scallops – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

September 30, 2026

Melina Vella: “Spot” the Difference, September 16, 2026

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Melina Vella

Aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow

September 10 – 30, 2026

Mission: Northeast Fisheries Science Center Bottom Trawl Survey – Leg 1

Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic U.S. Coast

Date: September 16, 2026

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 35º06’30.5927”N

Longitude: 075º14’04.2990”W

Wind: Northwest wind at 10 knots

Air Temperature: 25.2ºC (77.3ºF)

Science and Technology Log

Let me set the scene of an average tow for you. A conveyor belt of flopping fish (and others) moving at a rate of, what I estimate, sometimes hundreds of fish a minute. Practiced hands are moving with precision and speed to pick out dozens of fish and place them into their respective buckets. Oh–also–the ship is reorienting itself towards the next survey station so there’s a fair bit of unpredictable jostling. Gushing water sloshes around inches deep on the floor. The sensory experience is unlike any I’ve experienced before.

close-up view of a pile of fish on a nondiscernable surface. Most of the fish are one of two small, similar species, both silvery with yellow pectoral fins. in the foreground is a horseshoe crab; two other horseshoe crabs, lying amid the fish at odd angles, appear toward the back of the photo. — Quick–what species do you see?? I spy a couple horseshoe crabs, croaker, and some spot…

It’s overwhelming, but also such a thrill. I’d describe it as a similar experience as one of those blind boxes you can get at your local toy store. Just like the outside of the box has pictures of the types of toys you’ll get, we have a fairly good idea about what species to expect. But, there’s always the chance you might pull a never-been-seen-before fish.

Melina, wearing orange overalls and large blue latex gloves, grins as she holds up a small skate (type of fish similar to a ray) for a photo. she is in the wet lab. — Holding a small Clearnose Skate (Raja eglanteria), one of my favorite skates that I see often in the Delaware Bay!

For the first few days, it felt like everyone was speaking in code, especially when it came to the names of some of the animals we were catching. I’d never heard the words “Loligo” or “Illex” in my whole life. Eventually, though, I figured out that those terms translated to “squid,” and that’s as far as I’ve gotten.

five small squid laid out at random on an electronic measuring board. they are not yet arranged straight against the measurement line. the largest may be 20 centimeters. — Squid lined up on the fish measuring board.

I’ve put together this brief list of must-know species that we commonly encounter that are frequently mistaken for one another. Maybe by the end of the trip I’ll be able to tell them apart…

Squid: Illex & Loligo

There are quite a few types of squid we could come across during our survey, to include Shortfin (Illex illecebrosus) and Longfin Squid (Doryteuthis pealeii). Illex have shorter triangular fins than the rounded longer fins of a Loligo. The skin of a Loligo will slough off more easily. Coloration also varies between the two squid, with Illex more of an orange-brown and Loligo leaning purple and pink.

scientific illustration of a shortfin squid — Illex are also called Shortfin or Summer Squid (NOAA Fisheries).

scientific illustration of a longfin inshore squid — Loligo are also called Longfin Inshore Squid, Winter Squid, and Boston Squid. They have had multiple scientific names, some of which include the Loligo genus (NOAA Fisheries).

close-up photo of a small squid against a blue background; its triangular fins are extended — An Illex specimen showing off its triangular fins (Photo by Fisheries and Oceans Canada via WoRMS).

close-up view of a pile of small squid on an electronic measuring board - these are only 6 to 8 centimeters — A pile of small Loligo (which we endearingly nickname “small-igo”) on the fish measuring board before processing.

Spot & Atlantic Croaker

You’d think this one would be intuitive for me, considering this Spot (Leiostomus xanthurus) and Croaker (Micropogonias undulatus) are the two of the fish we catch the most during our seining programs at the Nature Center, but unfortunately not. The most helpful tip is that a spot will have, well, a spot!

close-up image of a spot against a white background — Spot have a more slender body and rounded snout (North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality).

close-up photo of an Atlantic croaker against a gray background — Atlantic Croakers have much more heft to them, as well as a slight protruding point to their caudal fin, or tail (Florida Museum photo by Zachary Randall).

However, especially when dozens of them are flopping vigorously and moving on a conveyor belt, that tiny spot can be hard to find. The area on a croaker where the pectoral fin meets the body can also be dark and round (not unlike a spot’s spot…).

