NOAA Teacher at Sea Jennifer Petro Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces July 1 — 14, 2013
Mission: Marine Protected Area Surveys Geographic area of cruise: Southern Atlantic Date: July 7, 2013
Weather Data Air temperature: 27.°C (81.5°F)
Barometer: 1022.50 mb
Humidity: 73%
Wind direction: 195°
Wind speed: 6.1 knots
Water temp: 26.6° C (79.3°F)
Latitude: 34 44.62 N
Longitude: 75 91.98 W
Science and Technology Log
Today we find ourselves off of the coast of northern North Carolina where we will be for the next few days. An exciting aspect about this cruise is that we will be multi-beam mapping (a blog about that very soon) and sending the ROV down for surveys in new areas off of North Carolina. For the past few days I have been working with the team from the Panama City Southeast Fisheries Science Center identifying fish. This can sometimes be a very difficult prospect when the ROV is flying over the fish at 2 knots. The team from SEFSC consists of Andy David, Stacey Harter and Heather Moe. David is a 23 year veteran of NOAA and has been working on the MPA project since 2004. Stacey has been working on this project since its inception as well. Heather is new to the team and is just coming off of a 1 year assignment with the NOAA Corps at the South Pole.
There are several major objectives of this survey cruise.
There are several major objectives of this survey cruise.
(1) To survey established MPAs to collect data to compare to previous years’ surveys.
An important aspect of these cruises is to establish the effectiveness of an MPA. In some MPAs there is usually no fishing allowed. This includes trolling. bottom fishing (hook and line) as well as all commercial methods of fishing. The MPAs we are studying are Type II MPAs where trolling is permitted. They are looking for seven specific target species.
According to Andy, these species have been chosen due to their commercial value. During each dive a record is taken as to the type of species seen. We are specifically looking for the target species but we are keeping track of ALL the species that we see. I think it is fantastic to see scientists get excited about seeing something new. So far we have seen Oceanic Sunfish (2), Redband Parrotfish, Tautog (a more northerly found fish), Longsnout Butterflyfish and one fish species that we have not identified yet. There is an emphasis on Lionfish counts to assist in gauging how the introduction of this invasive species is affecting the overall fish populations. In some areas the Lionfish numbers have increased dramatically over the years. Today we actually saw one try to eat a smaller fish! They are very abundant in some locations and not in others but they have been present in 95% of our dives.
A Speckled Hind seen inside the North Florida MPA.A Warsaw Grouper seen inside the North Florida MPA.Stacey Harter, LT JG Heather Moe and I watching the big monitor and calling out the fish that we are seeing to be recorded.
(2) Survey outside of the MPAs.
You may ask “Why survey outside the area?” We want to know if the MPAs are indeed doing what they were designed to do: protect fish species. That was very evident in Jacksonville where the numbers and size of Gag Grouper and Scamp far exceeded the numbers and size outside the MPA.
Andy David recording for the ROV video log species of fish we are seeing on the dive.
(3) Survey new sites for possible MPA designation.
There is a process that is followed when determining if an area is a suitable MPA candidate. What we are doing on this cruise is both mapping and surveying new areas that have been proposed as MPA sites. This is the ground level stage. The MPAs in the region that we are in are ultimately determined by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
A Gray Triggerfish protecting a nest of eggs. Seen in the Edisto MPA as well as in a proposed site off of North Carolina.
Data during the dives is collected in a few ways. There are several video monitors that we watch and we call out species that we see. A data keyboard, like the one Harbor Branch uses for invertebrates counts, is used to keep track of types and number of each species seen. During every dive a video from the camera on the ROV is recorded and species are highlighted and recorded on to the DVD. This data will be analyzed thoroughly back at the lab and then sent to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
Personal Log
I am happy to announce that I have finally gotten my sea legs. It wasn’t as bad as I had envisioned but I was definitely concerned that it would be a major issue. We had some weather on Thursday, July 4 and that was the worst of it for me. I now hardly feel the vessel move. It has been fun over the past several days. We are in the lab most of the days so we only get to really see the crew at mealtimes and after dinner. The crew, from the CO to the engineers, are all great people. They are happy to answer questions, point you in the right direction and are quick to say hi and ask you about your day. Yesterday afternoon one of the engineers, Steve, gave us a tour of the engine room. All of the ship’s infrastructure is supported by this room. The engines run the generators for power, support the a/c, house the desalination filters (all the fresh water on board comes from salt water) as well as getting the boat from point A to point B. I was impressed!
