?

Seeing large diverse reef habitats is what Jack says he finds the most interesting, especially uncommon invertebrates that you’d never see on the beach.

Jaxon and Dwight: Can you be on the ship if you have health issues and what happens if there is a medical emergency?

The ship is a pretty confined space with steep stairs, uneven footing, areas you have to be able to step over, and have the ability to carry heavy weight. If there is ever a medical emergency, the ship works alongside the United States Coast Guard to get them the help they need. However, the ship is great working with all issues and plans accordingly to those who may have special diet restrictions.

Personal Log

Well, I will say that I am getting better at having my sea legs but that is still a work in progress. I have really enjoyed getting to understand the life on this ship, and I am just amazed at how diverse everyone is and yet still make this an amazing environment. It has taken me a few days to get the hang of where things are and to get out of my comfort zone to ask what I feel like has to be a million questions about everything. I have really enjoyed getting to hear and learn about the crew’s background and how they ended up on NOAA Ship Pisces. I greatly appreciate their willingness to answer my questions, even though I am sure I am in their way at moments. Everyone has a job to do and work different hours and shifts. It is great to see how they all respect each other’s space and sleeping hours.

There is so much science around me that I never knew existed, and I am shocked on how much technology is actually being used and heavily relied upon. Today was the first day the waves were calm enough that I was able to go out on the stern (learning names of different areas of the ship) to work on the blog and soak up a little bit of Sun. It was nice to be able to get some fresh air. The food has been amazing on the ship. I love how everyone is so courteous by thanking the cooks, as well as cleaning up after themselves before leaving the mess. The mess is the area in which we eat and the kitchen is called the galley. It has taken me a few days to understand the boat “lingo” but I am starting to catch on. The stairs are pretty steep, and everyone on board says to use 3 points of contact when walking. This is so that if they hit a wave while walking you are more stable. I could definitely see this being an issue going up and down the stairs. The doors are super heavy and I am still learning how to get those twisted and sealed tight the first time I close it (I am getting there).

A view of the mess: that is, the ship's the dining area. At the moment, it is unoccupied. There are five long tables, bolted to the floor, covered in blue vinyl or plastic table clothes. Black chairs surround each one. The chair's legs are all capped in cut-open tennis balls. The tables are supplied with condiments and paper towel holders. A large television screen mounted on the wall shows a football game.
The mess where we eat. It is spotless and a great size to fit everyone on board.

A staircase, as seen looking down from the top stair. There are railings and anti-slip applications.
A heavy metal door, with rounded edges, and a steering-wheel shaped handle. The door is stamped "Keep Closed."
Posted on

Julie Hayes: And…We Depart! April 23, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Julie Hayes

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

April 22-June 5, 2022

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: April 23, 2023

Weather Data

Broken Clouds

Temperature: 73 degrees F

Wind: 20 kt.

Waves: 4-5 ft

Science and Technology Log

As I am still figuring my way around the boat, it is very apparent that their need for technology can be found all throughout the ship. There is a remarkable amount of knowledge regarding technology all around me, and I am feeling a bit uneducated compared to the scientists, engineers, officers, and the rest of the crew. As I mentioned in the introduction, we will be using cameras to collect video of fish along the coastal shelf of Texas to Louisiana, on this leg. This is used to categorize habitats. Each spot has been well orchestrated where the cameras will be dropped to collect footage. It takes several different people to make this happen. Environmental DNA (eDNA) is also being collected at various sites. At nighttime, sea mapping is being done as the boat travels by multi-beam sonar.

I am joining this part of the journey, which is leg 3. There is one more leg after this one and in total there are 537 planned Reef Fish Video Survey drops throughout this entire survey (legs 1-4). They are working around the clock to keep this mission going.

A view of several computer monitors at a desk in NOAA Ship Pisces' computer lab.
Technology for sea mapping.
Two camera arrays sit on deck awaiting deployment. They are round metal cages, a few feet in diameter, which house underwater camera equipment. Each is attached to lines and buoys.
Device that holds the cameras for the Reef Fish Video Survey.
A scientist watches camera footage and data feeds on an display of multiple computer monitors above a desk. She's wearing a baseball cap and facing the computer screens, so we can't identify her face.
A few of the many different forms of technology used by the scientist in the lab.

Personal Log

After my flight from St. Louis to Houston, I made my way to Galveston in a shared shuttle service. The shuttle consisted of several people going on different cruise ships the following day. I enjoyed telling them, when they asked, what ship I was going on, that I would be boarding NOAA Ship Pisces. The questions really started rolling in then, and they were fascinated to hear all about it. I was lucky enough to have gotten a hotel that was right across the street from the beach, the famous Pleasure Pier, and a seafood restaurant was just steps away. After check in, I went to the restaurant to enjoy some spicy shrimp tacos, and then headed across the street to the beach where I spent most of the evening just walking up and down the beach. Living in Missouri, you have to take in as much scenery at the beach while you can.

The next morning I was picked up by two officers from NOAA Ship Pisces and taken to the ship. The ship was much larger than I thought! I was shown my room and was told that my roommate would be arriving later that day. I got one of the larger rooms of the ship consisting of 4 beds, and its own bathroom. However, it would just be me and one other person in there so we would have plenty of room. After getting settled into my room, I was able to take part in a tour given by the ship with two professors and some students from Rice University. This allowed me to become more familiar with the vessel, and I learned a lot from listening to their answers that the professors and students asked about life on the ship. I was able to meet my roommate later that evening who is here to collect eDNA samples for the University of West Florida. I think it is so neat that NOAA works with others to enable research to be completed. That night we slept on the ship at that port. The ship is scheduled to leave the port at 10:00 am in the morning. I was still nervous about being on the ship but had already met so many supportive and friendly people, that I knew they would be welcoming for the next few weeks while on the water.

This morning we left the port as scheduled. It didn’t take long to realize the ocean was a little angry today, with what I thought was some pretty big waves. I have a feeling I will be living on Dramamine for the next few days. So needless to say I was pretty worthless the first day out. It is apparent that it is going to take a little bit of time to get my sea legs in the rough water, and I find myself extremely clumsy falling into the walls as if I am walking in one of those funhouses with the sloping floors. I am amazed how well everyone else on the ship can walk. So hopefully there is promise that the longer I am on here, the better I will, too.

