Summer Groundfish Survey – NOAA Teacher at Sea Blog

August 10, 2022August 10, 2022

George Hademenos: Come Sail Away…to Conduct Science Research at Sea, August 10, 2022

NOAA Teacher at Sea

George Hademenos

Aboard R/V Tommy Munro

July 19 – 27, 2022

Mission: Gulf of Mexico Summer Groundfish Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Eastern Gulf of Mexico

Date: August 10, 2022

Long time no hear from, right? The explanation is quite simple…there was no Wifi on my research vessel. I was definitely writing about my experience and taking pictures of my observations but I had no way to share the information with you in a blog post. Now that I have been home for several weeks, I have been working hard to complete my blog (6 posts in particular) which are in the process of being completed and am now ready to begin posting.

In a prior post, I described my participation in the Teacher at Sea program and how I plan to translate my experience and observations into classroom activities and projects for my students. In fact. As I prepared for my upcoming cruise assignment, I developed a Google Site that not only provides more detail about my upcoming experience as a Teacher at Sea educator, but also instructional resources and project ideas related to ocean sciences. What I would like to do in this post is talk about the opportunity presented to me and all other educators in the Teacher at Sea program.

Teacher at Sea Program

The Teacher at Sea program is a unique Teacher Research Experience (TRE) opportunity managed by NOAA that allows teachers to learn by doing rather than by reading about it. In these types of experiences, the teacher is placed with a team of research scientists and immersed into their scientific work, serving as an honorary member of the team. The TRE provides the teacher with an opportunity to not only conduct the research, but to also ask questions, engage in detailed investigations about aspects of the research, and most importantly, distill these experiences into lessons, activities and projects for classroom implementation to the benefit of my students. I would strongly encourage my educator colleagues to explore the Teacher at Sea program

https://teacheratsea.noaa.gov/

and should you qualify, please consider applying for this unique educator experience.

SEAMAP

I would like to now speak about the research I would be involved in during my assigned cruise. I was assigned to participate in Leg 1 of the Summer Groundfish Survey conducted in the Gulf of Mexico in collaboration with NOAA Fisheries as part of SEAMAP (Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program)

https://www.gsmfc.org/seamap.php

The survey consists of a series of collected samples of marine life at positions determined by SEAMAP to make decisions about damaged marine ecosystems, depleted populations and destruction of habitats. Exactly what was entailed in the collected samplings will be described in an upcoming post.

Assigned Cruise

Cruises designed to engage in SEAMAP Surveys are seasonal (generally occurring in the Summer and Fall from April to November) and are typically executed aboard NOAA vessels in legs or segments consisting of 2 – 3 weeks with cruises occurring over 3 – 4 legs per survey. My assigned cruise underwent a change in schedule and vessel from my initial assignment. My original assigned cruise was scheduled as Leg 2 of the Summer Groundfish Survey aboard the NOAA Ship Oregon II from June 20, 2022 departing from Galveston, TX to July 3, 2022 arriving in Pascagoula, MS for a 15-day cruise. However, due to maintenance issues, the Oregon II was not seaworthy for the scheduled cruise which required a replacement vessel. The replacement vessel was the R/V Tommy Munro. There is a lot to say and pictures to show about the R/V Tommy Munro which will be the subject of the next blog post.

In this installment of my exercise of the Ocean Literacy Framework, I would like to ask you to respond to three questions about the second essential principle:

The ocean and life in the ocean shape the features of Earth.

presented in a Padlet accessed by the following link:

https://tinyurl.com/h2stuf44

Remember, there are no right or wrong answers – the questions serve not as an opportunity to answer yes or no, or to get answers right or wrong; rather, these questions serve as an opportunity not only to assess what you know or think about the scope of the principle but also to learn, explore, and investigate the demonstrated principle. If you have any questions or would like to discuss further, please indicate so in the blog and I would be glad to answer your questions and initiate a discussion.

June 5, 2018

Geoff Carlisle: Last Night in Texas, June 5, 2018

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Geoff Carlisle

Aboard NOAA Ship Oregon II

June 7 – 20, 2018

Mission: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: June 5, 2018

Welcome!