Four-Spot, Ocellated, Windowpane, & Summer Flounder

I’ve always been fond of flatfish. They’re such a funky shape (and typically quite delicious as well). At the Nature Center, we had an adorable Summer Flounder named June.

a fish tank. small laminated cards line the top outer edge of the tank - they contain photos and names of the species in the tank. we can see a small flatfish on the front pane of glass, aligned with its tail pointing upward and its face toward the sand. — June the Summer Flounder pressed against the tank vertically.

We’ve come across plenty of flatfish during this cruise. The main ones that I have the most trouble telling apart are the Fourspot (Hippoglossina oblonga), Ocellated (Ancylopsetta quadrocellata), Windowpane (Scophthalmus aquosus), and Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus). All four of these species are left-eyed flatfish, meaning that if you placed the fish with the mouth oriented upwards below the eyes, they would be on the left side of the fish.

scientific illustration of a peacock flounder — A Peacock Flounder (*Bothus lunatus*) is a left-eyed flatfish found in tropical and subtropical areas of the Atlantic Ocean (Animal Diversity Web).

close-up view of a very circular, very stripey flatfish in a white bucket of water. its tail is like a small circle attached to a large one. — We caught a very distinct right-eyed flatfish, the Naked Sole (*Gymnachirus nudus*).

So, the eyed-ness (that’s not a word but you know what I mean) is not gonna help you much with differentiating this quartet of resemblant fish; you’ll have to zoom in and take a closer look at their unique features.

A Fourspot Flounder will have four very distinct eye-like dark spots, called ocelli. They are situated in pairs with one pair closer towards the tail and the other in the middle of the body. Of course, it’s not just the fourspot flounder that will have four spots.

The Ocellated Flounder will also have four large ocelli, but they will be distributed across the body differently. Three of an Ocellated Flounder’s spots will be in a triangle shape towards the right half of the body and the last spot above the pectoral fin.

scientific illustration of a fourspot flounder — Fourspot Flounder (*Hippoglossina oblonga)*
(Illustration by H.L. Todd Illustration, Courtesy University of Washington Libraries via DNREC)

photo of an ocellated flounder against sand; we can see the four large spots — Ocellated Flounder (*Ancylopsetta quadrocellata*) (Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute)

Lastly, the Windowpane and Summer Flounders are going to have smaller spots scattered along their bodies. Windowpane Flounder are named for their thin, near-transparent bodies. They are more rounded than the other similar oval-shaped flounders. Windowpane Flounders have many small dark spots. In contrast, Summer Flounders typically have five larger prominent ocelli towards the tail-end of the body. Summer Flounder can reach up to forty inches, whereas windowpane tend to max out around about half that. Another helpful diagnostic feature is that the dorsal (upper) fin of a Windowpane Flounder will have fringed rays towards the front, almost like little hairs.

close-up photo of a windowpane flounder on a white background — Windowpane Flounder (*Scophthalmus aquosus)*
(Smithsonian Environmental Research Center)

close-up photo of a summer flounder on a white background — Summer Flounder (*Paralichthys dentatus)*
(Smithsonian Environmental Research Center)

Aw, Shucks

I’ve been lucky to have some of the freshest seafood I’ve ever encountered over the past week. The whole mission is an indescribable undertaking, and one of the ways those onboard are rewarded is through being able to eat our catch.

It’s truly a group effort with every team having a hand in the process in some way. The deck crew is pulling up the giant hauls while coordinating with the bridge. The engineers are scurrying around fixing things before anyone even notices they need repairing.

The science team is measuring and processing. The team estimated this tow to be over 3,000 pounds, with the overwhelming majority of the haul Atlantic Sea Scallops (Placopecten magellanicus).

view of a large bin on deck full of hundreds of scallops. toward the back of the bin, a crewmember with a blue hard hat, rain gear, and life vest reaches an arm into bin. we can see a portion of the net in the background. it is nighttime. — The day watch team was rewarded with a very scallop-y tow (Photo Credit: NOAA SST Ben Tuttle).