We completed safety drills to ensure that everyone on the ship, in case of an emergency, would know what to do. We went over fire safety, and had a fire drill. We then did an abandon ship drill (we didn’t actually abandon ship), where we had to put on an Immersion Suit. That was not as easy as I thought it would be! I am amazed how everything on the ship is ran, planned out, and everyone knows exactly what their job is.

Julie Hayes, wearing shorts and a long-sleeve shirt, stands in front of NOAA Ship Pisces in port. We can see, on the side of the ship, large black letters identifying the ship is NOAA R 226. Julie mostly blocks the view of the adjacent blue and white NOAA logo.
Seeing the ship for the first time!
A view into Julie's stateroom. We can see two sets of bunk beds, with two bunks on each wall. Each bunk has a bright blue curtain that can be drawn across it for privacy. In the middle of the room is a metal storage cabinet.
Where I will be sleeping for the next few weeks.
Two people stand on deck wearing large orange survival suits zipped up to their noses.
Abandon ship drill: Immersion Suit
A close-up view of the letters "MMS" (for Macon Middle School) scrawled in the sand.
Letting my Macon R-1 Middle School Students know I am thinking of them while on the beach at Galveston!

Posted on

Julie Hayes: Worth the Wait! April 16, 2023

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Julie Hayes

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

April 22 – May 5, 2023

Mission: Reef Fish Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: April 16, 2023

Three Years In the Making

As I am writing this, I find it hard to believe that over three years have passed since I was first selected to start my journey as a Teacher at Sea (TAS) with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). I am so grateful to continue to be a part of this amazing opportunity. In just a few days I will be on my way to join world-renowned scientists and to meet the crew of the ship.

I will be participating, April 22-May 5, 2023, in a Reef Fish Survey on the Gulf of Mexico on NOAA Ship Pisces. Here is the link to learn more about the ship I will call home for 14 days. The goal of this survey is to deploy baited cameras to gain video that allows us to count/measure the fish we see, categorize habitats, and ultimately provide information on overall fish populations. The measurement of water quality will be checked for environmental DNA analysis, which can provide information on what fish have been in the area. Another goal is to do seafloor mapping so that we can find new habitats worth sampling and provide higher quality maps. I will embark at the port in Galveston, Texas and disembarkation will take place in Pascagoula, Mississippi.

I am excited-nervous and the anticipation is at its highest right now. A part of me still has some disbelief that this is FINALLY going to happen. I am beyond ready and can’t wait to share this experience with my family, friends, and students.

NOAA Ship Pisces underway. Image courtesy of NOAA.

Introduction

Welcome to my Teacher at Sea Blog. My name is Julie Hayes and I am from Macon, Missouri. Macon is a small rural farming community in Northeast Missouri. I currently teach life science, ecology, and STEM at Macon R-1 Middle School, but I have taught grades 6-12 covering many science subjects. I would consider myself a life-long learner and am excited to see first- hand the data collection on this mission and how the use of technology has helped the scientists learn more about the ocean and ecosystems themselves.

I have been married for 24 years and have two grown kids. My son graduated last year with a degree in nuclear medicine and married his high school sweetheart. My daughter will soon be finishing up her first year of college. I am excited to share my experiences with my students. I was influenced by my science teacher growing up who allowed us to do hands on learning and this really peaked my interest to persuade young students to love all facets of science, too. I am excited to be taking this journey along with my students.

This is a formal group photo from a wedding. Julie stands all the way to the left, next to her son, his bride, Julie's daughter, and Julie's husband. The bride and the daughter hold bouquets.
Family picture of my son’s wedding this past summer.

Why did I apply to NOAA Teacher at Sea?

Wow! Do I ever get asked this a lot from this midwestern town? Several people I know that have never ventured out further than the neighboring states of Iowa and Illinois, ask me, “why in the world I would want to go out into the ocean with a bunch of strangers and do a bunch of high tech science stuff that none of us have ever heard of?” Even my own children think I am crazy! I tell them it is exactly what I have dreamed of doing my whole life.

Growing up on a farm in a super small town, surrounded by nothing but cornfields and cows, created a sense of wanting to go out and see the world. My family cultivated most of our own vegetables and raised or harvested our own meat. Because of this, I was taught the importance of sustainability. I have always been drawn to nature (probably because it was all around me), but really became fond of all things water. I grew up swimming and observing all of the animals in rivers, creeks, ponds, and lakes. I spent countless hours trying to catch tadpoles, fish, frogs, and turtles just to put them back again. I developed an instant fascination with the ocean at a young age when I came across the scientific expeditions of Jacques Cousteau, that just happen to be on one of the 3 television channels that we could actually get.

A young Julie paddles a canoe on a river or stream.
A photo of an unidentified shark swimming underwater.

I spent many years thinking I was going to go into marine biology, but due to being 1400 miles away from my college of choice for that, my plans took another turn. In fact, if any of my students still to this day ask me if I could be anything other than a teacher what would it be, I have always said a marine biologist. Because of my love for the ocean and the desire to continue to grow and learn more to influence my students, I started researching teacher opportunities over ten years ago.

That is when I found the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Teacher at Sea Program. I knew that my plans of applying were several years away, because I wanted to wait until my kids were older. In 2019, I took the leap of faith and filled out the application and got the amazing news that I was chosen for the 2020 season. When the COVID pandemic hit, everything came to a stand still preventing me from going.

Student Impact

I currently teach over 100 middle school students. I want to encourage them and spark an interest to have a passion for science like I do. By having the opportunity to teach in this rural community, I would consider myself extremely lucky. I have many real-world examples students can relate to right at my fingertips. I put an emphasis on my students being able to relate to the environment around them. One way I do this is by using examples they come across in their everyday lives, especially discussing farming sustainability and ecological topics like symbiosis and food webs. Several educational specimens I bring into the classroom come from my own pond or land that I live on. I love encouraging them to just go outside and look around, including those students that tend to stay indoors more.