One of the 4 Caterpillar engines that keep Pisces running ship shape.
Today after our last ROV dive, a school of Mahi mahi followed it (the ROV) up to the surface. The fishing was on! The crew brought out rods, reels and bait and the fishing commenced. Collectively we managed to land one bull or male and 2 smaller Mahi mahi. It was a nice diversion for all of us, scientists and crew, as we were back to work all too quickly. Fish tacos for dinner!
Hoping I can land this one!
Fair weather and calm seas.
Jennifer
Did you know that…
Some grouper can grow to be so huge that when they open their mouths to feed, they create a suction that is powerful enough to inhale small prey.
NOAA Teacher at Sea Lesley Urasky Aboard the NOAA ship Pisces June 16 – June 29, 2012
Mission: SEAMAP Caribbean Reef Fish Survey Geographical area of cruise: St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands Date: June 18, 2012
Location: Latitude: 17.6568
Longitude: -64.9281
Weather Data from the Bridge:
Air Temperature: 28.5°C (83.3°F)
Wind Speed: 17.1 knots (19.7 mph), Beaufort scale: 5
Wind Direction: from SE
Relative Humidity: 75%
Barometric Pressure: 1,014.80 mb
Surface Water Temperature:28.97 °C (84.1°F)
Science and Technology Log
Alright, so I’ve promised to talk about the fish. Throughout the science portions of the cruise, the scientists have not been catching the anticipated quantities of fish. There are several lines of thought as to why: maybe the region has experienced overfishing; possibly the sampling sites are too shallow and deeper water fish may be more likely to bite; or they might not like the bait (North Atlantic mackerel) since it is not an endemic species/prey they would normally eat.
So far, the night shift has caught more fish than the day shift that I’m on. Today, we have caught five and a half fish. The half fish was exactly that – we retrieved only the head and it looked like the rest of the body had been consumed by a barracuda! These fish were in the grouper family and the snapper family.
Coney (Cephalopholis fulvus)Blackfin snapper (Lutjanus buccanella). This little guy was wily enough to sneak into the camera array and steal some squid out of the bait bag! The contents of his stomach – cut up squid – can be seen to the left between the forceps and his head.
Once the fish have been caught, there are several measurements that must be made. To begin, the fish is weighed to the nearest thousandth (three decimal places) of a kilogram. In order to make sure the weight of the fish is accurate, the scale must be periodically calibrated.
Then there are several length measurements that are made: standard length (SL), total length (TL) and depending on the type of fish, fork length (FL). To make these measurements, the fish is laid so that it facing toward the left and placed on a fish board. The board is simply a long plank with a tape measure running down the center. It insures that the fish is laid out flat and allows for consistent measurement.
Standard length does not measure the caudal fin, or tail. It is measured from the tip of the fish’s head and stops at the end of the last vertebra; in other words, if the fish is laying on its side, and you were to lift the tail up slightly, a crease will form at the base of the backbone. This is where the standard length measurement would end. Total length is just as it sounds – it is a measurement of the entire length (straight line) of the fish. Fork length is only measured if the type of fish caught has a forked tail. If it does, the measurement begins at the fish’s snout and ends at the v-notch in the tail.
How to measure the three types of lengths: standard, fork, and total. (Source: Australian Government: Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population, and Communities)Red hind (Epinephelus guttatus) on the fish board being measured for standard length. Ariane’s thumb is on the crease marking the end of its backbone.
Once the physical measurements are made, the otoliths must be extracted and the fish sexed. You’re probably anxious to learn if you selected the right answer on the previous post’s poll – “What do you think an otolith is?” An otolith can be thought of as a fish’s “ear bone”. It is actually a structure composed of calcium carbonate and located within the inner ear. All vertebrates (organisms with backbones) have similar structures. They function as gravity, balance, movement, and directional indicators. Their presence helps a fish sense changes in horizontal motion and acceleration.
In order to extract the otoliths, the fish must be killed. Once the fish has been killed, the brain case is exposed and peeled back. The otoliths are in little slits located in the underside of the brain. It takes a delicate touch to remove them with a pair of forceps (tweezers) because they can easily break or slip beyond the “point of no return” (drop into the brain cavity where they cannot be extracted).
Otoliths are important scientifically because they can tell many important things about a fish’s life. Their age and growth throughout the first year of life can be determined. Otoliths record this information just like tree ring record summer/winter cycles. More complex measurements can be used to determine the date of hatch, once there are a collected series of measurements, spawning times can be calculated.
