Tag: tuna

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Geoff Goodenow, May 10, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Geoff Goodenow
Onboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette
May 2 – 25, 2004

Mission: Swordfish Assessment Survey
Geographical Area: Hawaiian Islands
Date: May 10, 2004

Time: 1600

Lat: 18 41 N
Long: 158 19 W
Sky: Sunshine with scattered cumulus; beautiful day.
Air temp: 27.3 C
Barometer: 1010.92
Wind: 68 degrees at 8 Knots
Relative humidity: 47.9%
Sea temp: 27.1 C
Depth: 1674m (at 1800 hours, Lat 18 25N, Long 158 27W)
Sea: A few white caps tonight. What might they foretell?

Science and Technology Log

Pretty good day on the line. We tagged a yellowfin tuna (on board) and a broadbill swordfish (in the water). In the latter case, the tag was attached by sort of harpooning it into the animal from deck. We also pulled in a snakefish (head only), a big eye tuna, 2 escolar, a barracuda (of no interest so simply cut off the line) and 3 blue sharks. One was too large to safely bring aboard; it was cut loose. The two others were brought on board. From one we took blood and fin clips after which it was released. One fish was brought in by trolling today.

As you have noticed water temperature here would be quite comfortable for us (but we are not taking afternoon swims). Rich explained to me that here there is mixing of the surface layers such that the surface temps. I have been reporting would apply to a depth of about 100 meters. Then between there and 400 meters we would see about a 10 degree C drop. While some fish stay in the upper layers others hang in the depths or make regular vertical transgressions across these zones.

Fish are generally regarded as having body temperature at or very near ambient. Any heat produced in the muscles by aerobic respiration is picked up by the blood and circulated through the gills where that heat is dumped efficiently to the environment. Some saltwater fish (no freshwater ones) including tunas and some sharks have developed a kind of heat exchange system. Heat from venous blood is passed to arterial flow in order to keep certain muscles and organs above ambient temp. by as much as 20 degrees C in large fish. This allows body tissues and organs to work more efficiently.

Billfish such as swordfish also have a heat exchange system but it is located only around the eye and brain. Here certain eye muscle is reduced to little more than a container for mitochondria which generate lots of heat. The heat exchange system then only serves this region of the body keeping it above water temp. Still busy at Cross Seamount. The fishermen must be having a big time up there. We are setting at Swordfish again tonight. (Lat 18 17N Long 158 22W at finish of set)

Personal Log

Those oily escolar are not being kept for consumption. This morning we took one’s eyes and made a short incision along the belly just to take some muscle tissue In returning the escolar bodies to the sea I have scored their diving entries 1-10 as in competitive events. Most have been dropped straight in, but this morning I thought of trying something with a higher difficulty factor — a one and half back flip with tail entry. But on its first rotation, a bit of the entrails was ejected shipward striking me on the shoulder before falling to the deck. Unfortunately, this was not captured on film for replay tonight on “Funniest Ship Videos”, but for those present, it provided a good bit of humor to start the morning. Hereafter, we might just stay with the less ambitious dives. Spectators were glad it was I and not they.

Later I made my debut as a shark wrestler. As a rookie I was given the tail end. Even though the blues are comparatively tame once on board, the strength in the animal’s body was very evident as it tried to move – – not so sure I care to deal with the other end of these babies!

Goodenow 5-10-04 blue shark
TAS Geoff Goodenow and a blue shark.

Questions:

This question relates to paragraph two of the science log. What is the thermocline within a body of water? How would you expect a temperature profile to change through the seasons in a deep lake in central Pennsylvania?

Any questions from you folks???