Geoff's classroom — In my classroom at KIPP Austin College Prep

Hello! My name is Geoff Carlisle, and I’m joining the NOAA Ship Oregon II this summer as part of the NOAA Teacher At Sea program. Every few days I’ll be posting updates here about my experiences on the ship, so keep checking in for updates from the Gulf (and to see if I’ve fallen overboard)!

I’m so excited to fly to Pascagoula, Mississippi tomorrow to begin my trip. When I heard that I was selected to join this program, I felt like a kid again. For anyone who knows me, I wear my love of nature documentaries and the natural world on my sleeves, so the chance to live at sea and interact with sea creatures is a dream come true. My biggest hope for this trip is that I get to hold a shark (crossing my fingers)!

Weather Data from the Bridge (Well… Austin)

Latitude: 30.336 N
Longitude: 97.687 W
Water Temperature: —
Wind Speed: 5.2 knots
Wind Direction: S
Visibility: 8.67 nm
Air Temperature: 37.2 ^oC (99 ^oF)
Barometric Pressure: 1009.6 mbar
Sky: Clear

No hurricanes expected — Five-Day Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook

I have to admit, the idea of sailing in the Gulf of Mexico gives me as much trepidation as it does excitement. As a science teacher, the Gulf is synonymous with hurricanes. However, I was pleased to see that NOAA’s National Hurricane Center tweeted today, “no new tropical cyclones are expected during the next five days.” So I’ll be fine for at least that long.

Here in Austin, the heat is oppressive, with temperatures already reaching over 100 ^oF, and daily reminders from NPR that we are flirting with record highs. Daily life is consumed by heat-related questions: “Did I put the sun reflector up in my car so can actually sit in my car? Did I bring another shirt with me for when I inevitably sweat through the one I have on? Are people like me with Norwegian heritage even supposed to live this far south?” As a triathlete, I spend a lot of time training in conditions that mimic what I’ll see in a race. Since the direct sunlight and heat will be similarly intense at sea, I’m just treating each triple-digit day like a training session. A very sweaty training session.

Science and Technology Log

This summer, I will be joining the science team aboard the NOAA Ship Oregon II on leg one of the SEAMAP (Southeast Area Monitoring & Assessment Program) Summer Groundfish Survey in the Gulf of Mexico. This research is vital to the long-term sustainability of groundfish and shrimp populations in the Gulf. The three primary research objectives are:

Provide near-real-time data on the size of shrimp in the gulf
Aide in the evaluation of when to close the Texas shrimping season
Measure the groundfish and shrimp stock across the northern Gulf of Mexico

Four ships across the Gulf, including the Oregon II (see below), conduct this research in June and July every year by casting long nets called trawl nets at different locations around the Gulf. These nets are reeled onto the ship’s deck, and the contents of the catch are brought inside to be sorted by species, sexed, measured, weighed, and the data recorded. Some particular species will be stored and brought back to labs on the mainland for research.

NOAA Ship Oregon II (Photo Credit: Ensign Chelsea Parrish, NOAA)

Personal Log

College pennants decorate the walls when you enter the school, giving a visual reminder to our school’s driving purpose.

Last week I completed my 8^th year teaching middle school science. I began my teaching career as a Teach For America corps member in the Mississippi Delta, and have spent the past six years at KIPP Austin College Prep. KIPP is a national network of public charter schools that primarily serve students from underserved communities, and put them on the path to college. Every day when I enter school, the first thing I see when I come in the door is a sign that says “Home of the hardest working students in Austin,” and this couldn’t be more true. I came to KIPP because I wanted to be a part of a community of exceptional educators who are committed to educational equity. Being part of a mission-oriented organization makes every day feel urgent and purposeful, and I’m proud to call myself a KIPP teacher.

Watch the video to learn more about KIPP Austin!

As a science teacher, I know how important it is that my students have learning experiences outside of the classroom. Partnering with my immensely talented colleague Colleen Henegan, we secured a Bright Green Futures grant from the City of Austin to build the largest school-based aquaponics greenhouse in Central Texas. Our school is located in a federally-recognized food desert (an area where access to healthy foods is severely limited). The system was built largely by our own students, along with Google employees who volunteered their time. Aquaponics is a method of cultivating fish and plants together in a closed system that is vastly more energy-efficient and requires 90% less water than traditional agricultural methods. Our students are learning how to grow plants in an environmentally-conscious way that allows them to see how science can be used to solve real-world problems.