A cross-section of an otolith under a microscope. The rings are used to determine age and other life events. Source: Otolith Research Laboratory, Bedford Institute of Oceanography, Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Because they are composed of calcium carbonate (CaCO3), the oxygen component of the chemical compound can be used to measure stable oxygen isotopes; this is useful for reconstructing temperatures of the waters the fish has lived in. Scientists are also able to look at other trace elements and isotopes to determine various environmental factors.
Extracted otoliths. Often they are around 1 cm long, although the larger the fish, the slightly larger the otolith.
The final step we take in measurement/data collection is determining the sex and maturity of the fish. To do this, the fish is slit open just as if you were going to clean the fish to filet and eat it. The air bladder must be deflated if it isn’t already and the intestines moved out of the way. Then we begin to search for the gonads (ovaries and testes). Once the gonads are found, we know if it is female or male and the next step is to determine its stage or maturity. This is quite a process, especially since groupers can be hermaphroditic. The maturity can be classified with a series of codes:
U = undetermined
1 = immature virgin (gonads are barely visible)
2 = resting (empty gonads – in between reproductive events)
3 = enlarging/developing (eggs/sperm are beginning to be produced)
4 = running ripe (gonads are full of eggs/sperm and are ready to spawn)
5 = spent (spawning has already occurred)
Ovaries of a coney (grouper family). These are the pair of flesh colored tubular structures running down the center of the fish.
Personal Log
Today is my birthday, and I can’t think of a better place to spend it! What a treat to be having such an adventure in the Caribbean! This morning, we were on our first bandit reel survey of the day, and the captain came on over the radio system, announced my birthday and sang Happy Birthday to me. Unbeknownst to me, my husband, Dave, had emailed the CO of the Pisces asking him to wish me a happy birthday.
We’ve had a very successful day (compared to the past two days) and have caught many more fish – 5 1/2 to be exact. The most exciting part was that I caught two fish on my bandit reel! They were a red hind and blackfin snapper (see the photos above). What a great birthday present!
Father’s Day surf and turf dinnerMy birthday fish! The blackfin snapper is on the left and the red hind on the right.I even got a birthday kiss from the red hind!
Last night (6/17) for Father’s Day, we had an amazing dinner: filet mignon, lobster, asparagus, sweet plantains, and sweet potato pie for dessert! Since it was my birthday the following day (6/18), and one of the scientists doesn’t like lobster, I had two tails! What a treat!
Our best catch of the day came on the last bandit reel cast. Joey Salisbury (one of the scientists) caught 5 fish: 4 blackfin snapper and 1 almaco jack; while Ariane Frappier (another scientist) caught 3 – 2 blackfin and 1 almaco jack. This happened right before dinner, so we developed a pretty good assembly line system to work them up in time to eat.
Dinner was a nice Chinese meal, but between the ship beginning to travel to the South coast of St. Thomas and working on the computer, I began to feel a touch seasick (not the best feeling after a large meal!). I took a couple of meclazine (motion sickness medication) and still felt unwell (most likely because you’re supposed to take it before the motion begins). My roommate, Kelly Schill, the Operations Officer, made me go to bed (I’m in the top bunk – yikes!), gave me a plastic bag (just in case!), and some saltine crackers. After 10 hours of sleep, I felt much, much better!
I had some time in between running bandit reels, baiting the hooks, and entering data into the computers,to interview a member of the science team that joined us at the last-minute from St. Croix. Roy Pemberton, Jr. is the Director of Fish and Wildlife for the Department of Planning and Natural Resources of the U.S. Virgin Islands. The following is a snippet of our conversation:
LU: What are your job duties as the Director of Fish and Wildlife?
RP: I manage fisheries/wildlife resources and try to educate the population on how to better manage these resources to preserve them for future generations of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
LU: When did you first become interested in oceanography?
RP: I’m not really an oceanographer, but more of a marine scientist and wildlife biologist. I got interested in this around 5-6 years old when I learned to swim and then snorkel for the first time. I really enjoyed observing the marine environment and my interest prompted me to want to see and learn more about it.
LU: It’s such a broad field, how did you narrow your focus down to what you’re currently doing?
RP: I took a marine science class in high school and I enjoyed it tremendously. It made me seek it out as a career by pursuing a degree in Marine Science at Hampton University.
LU: If you were to go into another area of ocean research, what would it be?
RP: Oceanography – Marine Spatial Planning
Roy Pemberton holding a recently caught coney.
LU: What is the biggest challenge in your job?
