From pageants and parties to... National Scientific Fishing Survey Boats?!
My newest adventure ;) So very excited about it!
From October 11- 22 I will be on a ship off the coast of South New England. The Autumn bottom trawl survey takes place near Georges Bank and this year I will be on the NOAA survey ship. The objective is to capture a representative sample of the various species and relative numbers of fish in a given area.
We will be towing in, weighing, counting and measuring all species caught. We will be looking at age, sex, and state of sexual maturity. Stomach contents are identified and any obvious disease-related conditions of the fish are recorded. The entire data series is available to fishery scientists wishing to examine trends in abundance, distribution, species associations, or numerous other scientific questions. These surveys provide indices of juvenile abundance, which can indicate strong year classes before fish are vulnerable to commercial or recreational fisheries. Research surveys assess the status of a stock over its entire distribution range, not just in small areas of commercial or recreational concern. Surveys also provide data to help monitor the processes of growth, maturity, predation, and mortality of a stock as well as trophic dynamics of fish communities.
I'll keep you posted about my journeys aboard the NOAA Henry Bigelow
About the research vessel experience
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