AP Environmental Science Teacher Colleen Henegan testing the aquaponics system’s plumbing

Aquaponics demo system — Our demo system that I built to show how fish and plants can be grown together in symbiosis (fish are in the tank below, and cucumber are growing in lava rocks above!)

A photo of the greenhouse our students helped to build which now houses our system

Outside of teaching, I enjoy playing in an orchestra and training for triathlons (I’m training for my first Ironman 70.3 in October!).

Did You Know?

As a native of Oregon, being a crew member on Oregon II feels quite special. In my research about the ship, I was fascinated to learn that it has also achieved some major accomplishments:

Built in 1967, Oregon II is the longest-serving ship in the NOAA fleet. It has logged over 10,000 days at sea and traveled over 1,000,000 nautical miles, sailing as far south as the Amazon River Delta in Brazil, and as far north as Cape Cod, Massachusetts. (Source)
In 1998, Oregon II was the first United States Government ship to call at Havana, Cuba since 1959 when Fidel Castro took control of the country. The ship partnered with NOAA’s Cuban counterparts to research shark migration patterns. (Source)

June 5, 2017

Chris Murdock: Let The Adventure Begin! June 5, 2017

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Chris Murdock
Aboard NOAA ship Oregon II
June 7^th – June 20^th, 2017

Mission: SEAMAP Groundfish Survey

Geographic Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico

Date: May 30, 2017

Weather Data from the Bridge

Weather in Iowa can be crazy! Just last week we went from 90 degrees and sunny all the way down to 50 degrees and rainy in the course of three days. We have been lucky this week to have sunny skies and a very comfortable temperature of 75. Perfect running weather!

Science and Technology Log

I will be joining the crew of the Oregon II on leg one of the SEAMAP (Southeast Area Monitoring & Assessment Program) Summer Groundfish Survey in the Gulf of Mexico. Some of the objectives of this survey are to monitor the size and distribution of shrimp and other groundfish (fish that live near the sea bottom), as well as to provide information on shrimp and groundfish populations within the Gulf of Mexico. In order to accomplish these objectives, large quantities of groundfish are collected using a long net called a trawl net. All shrimp species will be sorted from the catch in order to be weighed and sexed. A total of 200 shrimp from each catch will be documented, and this information will be extrapolated out to determine estimated total numbers from each area studied. This process will be repeated for other selected species of groundfish through the course of the study. Research like this is vital to the long-term sustainability of these fish populations.

Personal Log and Introduction

My name is Chris Murdock and I teach Biology, AP Biology, and Biomedical Science at Regina High School in Iowa City, Iowa. I have been lucky to call Regina home for the past 4 years. Regina is such a unique place for so many different reasons, and I could probably spend this entire post explaining what Regina means to me and how it has made me into the teacher/person I am today. I will forever be grateful to Regina for allowing me opportunities like this one to better myself both personally and professionally.

3896 — Backpacking through Canyonlands National Park, March, 2017

Throughout my entire life, I have always considered myself a very curious person. Even at an early age, I would constantly ask questions about how this and that worked, or why certain phenomena happen the way that they do. As a result, I have always been fascinated by the wonderful world of science. That hunger for knowledge led me to Mrs. Mazucca’s honors biology class my sophomore year of high school. Never before have I had a teacher more passionate, more engaging, and one that genuinely got you excited for a topic you knew nothing about. I loved every second of that class, and I can honestly say that without having Mrs. Mazucca I would not be in the position I am today. It was in that moment I knew what I wanted to be when I grew up. From that day on, everything I did was to better prepare myself to be the best educator I could be.

I have always been fascinated by the oceans and the life within them. Growing up in the Midwest, I was confined to exploring local rivers and lakes. While I loved exploring the bodies of water around me, there was always something about the ocean that drew me in. From the vastness of the oceans, to the diversity of life within them, I was awestruck. After all, life has been evolving in the oceans for hundreds of millions of years! Every vacation I took near an ocean, I would spend as much time as possible in and around the water. It is amazing to me that something so prominent in all of our lives can go unchecked for such a long period. During my time at the University of Iowa, I took every marine science class I could. There was even a period where I contemplated leaving the college of education to pursue a career in marine biology. The more I learned, the more I fell in love with the ocean. Unfortunately, one thing became increasingly clear to me throughout college: the oceans and the life within them are in danger like never before. While I could do plenty to educate the masses as a marine biologist, I knew that teaching was where I could make the greatest impact. I decided that as a teacher, I was going to do everything I could to foster an environment to make my students more environmentally and globally aware. In order for this to be successful, I myself needed to embark on a journey to do the same.