We are lucky to have a state park in our little town. When we discuss the importance of conservation, they can see first hand the effects of doing so and why it is so important. Since we are landlocked and far from the ocean, I try to bring the ocean to them. I use symbiotic relationships with ocean ecosystems as examples, and you can find many ocean organisms displayed throughout my classroom. Part of the application process to become a NOAA Teacher at Sea, was to include an original lesson plan. I wanted to create a lesson teaching the students that our practices here, whether it be in farming or the burning of fossil fuels, impact the oceans ecosystems. We discuss how our farming practices in the Midwest can filter through the watershed and end up in the Mighty Mississippi River that meets the Gulf of Mexico. Making them aware of the things we do in our own community, can still have an impact on the oceans ecosystems.

My hopes are that from this learning experience myself, I will become more educated on key topics from ocean careers, use of technology, and practices that will influence my students. Students in my class are often problem solving for solutions, collecting data, and then analyzing that data to come up with their answers. This opportunity involves all of these, in which I can’t wait to share with them.

  • Gallery Image
    Students collecting data. All student photos courtesy of Macon R-1 Middle School.
  • Gallery Image
    Student observations
  • Gallery Image
    Students collecting data.
  • Gallery Image
    Students collecting data.
  • Gallery Image
    Student observations

Student Involvement

Students and co-workers are excited to hear about my NOAA Teacher at Sea experience. Students wrote down questions they were curious to ask about the ship, mission, scientist, and crew. They also wrote me personal encouragement letters to take along with me while I am out to sea. I can’t wait to read them while I am away! My hopes are to maintain contact with the students while I am at sea, and plan to spend a few days a week checking in on them. I will miss all of them, but know that this experience will be well worth it.

A headshot photo of Julie dressed as the book character Ms. Frizzle. She wears a toy lizard perched on her shoulder.
Even Ms. Frizzle can’t wait for you to enjoy the blog!
Posted on

Jordan Findley: One and a Wake Up, June 20, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Jordan Findley

Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces

June 9-22, 2022

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: June 20, 2022

Science and Technology Log

Allow me to provide a summary of the survey and what was accomplished on this leg. June 9, we departed from Galveston and made our way out to sea. The survey started the next day. We traveled 1,866.6 nautical miles (or 2,148.04 miles) along the continental shelf. That’s like driving from Florida to California! On this leg of the survey we (they) deployed 169 cameras, 22 CTDs, 13 bandit reels, and 12 XBTs (still don’t know what that is). We collected 15 eDNA samples (go Caroline!) and mapped 732 nautical miles. This year’s survey started in April, and this was the last leg. We’re making our way back to Pascagoula (yes, I can pronounce it now), a near 28 hour transit. We will be docking and unloading at the Gulf Marine Support Facility. The next survey on the Pisces starts next week, deploying Remote Operated Vehicles (ROVs). The science never stops, folks.

The SEAMAP Reef Fish Survey began as a fish trap survey in 1980’s and transitioned to a video survey in 1991, and the technology continues to evolve year after year. This over thirty years of data provides abundance and distribution information on Gulf of Mexico reef fish. Reef fish abundance and size data are generated directly from the videos. So though the work feels slow, it is essential. An index of abundance for each species is determined as the maximum number of a fish in the field of view in a single video frame. Here are some snippets of the footage recording during our trip.

A school of amber jacks recorded on the camera array.
three or four marbled grouper as seen through the bars of the underwater camera array
Marbled grouper
a group of snappers swimming underwater as seen through the bars of the camera array
Snappers
a tiger shark swims past the bars of the camera array
A stunning tiger shark

*NOTE: The tiger shark shot was not from our leg of the survey, but too cool not to include.

This survey combined with all research approaches (i.e. traps, bandit reels, eDNA) allows for a comprehensive stock assessment of the fish populations in the Gulf of Mexico. Stock assessments collect, analyze, and report demographic information to estimate abundance of fish, monitor responses to fishing, and predict future trends. This significant data is used in managing fish populations and preserving our oceans resources.

Mapping Operations

One of the scientific operations I have not yet mentioned is bathymetric mapping. Senior Survey Technician Todd Walsh works the night shift running the mapping show – multibeam echo-sounder hydrographic survey to be precise. An echo-sounder determines the depth of the seafloor by measuring the time taken for sound echoes to return. The technology is impressive. Todd is straight up 3D mapping the bottom of the ocean. He watches it come to life, line by line. That’s freaking cool. I see you, Todd.

Though mapping occurred overnight, Todd was sure to point out any interesting finds in the morning. The Pisces mapped an area south of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and found an impressive geological feature hosting two mud volcanoes. A mud volcano is a landform created by the eruption of mud or slurries, water and gases. Man, the ocean floor is like a whole other world. It was so interesting to watch the mapping unfold right before your eyes. Maybe the seafloor will be my next destination.

screenshot of a close-up of recently collected bathymetric data (showing underwater landforms) superimposed on a nautical chart (with numbers representing depth measurements)
Photo Credit: Todd Walsh
A man sits at a desk reviewing a collection of computer screens showing the multibeam sonar data
Senior Survey Technician Todd Walsh
screenshot showing a bathymetric map of an area of the seafloor. a small mound - a mud volcano - has lines connecting to a photo of the volcano and a 3-dimensional graph of its volume. Text reads: "NOAA Ship Pisces maps unnamed feature hosting 2 mud volcanoes, June 11-12th, 2022"
Photo Credit: Todd Walsh

Personal Log

The long days take their toll. This crew has worked so hard and is ready to decompress. Some have been out here for months and are counting down the days. You really can’t blame them. You ask anyone out here, “how many days?” and you will hear “three days and a wake up.” “Two days and a wake up.” “One day and a wake up.” They have all earned some serious rest and recovery, and long awaited time with their families and friends. I mean, I’d like to call them friends, but I get it, you can have lots of friends.