Geoff

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Geoff Goodenow, May 4, 2004

NOAA Teacher at Sea
Geoff Goodenow
Onboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette
May 2 – 25, 2004

Mission: Swordfish Assessment Survey
Geographical Area: Hawaiian Islands
Date: May 4, 2004

Latitude: 19 19
Longitude 156 05
Sunny with scattered clouds
Air temp 26C
Barometer 1013.75
Wind 130 degrees at 9 knots
Relative humidity 59%
Sea temp 26.5
Ocean depth 2770 meters

Scientific and Technical Log

This morning we hauled in the longline. This is the first time this team has used the larger hooks and herring (as opposed to squid) for bait as a means of avoiding taking of turtles. In that sense, we had tremendous success — no turtles. But on the downside, we caught only two fish — a mahi mahi (Coryphaena hippurus),still alive, and a wahoo (Acanthocybium solandri) which had died on the line. Eyes, liver, blood, and muscle tissue were taken from both. For the experiments on vision that Kerstin is doing only live eyes are useful.

Some surface plankton tows were conducted over a couple hours this afternoon. Several eggs were gathered and preserved. More tows will be conducted after the longline is set.

When nothing else was going on, two lines were trolled off the stern.   This method yielded 4 fish including bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus), skipjack tuna (Katsuwanus pelamis) and yellowfin tuna (T. albacares). These were sampled as above and in addition we kept stomachs for later study of contents. So 400 hooks sitting in the longline for 12 hours so far isn’t looking nearly as effective as a good old fishing line and a lure.

Tonight at 8PM we again set the longline, this one about 20 miles north of last night’s set. Because the winds are still very strong outside the shelter of the big island we are a bit restricted as to where we can go to fish right now. Winds are to becomes calmer over the next 48 hours.

Here is the longline set up in more detail than before. A spool holding about 40 miles of line sits parallel to length of ship on port side approx. mid-ship. Line feeds off to a pully along side of ship which directs line 90 degrees to stern. Via a couple more pullies the line goes to starboard side of stern. A team on the stern takes care of it from here. At center is person with basket of hooks attached to metal or monofilament leads with a clip on the other end. He withdraws the hook and clip, passing the hook to his right and the clip to his left while pulling the leader from the basket. The hook is baited, while the clip is passed to the next man to the left. On a signal about every 12 seconds, the leader is clipped to the line as it pours off the stern and the baited hook is tossed. A light stick goes on every fourth leader or so to attract fish. Better luck to us tonight!

Personal Log

My role this morning as line was retrieved was to record information (catch location, length, weight, sex) about each fish brought aboard and to assist in gathering muscle tissue samples for Brittany who is not present on this cruise as well as for others. Again I was brake man and bait boy on the longline tonight.

The afternoon hours seem to be those of least to do unless the troll lines are hot. Today I felt settled enough in the stomach to dare to enter a very confined space and enjoy my first shower at sea. Then I sought out a shady spot on the upper deck where I parked myself for a bit of reading. The wind was light and sea calm; I had a nice view of the west side of Hawaii. The lush, green slopes were interrupted in several places by lava flows. I had the opportunity to talk with the captain about many aspects of the ship, weather, ocean currents much of which I will try to incorporate into upcoming reports. But I was particularly interested in our rough weather of Sunday and he explained it as follows. As we crossed open water we were encountering winds of 20-25 knots, but as we entered the channel between Maui and Hawaii wind speeds were 35-40 knots. The reason for the increase is that both islands have very high mountains so the air is being funneled through a rather narrow slot and speeding up. This produced 10-12 foot waves with very short periods, and the ability to create a lot of discomfort in those at sea.

Tonight as we work, the light of a full (?) moon dances on the water.

Question:

One more (easy) location question for the astronomy buffs: Our latitude today is about 19 degrees north. What is the altitude of the North star (Polaris) as we view it from here? What is its altitude at your latitude?

OK, so we know where we are, but how did the Hawaiian islands get here? All of these islands are of volcanic origin. The Hotspot theory explains how the islands formed here. Briefly describe this theory.

Which of the islands (easternmost or westernmost) are the oldest in the Hawaiian Island chain? How long ago are the oldest islands estimated to have formed?

The Galapagos Islands also formed according to the hotspot theory. Which islands in that chain are oldest (eastern or western islands)? How old are the oldest of those islands?