RP: It is a challenge to manage fisheries and wildlife resources with respect to the socioeconomic and cultural nuances of the people.
LU: What do you think is the biggest issue of contention in your field, and how do you imagine it will resolve?
RP: Fisheries and coral reef management. We need to have enough time to see if the federal management efforts work to ensure healthier ecosystems for future generations.
LU: What are some effects of climate change that you’ve witnessed in the reef systems of the U.S. Virgin Islands?
RP: Temperatures have become warmer and the prevalence of disease among corals has increased.
LU: In what areas of Marine Science do you foresee a lot of a career paths and job opportunities?
RP: Fisheries management, ecosystem management, coral reef diseases, and the study of coral reef restoration.
LU: Is there an area of Marine Science that you think is currently being overlooked, and why?
RP: Marine Science management that takes into account cultural and economic issues.
LU: What are some ideas a layperson could take from your work?
RP: One tries to balance resource protection and management with the cultural and heritage needs of the population in the territory of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
LU: If a high school student wanted to go into the fish/wildlife division of planning and natural resources, what kinds of courses would you recommend they take?
RP: Biology, Marine Science, History, Botany, and Math
LU: Do you recommend students interested in your field pursue original research as high school students or undergraduate students? If so, what kind?
RP: I would suggest they study a variety of life sciences so they can see what they want to pursue. Then they can do an internship in a particular life science they find interesting to determine if they would like to pursue it as a career.
Too many interesting people on the ship and so little time! I’m going to interview scientists as we continue on to San Juan, Puerto Rico. Once they leave, I’m continuing on to Mayport, Florida with the ship. During this time, I’ll explore other careers with NOAA.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Marian Wagner Aboard R/V Savannah August 16 — 26, 2011
Mission: Reef Fish Survey Geographical Area: Atlantic Ocean (Off the Georgia and Florida Coasts) Date: Saturday, August 20, 2011
Weather Data from the Bridge (the wheelhouse, where the controls of the ship are)
E-SE Wind at 5 knots (wind is travelling 5 nautical miles per hour, 1.15 statute miles = 1 nautical mile)
Sea depth at 12:42 pm was 51.2 meters
Water Temperature 29.62 Celsius
Science and Technology Log
Research aboard the R/V Savannah has commenced and is at full throttle. Scientists and crew are well-trained and everyone knows their jobs thoroughly. All work is moving along with great efficiency! Now that I have learned and experienced the details this research, I’ll explain it here:
As a reminder, our mission is to survey the population of commercially-important species to inform stock assessments, or, put another way, we study how many fish there are and where they exist, and we provide information to help fisheries managers set a sustainable harvest (so we don’t run out of fish). We conduct our research by dropping chevron fish traps onto the ocean floor to catch samples of fish we can use to estimate a population and report important biological measures (for example, age, length, weight, feeding habits, and genetics). The method of using chevron traps to catch live biological samples doesn’t work well for all species, so another way of estimating abundance is by recording the activity that is happening around the traps with video cameras.
We cannot begin dropping fish traps until one hour after sunrise because the cameras need natural light to record the habitat and the activity (if we were to use artificial light it would change everything: sometimes fish are attracted to artificial light, other fish avoid it, so our research would be compromised, or messed up, if we used artificial light). So, the crew that works the shift from midnight to noon gets the first traps ready, and they start deploying them around 8:00 am. Here’s what it looks like to drop traps off the boat:
Cameras rolling, we are almost at the target spot to drop the trap.
The traps stay down on the ocean floor for 90 minutes. We usually deposit 6 traps at a time in the same general area (each a mile or less apart), and we pick them up in the same order we dropped them. To pull the traps out of the water, we use a hydraulic pot hauler (that was made in Seattle, WA!) and a team effort of coordinated and careful action. If we were not extremely careful doing this work on the deck, not only could the science data be useless, but people could easily be hurt. This is what we look like in action:
Pulling up trap, excited to see what we caught
I get up in the morning around 9AM, I have breakfast and relax during the few hours I have off before my shift begins. I like to talk to people, visit the bridge for weather and information on our direction, and when I can get on the single computer, I sometimes do so before my shift begins.
My shift begins at noon, when I suit up to work on the deck of the stern (the back). We work dropping traps, picking them up, and processing fish that we catch. The work is very carefully conducted, with everyone having specific roles but also helping each other in every way so we can do our best job. The amount of teamwork is incredible.