I cannot believe it is already my last day out here. Though each day felt like 100 hours, somehow it still flew by. The last CTD hauled out of the water last night marked the end of the SEAMAP survey. I cheer and shout in solitude and run round giving high fives. Good work, everyone! They are all exhausted, but certainly excited and proud of the work they have accomplished. Listen guys, if you aren’t proud, let me remind you that you most certainly should be.

The last day is the first sunrise I didn’t catch – sleeping in was just too tempting. Friends at home have to literally drag me out of bed to catch a sunrise, but out here, it just feels right. We ease into our day and clean and prepare the working spaces and equipment for arrival. I mop. That’s about all I am good for. TAS card. I spend the day roaming as usual, this time reflecting on my arrival and experience at sea. Time slows down even more (if you can believe that) when it’s your last day. I do my best to take in every last moment. I balance the day with some relaxation, a nice game of “bugs” with my pals, a good deal of snacking, revisiting the views, and saying my goodbyes.

Though thrilled to be heading back, most everyone finds their way outside for the last sunset. I soak up every colorful ripple. Mother Nature does not disappoint in those last hours. Dolphins put on a show jumping out of the water at a distance. The stars start to appear, not a cloud in the sky. I stargaze for what felt like hours. We’re greeted by multiple shooting stars. These are the moments I live for – when I feel most at rest. I am overcome with humility and gratitude.

Sunrise over the Gulf of Mexico
Jordan holds up a queen snapper toward the camera
three dolphins surface for air
a polaroid photo of Jordan and roommates held up in front of the water, with the port of Pascagoula visible in the background
sunset or sunrise image
Some of the most memorable moments.

I consider myself lucky to have met and worked with the Pisces crew. Every person on this trip has left an impression on me. From day one, the crew has been so welcoming and willing to let me participate, committed to providing me an exceptional experience. For that, I am grateful. I had so much fun learning from each department and goofing off with the best of them. The work that goes in to the research is remarkable, from navigation, the science, to vessel operations. I learned much more than expected. It’s hard to summarize my experience, but here are some valuable takeaways, in no particular order.

  • NOAA research is vital in protecting our most precious natural resource.
  • Ocean conservation is the responsibility of every one of us.
  • Remember why you do the job you do and the impact you have.
  • Never pass up an opportunity to learn or do something new.
  • Everyone should have the opportunity to connect to our natural world.
  • You can never see too many sunsets.
  • Expose your toes to the great outdoors.

I can’t express enough how grateful I am to have been selected for the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program and be a part of its mission. The experience was so much more than I could have even imagined. Participating in the research was so rewarding, and offered valuable insight into fisheries research and scientific operations. The questions never stopped coming. The novelty of the work kept me hooked. If there is one thing above all that I took away from this trip is – never stop learning. Continuous learning is what enhances our understanding of the world around us, in so many ways, and why I love what I do.

I look forward to sharing my experience with the many students I have the opportunity to work with, and hopefully inspiring them to continue to learn and grow, building a better understanding and appreciation for our planet. NOAA, your investment in me will not go unnoticed. The biggest THANK YOU to all involved in making this experience a reality.

We ride together, we die together. Pisces for life. – Junior

Lightning storm from afar.
Three dolphins surface for air.
Posted on

Jordan Findley: Fishing, June 20, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jordan Findley
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
June 9-22, 2022

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish
Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: June 20, 2022

Science and Technology Log

Fishing Operations

Alright, it’s time for the good stuff, the moment you’ve been waiting for (whether you knew it or not). It’s fishing time. FPC Paul Felts monitors depth and habitat to determine suitable fishing sites. When the crew hears “I’d like to set up for bandit reels” over the radio, they come running. I mean they come out of the woodworks like the Brady Bunch on Christmas morn. Let me remind you, the days can be real slow out here. Lots of transiting and waiting. Fishing offers just enough excitement to keep us going.

Three bandit reels are deployed once or twice per day. I promptly insert myself into the fishing operation on day one. Thank you, Rafael and Junior. The reels are motorized and mounted to the side of the ship. The line starts with a weight and then ten baited hooks are clipped on. When deployed, it sinks to the bottom. We get five minutes. Five short minutes for the fish to bite. Boy does anticipation build in that five minutes. If you have a good one, you can feel it on the line. “One minute to haul back.” By this time, everyone is leaning over the side (the gunwale if you want to be fancy) staring at the water. “Reels two and three you can haul back.” “Reel one you can haul back.” We start reeling back in, from somewhere between 85-100 meters deep. Click, click, click on the reel as we impatiently wait.

a crewmember wearing a life vest reaches over the railing on the side of the ship to bait the line on the bandit reel
Baiting the line
several crewmembers look over the side railing, waiting
Waiting for the haul back
three fish are visible on the line as they are hauled in, up the side of the ship
Reeling in

We start to see a glimpse of the bait coming up around 40-60 meters and try to make out what we’ve hooked. RED SNAPPER! 11 red snapper caught between the three reels on the first fish. This is what I’m talkin’ about. I can handle two weeks of this. Everyone rotates between stations to see what we caught and we all celebrate like we just won some sort of tournament. Let’s remember folks, we are doing this for science. All fish captured on the bandit reels are identified, measured, weighed, and have the sex and maturity determined. Select species have otoliths and gonads collected for age and reproductive research. I excitedly follow the science crew into the lab to get the run down.

in the wet lab, Caroline, wearing a life vest, holds up two red snapper (one larger than the other) by the lines of the hooks in their mouths
Caroline with red snapper
on deck, Amanda holds a marbled grouper by its gill rakers
Amanda with a marbled grouper
on Deck, Rafael holds a red porgy to the camera
Rafael with a red porgy
on deck, Jordan holds up a hooked marbled grouper by the line
Marbled grouper
Jordan holds a queen snapper up for a photo; she is holding it toward the camera to create a forced perspective
Queen snapper

*Read no further if you are squeamish.*

The work up of the fish start with some measurements and weights. Of course it immediately became a competition. Game on. Now these fish aren’t your regular ol’ fish. These suckers are huge. Next we dissect the fish to extract and weigh the gonads. That’s right, I said gonads. You can learn the age and maturity of a fish by examining a sample of the gonads under a microscope. From that, you can estimate lifespan, spawning patterns, growth rate, and possibly even migration patterns. Knowing the age distribution of a fish population helps to better monitor, assess, and manage stocks for long-term benefits. Fish gonads, that’s a first for me.