Fast forward to December of 2015 when my girlfriend notified me of the NOAA Teacher At Sea Experience. “This is absolutely perfect for you!” she said, “You have to sign up for this”. The more I researched, the more I thought this was too good to be true. I spent nearly the entire next year thinking about the potential of this trip until the time finally came to fill out my application. At the end of November, after all the forms were turned in, I received the email “you will receive notification of your application status via the email address listed on your application by February 2017”. It was going to be a long wait.
Then came February 1st, and as I was walking out of the door to go to school I got an email from NOAA. I nearly spilled my coffee all over me as I fumbled over my phone to open the document as fast as I could. Ever since last December, I had prepared myself for a rejection letter. While I was very confident in my application, I just didn’t believe it would work out. It was too perfect of an experience for me to actually happen. With my heart pounding out of my chest, I began to read the document. To my utter amazement I was accepted! Me. Accepted into the experience of a lifetime. Words cannot describe the pure joy I felt as I drove to work that day. I was going to get the chance to live out my childhood dream, without sacrificing my true passion of teaching. To say I am lucky is an understatement.

My students and I on the senior class trip to Washington, DC. April, 2016

From that day on, my life revolved around NOAA Teacher At Sea. I read dozens of blog posts, I read about every ship in the fleet, and I filled out all the required paperwork as fast as my printer would spit it out. While any cruise would have been an unbelievable experience, I could not be happier with being selected for the SEAMAP survey in the Gulf. Living in Iowa and the heart of farmland, USA, my actions and the actions of my neighbors have a direct impact on the health of the Gulf ecosystem. It is my hope that once I return from my cruise, I will be able to get my community to be more conscious of the oceans and how we positively (or negatively) affect them. Writing this blog, I am still in a state a shock that this is really happening. June 7^th cannot get here fast enough! I am so excited to be able to spend two amazing weeks on board the Oregon II learning from some of the best scientists in the world.

Did You Know?

The Gulf of Mexico is the ninth largest body of water on the planet, covering an area of 600,000 mi²! (Source-Encyclopedia Britannica)

Fact of the Day

In my classroom, we start class every day with a “Fact of the Day” where I share new and upcoming research from the scientific community. Today’s fact comes from NOAA Research Vessel Okeanos Explorer.

This NOAA team has been exploring the depths of the Central Pacific Basin to explore deep water ecosystems before they become impacted too greatly by climate change. On this expedition, the NOAA team captured some truly amazing footage, some of which had previously not been seen except for in the fossil record! Some examples include Sea snails basically eating the poop of crinoids (sea lilies), and usually inactive brittle stars attacking swimming squids! Several videos from this expedition are posted below.

All of this amazing research sheds light on a largely unexplored region of the oceans, and the data collected from this expedition will help create a baseline to measure the effects of climate change moving forward. (Source-Ocean Explorer.noaa.gov) (Videos of these interactions can be found here!- http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1705/logs/photolog/welcome.html)

July 13, 2010April 15, 2021

Bruce Taterka, July 13, 2010

NOAA Teacher at Sea: Bruce Taterka
NOAA Ship: Oregon II

Mission: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: Tuesday, July 13, 2010

It’s All Connected

Weather Data from the Bridge
Time: 0015 (12:15 am)
Position: Latitude = 28.13.24 N; Longitude = 094.15.51 W
Present Weather: Cloud cover 20%
Visibility: 6-8 nautical miles
Wind Speed: 20 knots
Wave Height: 2-4 feet
Sea Water Temp: 29.4 C
Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 29.6 C; Wet bulb = 25.7 C
Barometric Pressure: 1011.96 mb

Science and Technology Log“IT’S ALL CONNECTED.” If you took my Environmental Science class I hope you know what I’m talking about. Everything in an ecosystem is connected to everything else. This is a guiding principle of studying and managing ecosystems. I saw this last summer when I helped investigate the relationship between plants, caterpillars, parasitic wasps and climate change in the cloud forest of Ecuador. I see it in the relationship between human development, deer, invasive plants and native plants at the Schiff Nature Preserve in New Jersey.