For those who are wondering, yes, I do expect to be able to post some pictures, but we are not quite set up yet at this end to do so. That’s all for now,

Geoff

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Diane Stanitski: Day 17, August 27, 2002

NOAA Teacher at Sea

Diane Stanitski

Aboard NOAA Ship Ka’imimoana

August 16-30, 2002

Day 17: Tuesday, August 27, 2002

We are still enjoying the equator today!!! (0° latitude, 140° west longitude)

The FOO (Field Operations Officer)’s quote of the day: 

“Just as much as we see in others we have in ourselves.”
– William Hazlitt

Weather Log:
Here are our observations at 1400 today:
Latitude: 0°00.49’S (into the Southern Hemisphere!)
Longitude: 139°52.4’W
Visibility: 12 nautical miles (nm)
Wind direction: 090°
Wind speed: 15 kts
Sea wave height: 3-4′
Swell wave height: 5-7′
Sea water temperature: 26.9°C
Sea level pressure: 1008.5 mb
Cloud cover: 4/8, Cumulus

A new tropical storm, Genevieve, is on her way to hurricane status! She is currently at 14°N, 115°W and is moving toward 280° at 6 kts. She has sustained winds at 60 kts with gusts to 75 kts.

Science and Technology Log:

After the equatorial buoy was retrieved late last night, most of the crew worked very late to pull in the 4500 meters of cable. Then, they needed to prepare the new buoy to be deployed this morning. Everyone is looking rather tired today. The CO and Chief Scientist joined us for a few moments at the start of our morning broadcast to participate in the buoy dedication ceremony. I first introduced the show and then we all signed our names on a large NOAA sticker, added a Shippensburg University Spirit sticker, and then attached them to the central cylinder on the buoy where all of the instrument electronics are stored. These stickers will be there for the next year until the buoy is retrieved again. Pretty neat, I think.

Our broadcasts took all morning to complete and overall went well. We continue to learn what works and what doesn’t with regard to the technology. It’s best to interview just a few people and when writing on the dry erase board, use black marker, not blue. As they say, practice makes perfect.

I realized tonight how much I love interviewing scientists, especially people who do things related to, but very different than, what I do. I am always fascinated with other scientists’ research because their methodologies are often so different from my own. They make me think, which definitely expands my mind.

Personal Log:

Well, I was up late last night preparing for double broadcasts today. I spend so much time in front of the computer in the main lounge that I arrived yesterday to find a sign saying, “Casa Diane”. I figured it was Lobo or Don who always comment that I spend too much time in “my office”. Kirby came by to say that the fish were jumping outside and invited me to join everyone on the deck. WOW! I have never seen so many fish in my life! There were hundreds of HUGE fish jumping out of the water, flying over the surface (flying fish), zipping up, down, over, and lurching at smaller fish that I could hardly believe my eyes. The sea was boiling! The fish were different from the starboard to the port side of the ship, tuna and sharks on port and rainbow runners on starboard. I caught my first real fish last night – a yellowfin tuna that probably weighed just under 10 lbs. Larry helped get me started and then coached me as I reeled it in…what fun!!! Everyone was cheering for all of us because all that you had to do was place your hook in the water and something latched on. Even if you had a bite, a shark often came by and snatched your prize. I’ll bet that I saw at least 50 sharks, hundreds of zipping tuna (which are gorgeous, by the way), a whole school of rainbow runners, and tons of flying fish. All in all, we caught at least 25 fish last night (a few around 40 lbs) and immediately cleaned and prepared them to be eaten every which way. A few people awoke early and caught another 20. I love sushimi the most, but we’ve also been eating fish fried, broiled, in salad form, etc. It reminds me of Forrest Gump – shrimp gumbo, shrimp salad, shrimp…! We did have to freeze some of the fish because there’s no way that we could eat everything in the next few days. The fish that were caught all had full stomachs comprised of many very small fish that looked like sardines. To top off the whole experience there was a bright moon above the horizon illuminating the bubbling water. Even the crew who have been on board for many years were impressed with last night’s scene. I am truly amazed by the sea! It brings something new every day. See my photo log for a few pictures of last night’s fiesta! Oh, and I forgot to say that two flying fish actually flew onto the ship overnight and were found this morning. I highlighted the larger one in my broadcasts today – simply amazing.

It has been another interesting day.

More tomorrow…
Diane