Next step is the fun part, extracting the otolith. Otoliths (ear bones) are calcium carbonate structures found enclosed inside the heads of bony fish. This bone tells us how old the fish is. Otoliths are removed from the fish’s head either by entering through the top of the head or by pulling back the gills. At first, I observe. They really get in there. By the third or so time, I am ready to get my hands dirty. Remove the gills and start digging. Once you find the inner ear, you crack it open and inside is the otolith. Some species are much easier than others. It’s no walk in the park folks. One grouper took us two hours. It’s like a real life game of operation. Though intense, it’s a fun challenge.

Jordan measures a snapper on a fish measuring board in the wet lab
Measurements
Caroline, wearing a life vest and gloves, records data on a data sheet in the wet lab
Recording data
a crewmember, wearing gloves, uses tools to extract an otolith from behind the fish's gill rakers
Otolith extraction
a data sheet for recording lengths
Data sheet

On this leg of the survey we caught 20 red snappers, 2 silky snappers, 1 queen snapper, 2 scamp, 1 marbled grouper, 1 yellow edge grouper, and 1 red porgy. Sampling these organisms strengthens the data. Employing multiple research methods produces a comprehensive description and interpretation of the data. The workup of the fish was one of my favorite parts of this experience. Not only did I actually get to participate in the research, I learned valuable new skills, most of which I teach about, but have never had the chance to do it. This is the exact reason I applied for the Teacher at Sea Program.

Have I convinced you that science is cool yet?

Meet the Deck Crew

I’d like to give a shout out to my friends on the deck. NOAA Ship Pisces couldn’t do the research they do without the Deck Department – Chief Boatswain James, Lead Fisherman Junior, and ABs Dee and JB. The Deck keep up general maintenance of the boat and on deck, operate equipment and machinery, support scientific operations, and stand watch. These guys might be salty, but they have good spirits and make me smile. I have enjoyed every minute working with them.

JB on deck, wearing a life vest, holds up a hooked fish
AB Jamison “JB” Boyd
Junior, wearing a life vest, hard hat, and sunglasses, carries a bucket or trash can somewhere
Lead Fisherman Farron “Junior” Cornell Jr.
Dee, wearing a hard hat and life vest, mans a line
AB Delwin “Dee” Jackson

Personal Log

Yesterday, we did another fire drill. This time, with the help of firefighter Jordan Findley. LT Duffy set me up to participate in the drill. He shows me the gear and how it works. It’s hot up in there. Two days later when the alarm sounds, I jump to attention. Not really. It took me a minute to remember I was involved. I pop up out of my usual lounging in the lab and swiftly head out to the deck. 0% do I remember where I am supposed to go. Thank god I pass JO ENS Gaughan. She points me in the right direction. By the time I make it to the locker, they’re all dressed out and on their way to “fight the fire.” They’re impressive.

Though late to the game, JB helps me get suited up and I head down to the scene. As you might expect, the “fire” is out by the time I arrive. I provided moral support. Following the drill, we (I trail behind and try not to trip) walk the hose outside to test the pressure. I get to shoot this sucker over the side. I can barely even hold the nozzle in place. LT Duffy comes in for reinforcement on the hose and I go for it. I sprinkle here, I sprinkle there, hose checks out. Good deal. This was a blast. See what I did there?  Later I come to find they had stamped the hose nozzle with my name as a memento. This is such a thoughtful way to remember my time on NOAA Ship Pisces. I shall carry it with me always. Not true, this thing is heavy, but I will certainly cherish it.  I have so much respect for our firefighters and first responders (on board and beyond), and even more so today.

Jordan in fire fighting gear (including respirator mask)
Fire fighting gear
Fire station #17, with a folded hose
Fire station

At this point, I have been out at sea for 12 days. That’s a record for me. My previous PR is one night on a lake in Indiana. I really had no idea what to expect on this trip. I was pretty nervous I would be violently ill and concerned I may not sleep and they wouldn’t have enough coffee to sustain me. None of these were issues, actually far from it, and man am I grateful. No seasickness, I’ve slept like a baby, and there is coffee for days. They even have espresso. Winning. They’ve really spoiled me out here. We have had some really tasty meals, including the fish. No fish goes to waste! I am going to miss being out here at sea. I think I might stick around.

Did You Know?

Wearing gloves, Jordan uses tweezers to hold up an extracted otolith at eye level.

So you now know that otoliths are basically ear bones. What is cool about them is that they grow throughout the life of a fish, leaving traces on the ear bone. Seasonal changes in growth are recorded on the bone and appear as alternating opaque and translucent rings. Under a microscope, scientists count the number of paired opaque and translucent rings, or annuli, to estimate the age of a fish. Just like trees!

Posted on

Jordan Findley: Doin’ Science, June 17, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jordan Findley
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
June 9-22, 2022

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish
Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: June 17, 2022

Weather Data

Location: 28°05.1 N, 091°53.3 W
Sky: Clear
Temperature: 85 °F
Wind: north, 5 kts.
Waves:

Track NOAA Ship Pisces

Science and Technology Log

We are continuing our path due east. We (they) have surveyed 14 different banks and dropped 102 cameras.

*NERD ALERT*

Along the way we have been collecting water samples that contain environmental DNA (eDNA), and mapping at night. Caroline Hornfeck, graduate student at the University of West Florida, is collecting water samples once daily and at additional fixed sites. She is working under Dr. Alexis Janosik, participating in a multiyear study of reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and NOAA. The project’s goal is to characterize reef fish diversity in the northwest Gulf of Mexico using molecular tools and techniques.   