Throughout my time on the ship I’ve learned not only a lot of technical science, but also picked up some skills I never knew I’d learn onboard. If you need someone to shuck about a hundred scallops with minimal precision but a lot of enthusiasm, I’m your girl. I’m also not afraid to get my hands dirty (or rather, inky) and prep dozens of Loligo for some fresh calamari.

baskets of scallops — A couple baskets of fresh scallops set aside from the big scallop tow.

buckets of shucked scallops on a sorting table near a measuring board — Shucked scallops being rinsed and bagged.

close-up view of a bowl of scallop pasta — The final product: a fabulous pasta with seared scallops.

We shucked enough scallops to fill a couple plastic bags and handed them off to the galley crew, who whipped up a delicious scallop pasta for lunch the next day.

Personal Log: The Pros and Cons of Night Watch

Pro: Talk about a golden hour!! You’re rewarded halfway through your shift with a sunrise view unlike any you can see on land. The flying bridge gives breathtaking views from all directions.

view of sunrise over the ocean, seen from an outside deck and also through the bridge windows — Looking through the bridge windows from the deck outside.

a tower with satellite instruments, painted red, stands out in the light of the sunrise — A glamour shot of some of the ship’s external instruments.

Cons: My meals are all outta wack! I’m truly a creature of habit–on land I alternate pretty consistently through my go-to breakfast foods of apple cinnamon oatmeal or Lucky Charms. However, when your breakfast is at 11 p.m., what’s the move? Should I be eating the meal the Steward Department saved for me from a few hours before while I was fast asleep, or do I adhere to strict traditional breakfast foods?

Did You Know?

Did you know that some people can’t visualize anything in their mind? It’s estimated that about 1% of people experience a lack of visual imagery, also called aphantasia. Unfortunately for me and my species identification abilities, I fall into this 1%. On the other hand, many of my science team members can mentally call up an image of a fish with such precise colors and details that they basically turn into a walking field guide.

June 16, 2017

Terry Maxwell: Time is Not On Our Side, June 14, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Terry Maxwell

Aboard R/V Hugh R. Sharp

June 6–21, 2017

Mission: Sea Scallop Survey
Geographic Area of Cruise: Northeast Atlantic Ocean
Date: June 14, 2017

Weather Data from the Bridge
Latitude: 41 31.54 N
Longitude: 70 40.49 W
Wind Speed 10 Knots (11.5 mph)
Air Temp 20.2 C (68.4 Fahrenheit)

Science and Technology Log

Contrary to the popular Rolling Stones song “Time is on my Side,” time is not on our side while we are taking survey of the scallop population in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean. This survey has been meticulously planned for months leading up to the actually event. There is no time budgeted to sit at a dredge station longer than you have to.

track — The Nobeltec Cruise Track for the 2nd and 3rd legs of the 2017 Scallop Survey. You can see this survey has covered 1000’s of nautical miles, and stopped at over 100 dredge stations.

For seven days our noon to midnight science crew has been working at a blistering pace to dredge the ocean floor or take pictures with the underwater camera, HabCam. We are on a tight schedule, and in a twelve hour period we are able to work through 10 dredge stations. There has been little down time, and because some of the dredge stations are so close together, there is no time to be unproductive while we are at a station. Because of this, there are often stations where we simply are not able to individually count all the organisms we collect. There are many situations where our crew must use the method of subsampling.

For you in the Midwest, imagine you wanted to know how many dandelions were in your yard. Now if you are anything like me, you have way too many to count. If you went to count them all individually, it would literally take you all day if not more. It is just not time efficient to do such a thing. But if we took a population sample of some random areas in the yard, we could come up with an answer of how many dandelions were in the yard, and get a very close answer to actually counting them individually.

A similar example I can give you is with a recent dredge catch that was full of sand dollars. In one of our massive dredge catches composed of about 99.5% sand dollars, I completed an estimate sand dollars in a similar manner. I filled 2 liter pail full of sand dollars. My count for that pail was 188 sand dollars per 2 liters. In this catch we had 46 baskets each with a volume of 46 liters. So at 94 sand dollars per liter with there being 2,116 liters total, you can estimate there are about 198,904 sand dollars in that dredge catch.

We are faced with similar tasks while sorting through the dredge. When we face those situations, we turn to the method of sampling, and we take a representative sample of our catch. At most stations we are taking count of sea stars, crabs, waved whelks, all fish, and scallops. When we collect the dredge, most of the time it would not be time efficient to totally count up all the sea stars, so we turn to subsampling.