I am extremely impressed with how well each scientist and crewman clearly thinks of the team first, and his/her individual needs second. Everyone (I mean EVERYone) works hard (I mean VERY hard), is very thoughtful and conscientious of the “big picture”, is fun to laugh with and be around, and, in general, everyone is just easy to live with. Doing field science research like this would be really tough if scientists did not also get along well as a member of a team. Because conducting this research depends upon teamwork, being able to live and work well together is perhaps as important as one’s research skills.
This door is charming yet inconvenient during a middle-of-the-night bathroom run, but esential in case of emergency.
Personal Log
Living on a ship has so many opportunities for adventure! I mean…going to the head (bathroom) is still an adventure for me! Walking through two watertight doors to get to the bathroom is an adventure. Keeping my balance in a rocking shower, a place where I am often most relaxed, is a new adventure. Being constantly aware of the amount of water I am using so we don’t run out of running water (and knowing everyone else is doing the same) is a reality, and an adventure of sorts. Not being able to get away from the strangers-who-are-now-family is an adventure. And there are all the work-related adventures…wrestling with a moray eel against its gaping teeth (which could have infected and killed the muscles in my arm for life) was a foolish adventure (I should have let it get out of the tub and slither away instead of wrestling it), but I successfully made it through to tell about it with no injury. There are so many adventures. I am remembering how much I love learning by immersing myself in new experiences. I really believe the most powerful way to learn about another way of life is to live it.
After being iced for 30 minutes to take data on him, this moray was still fighting but with much less vigor. I threw him off the ship after this photo. He's alive.
Also, I love being in the unique environment of the pelagic ocean, the part of the ocean that is not near land. It is another experience of immersion to be around this environment for a length of time, and really get to live within it. I can feel the changes of the rocking motion of the ship when the seas are rougher, I can see when the clouds spell rain, I know the phase of the moon and the smell of the ocean air. I know this environment now just as well as I know my own neighborhood.
NOAA Teacher at Sea
Walter Charuba Aboard R/V Savannah July 18 — 29, 2011
Mission: Reef Fish Survey Geographical Area: Southeast Atlantic Ocean Date: July 17, 2011
Personal Log
Hello, my name is Walter Charuba, Mr. Charuba to my students. I am introducing my first blog. I am a sixth grade science teacher at Brownell Middle School in Grosse Pointe. The reason I am wriiting this blog is that I am out on the Atlantic, off the coast of Georgia and Florida, on the scientific reasearch vessel, Savannah. I was granted this opportunity with the NOAATeacher at Sea Program. I just embarked on this voyage this morning. (This is one time I used the word “voyage” and really meant it.)
The purpose of this excursion is to collect samples of reef fish off the coast of Florida. I plan to get into greater details when I experience more of my surroundings. It is kind of like science class–it is best to learn by doing. Another reason I am keeping this short is the ship is rocking a bit and I think I will be better to handle the motion tomorrw. Please keep reading in the future because I am truly excited to give details about this wonderful opportunity. If the email connection can handle it, I will also send some images.
NOAA Teacher At Sea: Elizabeth Warren Aboard NOAA Ship Pisces
Mission: Reef Fish Surveys Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico Date: July, 15 2010
Here we goooo……
Weather Data from the Bridge: Temperature: Dry Bulb 30̊℃, Wet Bulb 26.2 ℃ Wind: 7-9 mph Swell: 3-4 feet Location: 28 37.12° N, 89.33° W Weather: Sunny, Humid, Scattered clouds
Science/Technology Log
Me in Front of the Southwest Fisheries Building
Yesterday, Anne-Marie and I were given a tour of the NOAA facilities in Pascagoula. In the new building they house several different divisions; Southeast Marine Fisheries Unit, Seafood Inspection and Documentation and Approval Center. Kevin Rademacher our Chief Scientist showed us around. The labs in the Marine Fisheries unit take what is being done on the vessels and use it for research. They run many different types of research on the ships. Beside the Pisces, there are two other ships that are run out of Pascagoula; Oregon II, and The Gordan Gunter.
Seafood Inspection Lab
On one of the floors were the Seafood Inspection labs. They bring in fish from different areas and test it. In one lab they had a set of partitions up which were the tasting areas. An example of what they have done in the past that Kevin gave us was a restaurant bought some red snapper. They brought it to the lab where they cooked in clear Pyrex containers then they smelled, checked the consistency, and tasted the fish. They discovered that the fish was not really snapper! Right now due to the oil spill they are mainly focusing on the fish that we bring in on our survey. We are required to save 10 fish out of every trap we bring up so that they can have a baseline testing of fish from an area before being it has been impacted by the oil spill.