Environmental DNA is a molecular tool used in aquatic ecosystems. eDNA contains DNA from all organisms in the water column. This DNA can be in the form of gametes (reproductive cells), fish scales, waste, etc. This approach is noninvasive and cost-effective, and does not require contact with the organism. Caroline collects test tubes of water, adds some magical juice that causes a chemical reaction, and the DNA begins to solidify in the test tube. You with me? THIS is real science.

Later in the lab, the eDNA is extracted and the samples are run through polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR amplifies (multiplies) genes and the sample is sent to a lab for additional science. Fancy technology makes millions of copies of the DNA. You piece it all together and use the data to assess reef fish diversity. Essentially, eDNA is like taking attendance in the reef community. Roll call.

I will leave it at that, though it’s much more complex. I am starting to remember why I avoided molecular biology.  Caroline, I’m impressed.

two crewmembers wearing gloves collect water samples from a retrieved camera array
Water collection
Caroline, wearing gloves and seated at a desk in the wet lab, uses a squeeze bottle to add ethanol to a water sample tube
Adding ethanol
close up of three labeled sample tubes in a styrofoam holder
eDNA water samples

Meet the Science Crew

Paul Felts
Field Party Chief, Fisheries Biologist

Field Party Chief Paul Felts holds up two fish sampled during the reef fish survey

What do you enjoy most about your job? “It’s the field work that I enjoy most. I love being out on the water (in moderation), participating in the various surveys. I have been a part of so many fun surveys – reef fish, snapper longlines, trawls, plankton, and mammals. I appreciate getting a break from the desk, reviewing footage, and annotating the research. I also enjoy working with the crew and building team camaraderie.”

What is the coolest animal you have seen or worked with? “It’s tough to decide. I have seen all sorts of cool stuff. One mammal survey we were out on the smaller boat and a sperm whale breached about 100-200 yards from the boat. Later those whales were lying on their sides at the surface with full bellies, seemingly just resting after a meal. The giant stingray and thresher shark are up there on my favorites as well.”

Paul is the Field Party Chief. He’s been with NOAA for 21 years. As a Fisheries Biologist at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Paul studies fish populations and their impacts. He knows every fish in the sea (or at least close). Out here, Paul coordinates scientific operations. He has to be on every minute of every day, and deal with the crews’ shenanigans, yet still shows up each morning with a smile on his face, ready to take on the day.

Amanda Ravas
Fisheries Biologist

Fisheries Biologist Amanda Ravas, wearing a hard hat and a life vest, grips the side of a camera array resting on deck

What do you enjoy most about your job? “My favorite part about my job is being out in the field… as long as I’m not seasick. Because I’m still so new, I love learning all the ins and outs of the projects, seeing the species I’ve been watching on our videos in person, and hearing stories from other scientists about all the cool projects they’ve been a part of.”

What is the coolest animal you have seen or worked with? “The coolest animal I’ve seen while out in the field is a manta ray which followed our boat for a few minutes as we were making our transit back ashore. And I always get super excited seeing any shark species while out at sea.”

Amanda is a Fisheries Biologist at the Panama City Laboratory. She’s been with NOAA for two years. She studies fish populations and their impacts. She may be tiny, but she’s mighty. Don’t underestimate her. She knows her stuff, and knows it well, and can keep up with the best of them.

Rafael Ortiz
Program Support Specialist

Program specialist Rafael Ortiz, wearing a hard hat, life vest and gloves, holds a hook over a plastic bucket

What do you enjoy most about your job? “I enjoy being part of the NOAA Fisheries Mission at the MSLABS level. Being an administrator I find myself lucky to participate on various surveys with the scientist. I get to build a great working relationship and many friendships with them. I learn so much from them. Everything from science related topics to personnel life topics. I also feel that they have a higher respect for me than just some admin person.”

What is the coolest animal you have seen or worked with?  “Oh so many to list. I’ve seen so much diversity on these surveys that it’s hard to list. I’m always amazed at what comes out of the ocean and the thought of things I’ve not seen or will never see. I’m fascinated by the smallest to the biggest ocean animals.”

Rafael is a Program Support Specialist. He has been with NOAA for seven years. He provides oversight, technical expertise, and support to personnel and field biologists. But don’t let him fool you; he’s a biologist at heart. These scientists are lucky to have him out here at sea. He works hard, and best of all, keeps everyone in good spirits.

Kenneth Wilkinson
Electronics Technician

Electronics technician Kenneth Wilkinson, wewaring a hard hat and life vest, stands by a bandit fishing reel

What do you enjoy most about your job? “All of it. I have done just about every survey – plankton, sharks, small pelagic, reef fish, Caribbean reef fish, and more. I have worked closely with NOAA enforcement, installing vessel monitoring systems and reporting illegal fishing. Surveillance in the Keys was a lot of fun. I enjoyed being down there. Most recently, I operate NOAA drones.”

What is the coolest animal you have seen or worked with?  “The first to come to mind is the 12 ft. tiger shark during a longline survey. I also enjoyed building satellite tags and tagging sea turtles.”

Kenny is an Electronics Technician at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. He has been with NOAA for 32 YEARS. He handles all the equipment from scientific to shipboard navigation and communication. What would we do without Kenny? This survey, as well as most, relies entirely on the technology. Kenny keeps us in check. I mean he’s the only one that knows what a transmissometer is.

Caroline Hornfeck
Graduate Student, University of West Florida

Graduate student Caroline Hornfreck, wearing a hard hat, life vest, and gloves, sits at a desk in the wet lab aligning sample tubes in a styrofoam holder

What do you enjoy most about your job? “What I enjoy most about being a student in this field, is always adapting and learning new skills that can help me grow as a scientist. Whether that’s in the classroom, research lab at the University of West Florida, or aboard NOAA research vessels.”

What is the coolest animal you have seen or worked with? “One of the coolest animals I have seen is a spotted eagle ray. I hope further down in my research career I can work with elasmobranchs (sharks, skates, and rays) and implement better conservation management for keystone species.”

Caroline earned her B.S. in Marine Biology at the University of West Florida. She is pursuing her Master’s at UWF. She is doing real science out here. Are you even a scientist if you don’t collect DNA? This girl is going places for real.