Here’s how subsampling works. Once we have sorted our dredge catch into various pails, we count up our specimens. For sea stars however we always take a subsample. To do that our watch-chief takes a scoop full of whatever is in our discard pails, and she does this randomly. She puts the random sample in a 4.5 liter pail. From here, she can begin to estimate the number of sea stars in our dredge catch. For example, if she goes through the 4.5 liter pail and finds six sea stars, and she knows there are four 46 liter pails of discard from the dredge, with a little math work she can figure out how many stars are in the dredge. If there are four 46 liter pails of discard, then there is a total of 186 liters of discard. She knows from her random sample that there are 6 sea stars per 4.5 liters which would come out to 1.3 sea stars per liter. By multiplying that number by 186, you can determine that an expanded estimate for the sea stars in the dredge collection would be 242 sea stars.

Bucket — An example of our discard baskets from our dredge catches. This catch was sea star heavy, and this shows it would have taken too much time to count each sea star individually. Since many sea stars are predators of scallops, a count needs to be recorded.

We also use this method when we have a large catch of scallops. When we have an overly large scallop catch on the dredge, we are not able to count and measure every single scallop from the catch. In these cases we use a representative amount. In one case we caught 24 baskets of scallops, each basket able to hold 46 liters. If we were to measure all of those scallops we would be at that station far too long to move onto the next dredge. When we caught enough scallops to fill 24 baskets, we used 3 baskets of scallops as a representative amount. All of the scallops in the 3 baskets were measured for their shell height. We would then take a mean average from these scallops to represent the 21 other baskets. We are also able to estimate the number of scallops in the 24 baskets the same way I estimated the number of sand dollars in a dredge catch.

scallop baskets — A large catch of scallops from one of our dredge stations. In this case a representative sample of shell heights was taken.

Representative samples and population estimations through sampling are valuable tools that scientists use to collect a lot of data in a more efficient amount of time. From this data, mathematical models and predictions are developed. By implementing these methods, we are able to get more data from more locations.

Personal Log

It has been 9 days since I arrived in Woods Hole, Massachusetts to be a part of this journey. As I shared in my last blog, it is hard to be away from home, but many of the people here are gone more than 100 days per year. There is one thing that makes that time away easier….eating! Here on the Hugh R. Sharp, I would imagine I’ve put on some extra pounds. Most days I feel like a cow grazing. There are so many snacks on board, that it is so easy just to walk by the galley and grab a mini candy bar, chips, pop, or ice cream. I have discovered there is no better candy bar than a Baby Ruth. On top of the snacks and sweets, the cook, Paul, cooks up some mean dinners. Though I miss my wife’s home cooking, Paul’s cooking is a good substitute.

paul and candy — Lots of candy and snacks and some good dinners is probably leading to some extra poundage! There are two drawers always full of candy, and a freezer always full of ice cream. Pictured on the left is the ship’s cook, Paul.

Outside of eating, there is not much recreational time on the ship. I do try to get up a couple hours before our shift begins to just enjoy being out on the ocean. I haven’t been able to make myself get up yet for sunrise at 5:05 AM. After working a twelve hour shift sorting dredge catches, there’s not much you want to do but sleep. Sleeping on the boat has been good. Probably some of the deepest sleep I’ve had since our kids were born. I’ve gotten used to the motion of the boat, the sound of waves hitting the bow, and the boat stabilizers which sound like a giant snoring. I’m a sleep walker, so that was a concern coming in that I would find myself on deck, sleep walking. But I’m sleeping so sound, I don’t think it’s possible. However I did warn my roommates to stop me if they saw me up in the middle of the night.
Part B of the survey has started, and with that most of my crew got off the ship, and I will have a new crew starting today. It was a great group of people to work with.

Part A of the survey the day crew from left to right: Crew chief Nicole, myself, Dylan, Sue, and Nancy. Then the night crew of Lauren, John, Jill, Han, and crew chief Mike.

Did You Know?

Living in Illinois, there are not many times where knowing your parts of a ship come in handy. However, as I have been living on the Hugh R. Sharp for over a week now I have picked up some terms. I did not know many of these coming on, so this is a “Did you know?” moment for me.

