About this Cruise

This month-long cruise aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette brings together six diverse teams to survey fish populations using non-catch methods. Traditionally, fish populations have been assessed by catching fish, visiting fish markets and interviewing fishermen. Chief Scientist Scott Ferguson hopes to support Guam and the CNMI in monitoring their natural resources using non-extractive methods. The ship will also use multibeam sonar to map areas that are important fishery resources hopefully to include Galvez Bank, offshore slopes near Rota, and the banks of Farallon de Medinilla.

The survey methods include BotCams and BRUVs, two systems that put baited cameras on the bottom, and a TOAD which is a camera towed near the seafloor . An Autonomous Underwater Vehicle will travel on its own via computer programming and bring back photographs and video. Additionally, acoustic methods will be used to survey fish in the water column.

This expedition brings together scientists from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and Northwest Fisheries Science Center, as well as the University of Hawaii’s Joint Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research, the University of Guam Marine Lab, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.







Saturday, February 20, 2010

BRUV Galvez Bank Highlights

7 comments:

Linda Tatreau, blogging as Shark Feet said...

Very nice video. It's like just watching from a T.V. What kind of fish was the one that moved the thing in the front?
Ritzmar-5

Hi Ritz,
That “thing” in the front of the camera is the bait bag. The fish is a barracuda. The barracuda made several passes. It made us all laugh―they can be comical fishes. I hope to bring more video footage back to the classroom because I am limited to really short clips for the blog.

Linda Tatreau, blogging as Shark Feet said...

Wow! It must've been a really beautiful sight.The only guppies I know are the ones that are very tiny but I had no idea that they get so big and expensive. I hope to see more pictures later!
Love,
Charmaine-6

Hi Charmaine,
The guppy pictures were just for fun. One of the ship’s crew has a small plastic aquarium with a few little guppies. They are not expensive―you can catch them in the fresh water ponds of Guam. I took the picture because I thought it was funny that he put the guppies out on the deck for a while. Did he put them out so they could get some sun? So they could enjoy the view? I don’t know and I never did ask.

Linda Tatreau, blogging as Shark Feet said...

The maps look very interesting. I've always wanted to see dolphins. How long does it usually take for the map to develop?
-Jhorge Gonzales -1

Hi Jhorge,
Make sure you join us on the next boat trip―we frequently see dolphins. The map making is incredibly time consuming. There are 4 people on the mapping team on this cruise. At least one of them is working all the time and it’s usually 2 at work. The mapping of Galvez Bank took 2.5 days and it is small, only about 4 by 5 miles at its greatest dimensions. The maps I put here are simplified, but when they are up on the computer, they offer a wealth of information.

Linda Tatreau, blogging as Shark Feet said...

Haha! curious fishies! what kind of fish was that that kept bumping into the camera? lol. I think the video should have been longer...it was pretty cool. :)
i finally got to see the video clearly without it irritating me! haha well i guess you can say that was a nice one minute "Journey" to the bottom of the sea floor.
George Washington High School, Mangilao Guam, 11th, Kristopher

Hi Kris,
Read the answer to Ritzmar’s question at the top of this comment section. I know the video clips are short but I am limited in the blog. I hope to bring more back to the classroom.

Linda Tatreau, blogging as Shark Feet said...

Hey Ms. Tatreau,
Kayla HERE!
Interesting to see all the stuff you being doing while gone. What area are you in. OH! and i was also wondering how do you get internet to go on and blog. haha random i know! anywho, have you seen stuff you havent seen before while you been on your trip!
Kayla-3

Hi Kayla,
We are currently off the coast of Rota. I just came in from watching a most beautiful sunset. This is the first time I’ve been at sea with full internet service. It comes to us via satellite. The ship pays a set rate so there is no cost to us. It is really slow (almost as slow as my dial-up at home) but it’s great to have it. My trip in 2003 had only a very basic e-mail and we had to pay by the character. If someone hit “reply” to my message and returned it, I had to pay again. I think this ship also gets some TV via the internet, but I haven’t been paying attention to that. I will have to ask someone.

Linda Tatreau, blogging as Shark Feet said...

Hi Ms. Tatreau!
Wow! This is just like watching the fish in Underwater World, except better because there's a barracuda in it! That part made me laugh because it seemed like it came out of nowhere. Do you want to know the first thought that came to my mind when I saw the barracuda? Ciguatera =D
Enjoy the rest of your trip =]
P.S. If you have the time, please check your email.
Amber-3

Hi Amber,
All of us laughed when we watched the barracuda. One of the other big fish in that video is a red snapper, also a fish that is famous for ciguatera.

Linda Tatreau, blogging as Shark Feet said...

HELLO!
I read Ritzmar's comment and it's true. The boat does look like it's floating. It looks like it's floating over a pretty rainbow looking thing. Haha. I read that page and the first sentence already made me know that everything was difficult. Haha. Maybe I'm just slow. Have as much fun as possible. BYEE :)
Chelsea Rae-5

Hi Chelsea,
I think that picture of the ship, with the diagram underneath it, gives a good idea of how multibeam sonar works. Research on the ship might not be difficult, but a lot of brilliant technicians have made this type of expedition possible. The research is also time consuming. Counting fish is a bit more difficult than counting animals on land.