Personal Log

When 2 or 3 o’clock rolls around, I have to shake things up a bit. I’ve started making rounds just to say hello and see what people are up to. I remind folks that what they do is really cool. I make my way to the bridge usually once or twice to bother them a bit. This is where the ship is commanded. It looks like some sort of spaceship up here. I roam around and try to make sense of the many gadgets and screens. Take a peek out the windows. The sun reflects intensely on the water. It’s hella bright out here.

Operations Officer, LT Christopher Duffy, asks “Do you want to drive?” I look over my left shoulder, I look over my right. Oh, he’s talking to me. “Uh, yeah I do.” I have absolutely no clue what I just signed up for. He seems to think I can handle it. I get the run down. The helm is the steering wheel – check. The main engine controls the propulsion – check. Then there are the bow thrusters. From what I understand, they are basically propellers on the side of the boat. I’m not really sure. I just know they improve maneuverability.

Navigation is an art and science. They transit to specific destinations and position and maneuver the ship and make it look easy. Navigators measure the distance on the globe in degrees. If you have forgotten, like I seemed to have, like a circle, the Earth has 360°. Compasses have four cardinal points (directions), right? – North (N), East (E), South (S), and West (W). Well, turns out when you’re real official, you use degrees instead of directions. As if directions weren’t confusing enough. LT Duffy, “When I say 10° right, you do just that and confirm when you’re there.” I can handle that. “Ten right.” I work with LT Duffy to retrieve our next buoy. Huddleston keeps a careful eye. This is fuuunnnnn. “You ready for a hard right?” “Like all the way?” Seems questionable. Oh he’s serious. “Hard right rudder.” SKKKIIIIRRRRRTTTTTTT. Man this thing can move. We Tokyo drift right into position. Nailed it. LT Duffy takes control to finish positioning (I made it easy for him). I’m grinning ear to ear.

“Are you comfortable giving commands?” “Yep.” The overconfidence kicks in. First things first, CONN candy. What’s that you ask? The officers up here have a secret drawer of tasty treats that they’ve been hiding from us this whole time. Gotta have some before taking command. Wait, what am I doing? LT Duffy explains, “You’ll be giving commands to LTJG, Ariane Huddleston, while she steers.” Uhhhhhhh. I see the fear in her eyes. “Just repeat after me.” Huddleston takes the wheel and I “give commands.” It clicks. This is my time to shine. I “very well’d” the heck out of those commands. So much fun, thank you crew!

main engine control panel
Main Engine
the helm, the ship's steering wheel, on the bridge
Helm
a level that controls the bow thruster
Bow Thruster
Jordan stands at the bridge
Learning to drive
screenshot of a computer showing the ship's position on a grid
Navigation technology
Lieutenant Duffy stands at the control panel, looking out over the bridge
LT Duffy

Did You Know?

You know all those horrid COVID tests you had to take? You were doin’ science right there. The polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests genetic material (fluid from the nasal swab). The test detects the virus that causes COVID-19. Scientists use the PCR technology to amplify small amounts of RNA from specimens into DNA, which is replicated until SARS-CoV-2 is detectable if present. It’s cool stuff guys.

Posted on

Jordan Findley: Ready for the Drop, June 13, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Jordan Findley
Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
June 9-22, 2022

Mission: SEAMAP Reef Fish
Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: June 13, 2022

Weather Data

Location: 27°52.1 N, 93°16.5 W
Sky: Scattered clouds, hazy
Temperature: 85 °F
Wind: south, 13 kts.
Waves: 1-2 ft.

Track NOAA Ship Pisces

Safety Onboard

Obviously, safety is of the utmost importance out here at sea. Respect. When working on deck, crew must wear life vests, hard hats, sometimes safety belts, and closed-toe shoes. I don’t know how these people wear closed-toe shoes all day long. I hate it. My piggies are suffocating. 

The plan of the day for Friday (6/10) included safety drills at noon. Noon rolls around and I am not really sure what to do. No surprise there. Confirm with Paul what to do and where to be. Oh, okay. Amanda, Caroline, and I go grab our safety getup and start to head to our assigned life raft muster stations (where we gather). On the way down, Commanding Officer LCDR Jeffery Pereira, passes by. “Wow, you ladies are ready.” …… something tells me it’s not quite time. We promptly return to our stateroom. I casually go check our muster stations. Yep, there’s no one. Turns out drills commence with a signal. I’m on to you CO, you just getting a kick out of us roaming around like fools with our safety gear. It’s okay, I have accepted my role onboard.

We run through fire and abandon ship drills. At sea, everyone aboard ship, be they crew, scientist, or passenger, is a member of the fire department. When the alarm sounds, everyone jumps to respond. My response, go to the back deck and wait. Meanwhile, the crew is hard at work donning firefighting PPE and preparing fire stations. Great work, team!

Then we move on to the abandon ship drill. Abandoning ship in the open sea is an action of last resort. Only when there is no reasonable chance of saving the ship will the order ever be given to abandon it. When signaled, everyone reports to their assigned life raft muster station with their protective survival gear. We throw on our survival suits, or immersion suits, and in the actual event, would launch the life rafts. This immersion suit is intended to protect your body while out in the open ocean. Now, I know safety is serious business, but these suits are ridiculous looking. We somehow make them look good. I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again – safety is sexy.