Front of the ship: bow
Back of the ship: stern
Moving to the front of the ship: forward
Moving to the back of the ship: aft

bow — The left of this picture is port, and the right is starboard. It took me awhile to figure out what our turn would be like if we were making a turn to starboard.

If you were on the bow, your left would be the: port
If you were on the bow, your right would be the: starboard
Fathom: 6 feet
A heading of zero: North, a heading of 90: East, a heading of 180: South, a heading of 270: West
Heading to a location quickly: steam
Kitchen (where I constantly graze in between dredge stations): galley
Location of the ship’s navigational equipment is: bridge
Bathrooms: the head

Not much use for these terms in the Midwest!

May 30, 2017May 30, 2017

Terry Maxwell: An Incomparable Experience Approaches, May 30, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Terry Maxwell

Preparing to board R/V Hugh R. Sharp

June 5 – June 21, 2017

Mission: Sea Scallop/Integrated Benthic Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Northeastern U.S. Atlantic Coast
Date: May 30, 2017

Personal Log

How do you prepare yourself mentally for something to which you have no comparison? I, Terry Maxwell, have wrestled with this question since I was notified on February 1st, 2017 that I would be a part of a research cruise in the NOAA Teacher at Sea Program. Do not get me wrong, the people at NOAA have been awesome in answering my questions and providing resources to interact with to prepare for this mission. However, I have lived my whole life in the flat land of Illinois. I am used to seeing for miles in all directions, but cannot imagine the views out on the ocean. I have taught science now for 13 years, but have never had an opportunity to work with scientists doing actual fieldwork and research. My mind is trying to process this upcoming incomparable experience right now.

field — My flat land views will soon be exchanged for a view from the *Hugh R Sharp*.

About Me

I am a science teacher at Seneca High School in Seneca, Illinois. I will be starting my 6th year at Seneca High School next year, and going into my 14th as an educator. I mainly teach freshman physical science, but occasionally get the opportunity to teach a junior/senior environmental science class. Along with teaching I also am an assistant

football coach, assistant track coach, science club sponsor, and FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes) huddle leader. I wear many different hats throughout the year, and have the support of an awesome family at home. It will be difficult to be away from my family for a couple weeks after a busy school year, but this is an amazing opportunity I had to apply for.

fishing — It will be hard to leave my wife and kids for a couple weeks, but they have been supportive. In the background, you can see the type of “vessels” I am used to!

Why did I apply for Teacher At Sea?

I attended a NOAA workshop at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois titled “Why and How We Explore the Deep Ocean.” I went to the workshop to see if there was any ocean content I could work into my Integrated Physical Science class. At the workshop, I discovered the amount of ocean content that fits in with the physics and chemistry content I currently teach is numerous. The workshop was fantastic (if you are a teacher reading this I highly recommend you attend this workshop if it is available at a nearby location). Towards the end of the workshop, the presenter discussed the Teacher at Sea opportunity. I instantly knew I wanted to apply. I came home from the workshop and told my family, “I’m going to apply to go on a research vessel with NOAA this summer.” To which my wife (who has heard so many crazy ideas come out of my mouth) said, “Uh huh…okay.” My oldest daughter responded, “Only if I can go with you.” My son responds, “As long as it’s not over my birthday.” My youngest just put the free NOAA bag from the workshop on her head like a helmet, and ran around the room. So, with the obvious support of my family, I applied.

I had never felt so strongly about something. I wanted to be a part of this experience for many reasons. A) I wanted an experience working on an actually research mission. I consider this extremely valuable for my classroom moving forward. I envision taking research methods I learn from this trip and emulating them in my classroom. B) I seek to strengthen my weaknesses. My knowledge of ocean ecosystems is weak. Part of this is being land locked in Illinois. What better way to gain knowledge and appreciation for ocean ecosystems than to be a part of a team researching them? I think when you lack understanding about something it is much easier to disregard it. Ocean ecosystems are far too important to give little attention to them. C) Being about a 1/3rd of the way into my teaching career I am looking for an experience that can ignite new ideas, and help me grow as an educator. I am motivated and inspired by all kinds of simple things; I cannot imagine what this opportunity could do for me. D) I like fish. Simple I know, but its true. The science club I run is called Conservation in Action (yes the CIA), and one of the projects we currently have running is keeping cichlids that are endangered or threatened in the wild, in our classroom.