I’m seeing it now in the Gulf of Mexico. Obviously, the ocean environment is connected to human activities – the BP-Deepwater Horizon oil spill makes that abundantly clear. But there are also countless natural connections, and much less obvious human impacts, that must be understood and assessed if the Gulf ecosystem is to be protected. Commercial fish and shrimp stocks can only be sustained through a careful understanding of the human impact and natural connections in the Gulf.

Oil Rig — Drilling platform off the coast of Texas.

That’s why we identify and count every organism we bring up in a trawl. Sometimes we get 50 or more different species in one catch, and we don’t just count the commercially important ones like red snapper and shrimp. We count the catfish, eel, starfish, sea squirts, hermit crabs and even jellyfish we haul in. Why? Because even though these organisms might seem “unimportant” to us, they might be important to the red snapper and shrimp. They also might be important to the organisms the red snapper and shrimp depend on. And even if they’re not directly important, studying them might tell us important things about the health of the Gulf.

Brittany Paul, Fisheries Biologist — Brittany Palm, Fisheries Biologist

I’m learning a lot about this from the incredibly knowledgeable marine biologists in the science party. Brittany Palm is a Research Fishery Biologist from NOAA’s Southeast Fishery Science Center (SEFSC) in Pascagoula, MS, and leader of the day watch on this leg of the Oregon II’s Summer Groundfish Survey. Brittany is working on her M.S. on a fish called croaker, Micropogonias undulatus, studying its stomach contents to better understand its position in the food web. Croaker is not an economically important species, but it lives in the same shallow sea floor habitat as shrimp so shrimpers end up hauling in a huge amount of croaker as bycatch. So, when the shrimping industry declined in 2003-2004, the croaker population exploded. Since croaker are closely associated with shrimp habitat and the shrimp fishery, we might gain important insights by studying croaker population and understanding what they eat, and what eats them.

Alonzo Hamilton is another NOAA Fishery Biologist from the SEFSC. Alonzo explained to me that there’s a lot to be learned by looking at the whole ecosystem, not just the 23 commercial species that are managed in the Gulf. For example, many of the crabs we commonly catch in our trawls are in the genus Portunas, known as “swimming crabs.” Portunas species normally live on the sea floor, but when severe hypoxia sets in, Portunas crabs can be found at the surface, trying to escape the sever oxygen depletion that typically takes place at the bottom of the water column.

Biologist from NOAA’s Northeast Fishery Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. He’s working on the Oregon IIright now to support the SEFSC because of huge manpower effort demanded by the oil spill. Sean explained that the NEFSC has been conducting its groundfish survey annually since 1963, making it the longest-running study of its kind. Originally the survey only looked at groundfish population, but as our understanding of ecosystem dynamics increased over time, more and more factors were analyzed. Now NEFSC looks at sex, age, stomach contents and many other species besides groundfish to obtain a more complete picture of the food web and the abiotic factors that affect groundfish. NEFSC even measures primary production in the marine ecosystem as one tool to estimate the potential biomass of groundfish and other species at higher trophic levels.

Andre DeBose is a NOAA Fishery Biologist from the SEFSC and the Field Party Chief for the Summer Groundfish Survey. In addition to leading the science team on the Oregon II, Andre is conducting research on Rough Scad, Trachurus lathami, an important food species for red snapper and important bait fish for red snapper fisherman. By gaining a better understanding of the relationship between Red Snapper and its prey we can better understand, and better manage, the ecosystem as a whole.

There’s a lot of information to be learned beyond just counting fish. By taking a wide look at the marine environment we can better understand how the whole ecosystem functions. This enables us not only to be more informed in setting sustainable catch levels, but also enables us to identify and respond to things that contribute to hypoxia and other problems that degrade habitat and reduce populations. It’s all connected.