Jordan poses in a bright orange immersion suit. Two thumbs up.
Immersion suit
At Fire Station Number 17, a fire hose, attached to a water pipe several feet high, is wrapped up and mounted on a hook. There is also a flashlight.
Fire station
Jordan on deck showing off personal protective equipment: hardhat, flotation vest, radio.
PPE

Science and Technology Log

We spent our first day at a reef known as Claypile Bank, approximately 80 miles offshore. The second day we headed to East Flower Garden Banks, 125 miles offshore. Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary was expanded from 56 mi² to 160 mi² to protect critical habitat in the Gulf of Mexico in 2021 and is now made up of 17 different reefs and banks. Cameras were dropped at around 48 meters (or 157 ft) the first go around and 116 meters (380 ft) the second. Since the start, we have sampled Rankin Bank, Bright Bank, and started on Geyer Bank, with a total of 62 cameras deployed. That’s a lot of cruisin’ and droppin’.

a close-up of a nautical chart showing sample sites. it's not clear what area of the Gulf of Mexico is shown in this example.
Mapped sampling sites
Field Party Chief Paul Felts sits at a computer desk and points to something on the computer screen. He is wearing a NOAA Ship Pisces t-shirt.
FPC Paul Felts
a view of a computer screen showing the readout from the echo-sounder
Echo Sounder

Camera Operations

Let’s talk about these cameras. Deploying and retrieving cameras occurs ALL DAY LONG. Man, the days are long. Here is a quick summary of the work…

Dropping the camera

There are two camera arrays, one 48” tall and the other 36” tall. These things are beastly. Each Spherical/Satellite camera array has six video cameras and a satellite camera, battery, CTD, tensiomet… tramsmiss…  transmit…. What it is Ken? … TRANSMISSOMETER (measures visibility/turbidity), sonar transmitter, trawl net ball, and bait bag. The first camera goes out at 7 AM and the last by 6:15 PM. Predetermined sampling sites are selected along the U.S. continental shelf using random stratified selection (dividing the area into subgroups).

When at the site, cameras are lifted by the A-frame, dropped with the yank of a chain, and boom, they sink to the bottom. They sit on the seafloor and soak (record footage) for 30 minutes. First camera goes in, we head to the next site, second camera goes in, we retrieve the first, we retrieve the second, and repeat.

Though the deployment itself only takes like two minutes, there is a lot of coordination involved. It’s amazing how the Bridge (NOAA Corps), Deck, and Lab crews work together to effectively deploy and retrieve the cameras. The communication is nonstop. Field Party Chief (FPC if you know him), Paul Felts, is the brains of this operation. Paul keeps scientific operations running smoothly, providing coordinates to selected sites, monitoring conditions, keeping time, processing data, and I am sure so much more. This guy doesn’t stop. The Bridge are they eyes and ears – they are on watch, navigating to sites, and maneuvering and position the ship all while working against the elements. You guys deserve more credit than that, I know. The Deck are the hands (this is a terrible analogy, but I am committed at this point) – they are operating the deck equipment, raising and lowering cameras, and working the lines and buoys. I, Teacher at Sea Jordan Findley, am the appendix. I have potential, but am mostly useless, and can be a real nuisance from time to time.

three crewmembers stand around a camera array on deck. The array consists of multiple cameras pointing in different directions surrounded by a study metal cage about 4 ft high. Crewmembers wearing hard hats and life vests.
Crewmembers watch over the rail as the camera array is lowered into the water.
Camera array deployment

Personal Log

We are almost one week in and I am still just as excited as day one. Have I encountered challenges, yes, but being out here in the middle of the Gulf is something special. I am greeted every day with a beautiful sunrise and evening sunset. It is spectacular. The water is so beautiful. One of the things I really hadn’t considered to impact my experience at sea is how amazing the people would be. You all inspire me. Every single person on this ship has been so kind and accommodating, allowing me to participate and taking the time to teach me, despite how long they’ve been out at sea or how long their day has been. It’s like one big (mostly) happy family out here. They have me cracking up all the time. Now, they could just be on their best behavior for the ol’ teach (that’s me), but I am convinced they’re just good people. I mean, I even like most of them before my morning coffee. That’s something right there.

Sunset over the Gulf of Mexico. A winch from the ship just barely hangs in view.
Sunset
Moon peeks over the horizon as the sun sets.
Moon rise

I think I am getting my groove. On a typical day on the ship, we wake up at 6 AM (oof), breakfast, then to the lab. I like to take a minute on the back deck to drink my coffee and look out over the water. First deployment (CTD and camera) is at 7 AM. They do some science, and then continue to deploy and retrieve cameras about every 10-30 minutes until sunset. I pop in and out of the lab all day to observe, but try to keep myself busy. When I am not “helping out,” you will find me in my office. Some call it the mess. I don’t mind. It’s also conveniently where all the food is prepared and served, and where the coffee and snacks are located.

We all refuel on coffee during lunch. Shout out to Paul for making that coffee a real punch in the face. Fishing occurs in the afternoon, almost daily. More to come on this, but man it is fun. The rest of the day is a waiting game (at least for me). Living on a ship is weird; there is only so much you can do. Honestly, the first couple of days, I had some concern I might die of boredom, but as things progressed, I got more involved in every aspect of the operation – even driving this beast! Also, been trying to sneak in a workout. Don’t forget to hydrate. That breaks up the day a bit. Dinner rolls around at 5 PM. All I do is eat. I have been eating like a grown man. The crew starts to wrap things up, reset for the next day, and then transition to mapping operations. The day isn’t complete without watching the sunset. Then we just hunker in until bedtime. The ship “rock-a-bye babies” everyone to sleep.

Generally speaking, I have improved immensely on my ability to open doors – solid 8/10. Those heavy brown doors though, they still kick me in the butt on my way through. I am learning my way around the ship for the most part. Mmmm, kind of. There is a door like every five feet. What I have not improved on is my ability to walk. I am walking all sorts of ways but straight. Everyone stands clear when I walk by. They say you’ll get your sea legs, but I am not sure I am convinced.

View of Jordan's laptop, coffee, and water bottle on a table in the mess.
The Mess (cafeteria)
Jordan lifting a weight in the workout room.
Expectation
Jordan reaching for snacks on a table in the mess.
Reality

Did You Know?

A continental shelf is the edge of a continent that lies under the ocean. Though underwater, continental shelves are still considered part of the continent. The boundary of a continent is not the coastline, but the edge of the shelf. The shelf extends to a drop-off point called the shelf break. From the break, the shelf descends deep to the ocean floor. Depths of the shelf where we sample range from 45-165 meters, mostly because it gets to be too dark much past that. The depth of the Gulf of Mexico can be more than 5,000 meters deep! Sorry friends, I am done converting units – we’re doing science out here. Just know that it’s deep.