A male Lipochromis melanopterus that is housed in an aquarium in my classroom and cared for by members of our science club.

We currently have about 15 aquariums that some of our club members maintain with the goal of informing people of the plight of the Lake Victorian cichlids and other endangered fish, and keeping their population numbers in captivity healthy.

How can you prepare with me?

I would like to leave you with some resources that you can prepare for this trip with me. There have been several sources given to me by NOAA, and some others I have found to be valuable as well.

A) What ship will you be on? I will be on the Hugh R Sharp. You can find out more about this vessel here. This site from the University of Delaware even includes a video tour of the ship. This will answer a lot of questions about what day to day life may be like for me on the trip, though I will be posting more about that in the coming weeks.

B) What is a scallop survey? From what I understand, we will be collecting large amounts of samples from the ocean floor through dredging. The samples would be brought on board and counted. A record of overall population and populations at different life cycle stages is taken. A report from a past survey is found on the NOAA website, and that is linked here. This report by Dvora Hart is a great look at some of the technology and methods that may be used on this upcoming mission.

Did you know?

NOAA is predicting a more active than normal hurricane season in the Atlantic in 2017.

FINAL 0523 Hurricane Graphic_pie chart-700x400
Always a good article to read right before heading out for a couple weeks into the Atlantic Ocean! However, I am not worried by this because I am in the hands of experts. It is always good to be prepared and aware though. The article is a good read with lots of links about NOAA’s weather predicting capabilities.
Above-normal Atlantic Hurricane Season is Most Likely This Year

June 24, 2016April 22, 2021

Donna Knutson: Last Leg of Leg III Atlantic Sea Scallop Survey 2016, June 24, 2016

NOAA Teacher at Sea Donna Knutson
Aboard the Research Vessel Sharp
June 8 – June 24, 2016

2016 Mission: Atlantic Scallop/Benthic Habitat Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Northeastern U.S. Atlantic Coast
Date: June 24, 2016

Last Leg of Leg III Atlantic Sea Scallop Survey 2016

Mission and Geographical Area:

The University of Delaware’s ship, R/V Sharp, is on a NOAA mission to assess the abundance and age distribution of the Atlantic Sea Scallop along the Eastern U.S. coast from Mid Atlantic Bight to Georges Bank. NOAA does this survey in accordance with Magnuson Stevens Act requirements.

Science and Technology:

Latitude: 41 29.84 N

Longitude: 070 38.54 W

Clouds: partly cloudy

Visibility: 5-6 nautical miles

Wind: 3.58 knots

Wave Height: 6 in.

Water Temperature: 53 F

Air Temperature: 67 F

Sea Level Pressure: 30.0 in of Hg

Water Depth: 26 m

It has been an action packed two weeks. The men and women who dedicate themselves to the scallop survey are extremely hard working scientists. It is not an easy job. The sorting of the dredged material is fast and furious, and it needs to be in order to document everything within the catch before the next one comes in. The baskets are heavy and it takes a strong person to move them around so quickly.

DSCN8159 (2) dredge team — Han, Jill, Mike, Vic, Me and Ango

In small catches every scallop is measured. In dredges with many baskets of scallops, a percentage is measured. It is a random sampling system, taking some scallops from each of the baskets to get a general random sample of the whole. Mike led an efficient team, he told us what to look for and oversaw the measuring.

DSCN7780 (2)mike and nicki — Mike and Nikki

He often set samples aside to show me later, when we were not as busy. A few examples were how to tell the difference between the red and silver hake or the difference between the Icelandic and Atlantic sea scallop. He showed me how the little longhorn sculpin fish, “buzz bombs” known to fisherman, vibrate when you told it in your hand.

Mike even took the time to dissect some hake and to show me the differences in gonads, what they were feeding on by opening their stomach, and the otolith within the upper skull. The otolith is a small bone in the inner ear that can be used to identify and age the fish when in a lab looking through a microscope. Mike answered my many questions and was always eager to teach me more.

Another helpful team member was Vic. Vic taught me how to run the HabCam. He has been involved in the HabCam setup since it started being used four years ago. There is a lot of work to do to set up the multiple monitors and computers with servers to store all the images collected by the HabCam. Vic overlooks it all from the initial set-up to the take down. I admire Vic’s work-ethic, he is always going 100% until the job is completed. Sometimes I just needed to get out of his way, because I knew he was on a mission, and I didn’t want to slow him down.