Another floor of the building is the science labs. We walked through the plankton lab, where each person had their own station with a computer and a high powered microscope. They had several different samples out that were labeled. Just like our trip in the 6th grade they used nets with different size holes to catch different types of plankton. Another lab was called the Age and Growth lab. Here is a picture of shark vertebrae they were preparing for aging.
Plankton lab
Today we are not working on the Reef Fish survey. Our Chief Scientist Kevin Radechamer wanted to do some mapping of an area called Sackett Bank which is south of Louisiana. The mapping they had done before did not give them an accurate depiction of the sea floor and now they have new technology. They are using an acoustic system called ME70. This system has 27 beams that run in a 120 degree swath. With the technology they had before they were only able to see 1 meter “bumps” on the surface now they can see to within a ½ meter. The white line that you can barely see shows the surface of the seafloor. The red is sand or mud that is on the bottom, as the red gets thinner and darker it is showing the harder rock that is below. As the sound waves go down they bounce back and we are able to see any see critters that are down there. Most of what you can see in the picture is plankton but occasionally you can see fish as well. This is a before and after shot of the two types of mapping. In one the map technology was guessing what was in between the bands. This information will give scientists new information about the seafloor.
Mapping Sackett Bank
Mapping Sackett Bank
Personal Log:
Sailing Board
I’m finally here! The last two days were very exciting. When we got to the ship it was 7:00ish and most of the ship’s crew were out and about, so we had the ship to ourselves. We wandered around taking pictures and investigating. I only went on an “adventure” (lost my way) twice. Everywhere you turn there is a doorway, hatch or stairwell. I was awed by the amount of technology that they have on board. There are computer labs on almost every floor. I am envious of the color printer! Ann Marie and I are sharing a state room. It’s fantastic! The crew takes pride in what they do and it is very obvious, our beds even had mints on them. We have a T.V. and an internet connection in our room. I don’t plan on spending a lot of time in there but it is pretty fabulous!
My Stateroom
We left port yesterday and headed south. The scientists and teachers stayed on the fly deck as we moved closer to the Gulf. As we were leaving you could see what impact the oil spill has had on the Mississippi Coast and on the Barrier Islands.
Impact of Deepwater Horizon
As a result of the tropical storm over the weekend there were some pretty high swells. We had waves from 6 to 8 ft. The ship was rocking pretty badly. After our Safety Meeting where we were told about all of the safety precautions and the rules. No matter where you go there are rules. Including.. No wearing tank tops to the galley and NO sitting in the captains chair. After the safety meeting the rolling was beginning to get to us so Anne Marie and I took to our bunks. I didn’t get sick! I did however go to sleep at 7:30.
Today we have spent most of the day wandering around the ship and talking to the many different crew members on board. Oh.. and we had a fire drill. The fire drill was a lot like having one at school, the bell rang we walked to our area and then we sat for awhile. The next drill was much more exciting. We had an Abandon Ship Drill! We had to grab a long sleeve t-shirt, a hat, pants, our Gumby suit, and a life jacket. It was a lot of stuff to carry with us! Everyone met out on the deck and I was introduced to Chief Marine Engineer Garrett who would be in charge of getting me where I needed to be in an emergency. As a first timer I was required to get into my Gumby suit. Yes, for those of you old enough to remember they are named after Gumby and Pokey. This would definitely not be my choice of a fashionable outfit. To get into it you have to lay the suit down on the ground and climb in like a sleeping bag. Then you zip it up!
In my gumby suit
Everywhere you look in the Gulf you see oil rigs or tankers moving away or to an oil rig. We passed the disaster site this morning but we were 9 miles away so we did not see any oil or much of anything. In fact I haven’t seen oil yet, which is a good thing. The interesting thing that has come about for our trip as a result of the spill is the two bird experts, Scott and Ron. The birders were hired to look for pelagic birds, those that spend most of their lives at sea. Fish and Wildlife hired one, and the other is here for BP. They are looking to see if any pelagic birds have oil on them or if they find any dead birds. So far, in the four hour s they watched this morning they saw 11 birds. Listening to them talk has been fascinating!
Sunset
This was the sunset tonight. I’m heading in with tea in hand to try and upload the rest of my pictures. I’m ready for tomorrow! Kevin said we will start a half hour after sunrise so I’ll be up bright and early! Let’s do it! Bring on the giant fish and things for me to get dirty with!