July 5, 2010April 15, 2021

Kimberly Lewis, July 5, 2010

NOAA Teacher at Sea Kimberly Lewis
NOAA Ship: Oregon II
July 1 -July 16 2010

Mission: SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey
Geographical Area of Cruise: Gulf of Mexico
Date: Sunday, July 5, 2010

Weather Data from the Bridge
Time: 1000 hours (10:00am)
Position: Latitude = 27.58.38 N; Longitude = 096.17.53 W
Present Weather: partly cloudy, haze on the horizon
Visibility: 8-10 nautical miles
Wind Speed: 17 knots
Wave Height: 2-4 feet
Sea Water Temp: 28.6 C
Air Temperature: Dry bulb = 29.2 degrees Celsius; Wet bulb = 26.1 C
Barometric Pressure: 1011.1 mb

Science and Technology Log

The purpose of the SEAMAP Summer Groundfish Survey is to collect data for managing commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. SEAMAP stands for Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program.

Right now we’re working along the Gulf Coast of Texas, far from the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, so we’re not seeing any effects of oil here. However, part of our mission is to collect fish for testing to make sure that oil spill has not impacted the marine life in this area and that the fish and shrimp from Texas are safe to eat. We’re also collecting water samples from this area to use as baseline data for the long-term monitoring of the impact of the oil spill in Gulf.

There are four main ways the Oregon II is gathering SEAMAP data on this cruise, and we’ve already learned how to use all of them. The main way we collect data is by trawling, and this is where we do most of our work on the Oregon II. In trawling, we drag a 42’ net along the bottom for 30 minutes, haul it up, and weigh the catch. We then sort the haul which involves pulling out all of the shrimp and red snapper, which are the most commercially important species, and taking random samples of the rest. Then we count each species in the sample and record weights and measurements in a computer database called FSCS (Fisheries Scientific Computer System).

Here on the Texas coast, where we’re working now, the SEAMAP data is used to protect the shrimp population and make sure that it’s sustained into the future. Since 1959, Texas has been closing the shrimp fishery seasonally to allow the population to reproduce and grow. The SEAMAP data allows Texas to determine the length of the season and size limits for each species. Judging by our trawls, the Texas shrimp population is healthy.

Kim CTD — Here I am flushing out the CTD to prepare for the next use.

Another method of data collection is the CTD, which stands for Conductivity, Temperature, and Depth. The CTD takes measurements from the surface to the bottom, creating a CTD profile of the water column at our trawling locations. These data are important to assess the extent of the hypoxic “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, and to relate the characteristics of our trawling hauls to DO levels. SEAMAP data collected since the early 1980s show that the zone of hypoxia in the Gulf has been spreading, causing populations to decline in hypoxic areas.

We also use Bongos and Neustons to gather data on larval fish, especially Bluefin Tuna, Mackerel, Gray Triggerfish, and Red Snapper. The Neuston is a rectangular net that we drag along the surface for ten minutes to collect surface-dwelling larval fish that inhabit Sargassum, a type of seaweed that floats at the surface and provides critical habitat for small fish and other organisms. We drag the Bongos below the surface to collect ichthyoplankton, which are the tiny larvae of fish just after they hatch. The Neuston and Bongo data on fish larvae are used for long-term planning to maintain these important food species and keep fish stocks healthy.

In this photo I am untying the knots at the bottom of the Neuston to gather the ‘catch’. You can see a lot of Sargassum in this haul.

Personal Log

Day 1: docked
Day 2: we left the port in Galveston (July 2). My shift started immediately but by the time we actually left port and reached the first station my shift was over 1200 noon. So far so good!

Day 3: 2400 hrs or Day 4: 00:00 hrs.
– the sea sickness is getting me a little now. The rough seas are most likely the main culprit, however, I have not been out to sea for this period of time before. Once the seas calm down I should have a better idea. I do know this, my shift leader Alonzo and the chief scientist Andre have both been very understanding of my adjustment to sea life. The entire staff on board for that matter are very understanding and concerned for everyone’s well being.
– This was my first full shift. We are BUSY aboard the Oregon II ! A catch will come in for processing, which I will explain processing on my next blog, and we sometimes are still processing the last batch or we are up front taking CTD samples and bringing in our bongos/neustrons. I have learned a lot of things in a short period of time.

July 4, 2010 – Lots of stations (places where we deploy our nets) tonight. We actually got a little backed up. There are five people on my shift and it takes all 5 of us working non-stop to get the job done.

July 5, 2010 – I am feeling better today, so much that I uploaded my blog! I keep waking up at 5pm and unable to go back to sleep, but I am going to try now to catch a couple more hours as my shifts starts again in 3 hours.