DSCN8132 (2) monitors — Control center for Habcam and Dredging

When we weren’t dredging, but rather using the HabCam, there was a pilot and copilot watching the monitors. The HabCam, when towed behind the ship, needs to be approximately 1.7 m off the ocean floor for good resolution of the pictures, and keeping it at that elevation can be a challenge with the sloping bottom or debris. There is also sand waves to watch out for, which are like sand bars in a river, but not exposed to the surface.

When not driving HabCam there are millions of pictures taken by the HabCam to oversee. When you view a picture of a scallop you annotate it by using a measuring bar. Fish, skates and crabs are also annotated, but not measured. It takes a person a while to adjust to the rolling seas and be able to look at monitors for a long period of time. It is actually harder than anticipated.

DSCN7768 (2)skate — HabCam Picture of a skate.

Han was making sure the data was collected from the correct sites. She works for the Population Dynamics branch of NOAA and was often checking the routes for the right dredges or the right time to use the HabCam. Between the chief scientist Tasha and Han, they made sure the survey covered the entire area of the study as efficiently as possible.

DSCN7839 (2)tash han mike — Tasha, Han and Mike discussing the next move.

Dr. Scott Gallager was with us for the first week and taught me so much about his research which I mentioned in the previous blogs. Kat was with us initially, but she left after the first week. She was a bubbly, happy student who volunteered to be on the ship, just to learn more in hopes of joining the crew someday. Both vacancies were replaced by “Ango” whose real name in Tien Chen, a grad student from Maine who is working on his doctoral thesis, and Jill who works in Age and Growth, part of the Population Biology branch of NOAA. Both were fun to have around because of their interesting personalities. They were always smiling and happy, with a quick laugh and easy conversation.

DSCN8131 (2)the three — Jill, Ango and Han after dredging.

The Chief Scientist, Tasha, was extremely helpful to me. Not only does she need to take care of her crew and manage all the logistics of the trip, plus make the last minute decisions, because of weather or dredges etc, but she made me feel welcome and encouraged me to chat with those she felt would be a good resource for me. On top of it all, she helped me make sure all my blogs were factual. She was very professional and dedicated to her work, as expected from a lead scientist leading a scientific survey.

DSCN8146 (2)tash and jim — Evan, Tasha and Jimmy discussing route.

I spent as much time as possible getting to know the rest of the crew as well. The Master, Captain James Warrington “Jimmy” always welcomed me on the bridge. I enjoyed sitting up there with him and his mates. He is quick witted and we passed the time with stories and many laughs. He tolerated me using his binoculars and searching for whales and dolphins. There were a few times we saw both.

He showed me how he can be leader, responsible for a ship, which is no small feat, but do so with a great sense of humor, which he credits he inherited from his grandmother. The other captains, Chris and Evan, were just as friendly. I am sure all who have been lucky enough to travel with them would agree that the RV Sharp is a good ship to on because of the friendly, helpful crew and staff.

DSCN7785 (2)KG — KG, oceanic specialist, helped with dredges.

Because this was my second experience on a survey, the first was a mammal survey, I have really come to appreciate the science behind the study. It is called a survey, but in order to do a survey correctly, it takes months of planning and preparation before anyone actually gets on a ship.

There is always the studying of previous surveys to rely on to set the parameters for the new survey. Looking for what is expected and finding, just that, or surprising results not predicted but no less valued, is all in a scientist’s daily job. I admire the work of the scientist. It is not an easy one, and maybe that is why it is so much fun. You never know exactly what will happen, and therein lies the mystery or maybe a discovery to acquire more information.

DSCN8127 (2)big goose — I had to hold the largest goose fish we caught!

It was a challenging two weeks, but a time I’m so glad I had the opportunity to have with the members of Leg III of the 2016 Atlantic Sea Scallop Survey.

June 13, 2016April 22, 2021

Donna Knutson: The Absolutely Amazing Atlantic Sea Scallop, June 12, 2016

NOAA Teacher at Sea Donna Knutson
Aboard R/V Hugh R. Sharp
June 8 – June 24, 2016

2016 Mission: Atlantic Scallop/Benthic Habitat Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Northeastern U.S. Atlantic Coast
Date: June 12, 2016

Mission and Geographical Area:

Weather Data from the Bridge

Latitude: 40 26.375 N
Longitude: 68 19.266 W
Clouds: overcast
Visibility: 5-6 nautical miles
Wind: 21 knots at cruise speed of 4 knots
Wave Height: 4-6 occasional 8 ft.
Water Temperature: 56 °F
Air Temperature: 70 °F
Sea Level Pressure: 29.7 in of Hg
Water Depth: 100 m

Science and Technology Log

There are four types of scallops that are found around the United States. The Sea Scallop is the largest and found primarily along the Eastern coast. Therefore, it is called the Atlantic Sea Scallop. Bay scallops are smaller, found closer to shore and are not usually harvested. The Calico mollusk is the smallest and rare, and is primarily located around the coast of Florida. The Icelandic scallop is also occasionally sighted around the United States.

The Atlantic Sea Scallop Placopecten magellanicus is a deep sea bivalve mollusk. It has a smooth shell and edges. Young scallops have a pink/red color with darker stripes radiating outward form the hinge. The older sea scallop is more orange in coloration and may fade into white. Photoreceptive eyes along their pale pink mantle, allow the scallop to sense changes in light allowing it to protect itself from possible dangers such as incoming predators.

Alantic sea scallop — Atlantic sea scallop

Some mollusks are hermaphroditic meaning they have both sex organs in the same animal, but the Atlantic sea scallop has two distinct sexes. It is impossible to tell what the sex of a scallop is from its outward appearance. When looking inside at the gonads it is easy to detect. The male gonads are creamy white and the female gonads are pink/red in color.

The female can reproduce after they are one-year-old, but four year olds release many more eggs. The older scallop may emit one to two hundred seventy million eggs at one time. Spawning occurs twice a year, once in the spring and another in the fall. Males will release their sperm into the water where the eggs have been released, and then the fertilized egg sinks to the bottom of the ocean to develop in groupings called beds.

Adult scallops will filter feed on phytoplankton and microscopic zooplankton. The immature larva are filter feeders as well, but can also absorb nutrients though their tissues.

Atlantic sea scallops play an important role in the ecosystem as they become food for other animals such as starfish, crabs, lobsters, snails, and fish such as cod, American plaice, wolfish, and winter flounder.

Sources:

Wikipedia, May 30, 2016

US Atlantic Sea Scallop, March 31, 2013

Personal Log

Leg III of the Atlantic Scallop/Benthic Habitat Survey started out a bit rough, bad weather came in from Hurricane Collin and caused a few delays. The lead scientist Tasha O’Hara decided to push back the departure times in hope of gentler seas.

We set sail on Thursday June 12^,2016 around 7 p.m. from NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole. The Sharp started the third leg of four on the scallop survey. The last leg will end on June 24, 2016. The survey team will use a camera to take pictures of the bottom called a HabCam, which stands for Habitat Mapping Camera, and also dredge the ocean bottom periodically for physically counting and measuring specimens.

I have been allowed to participate in the driving of the HabCam and also the sorting, measuring and recording of animals brought up from the dredges. My blogging got a bit behind as I was trying to immerse myself in the new experiences when the sea sickness hit.

I did not get sick once on the last month long experience, but conditions here are a bit different. The captain of the Sharp, James Warrington, explained the gyre (oceanic current pattern) is unique here. We are in a cruising within circular gyre and with weather conditions forcing high waves into the flat bottomed boat, we are getting a lot of motion. So, yes, I now know what sea sickness is like. Today the wind has died down a bit so the waves are not as high, and I feel much better. I have been placed on the midnight to noon crew so that has been an adjustment as well. I’m sure you morning classes will agree I’m more active in the afternoon. Not really a morning person. J

Everyone is so great to me here. They were very considerate during my seasick time. I actually have been sitting up on the bridge with Captain Jimmy. I can see the horizon and feel more stable. Otherwise we are below decks looking at computer screens for the HabCam or working on the back deck looking at the dredged creatures.

Today we are doing some back tracking to get a start on more dredging and that has allowed me to get this blog in. I really wanted it to be sooner, but that’s the story.