View Platform

Funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act and built by Marinette Marine Corporation in Wisconsin, the ship's primary objective is to support fish, marine mammal, and turtle surveys off the U.S. West Coast and in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The ship has a low sound signature to reduce reactions of fish to the presence of the ship and provides for a low signal-to-noise ratio for acoustic sensors. This allows scientists to study fish populations and collect oceanographic data with fewer effects on fish and marine mammal behavior. The multi-frequency scientific sonars provide the ability to conduct acoustic surveys that can distinguish fish types, estimate biomass, determine fish school shapes, and provide data on sea floor topography. Reuben Lasker is also equipped with oceanographic sampling and measurement systems, instrumented trawls, longlines, and plankton nets for direct sampling. The ship has a dynamic positioning system to steer along a pre-determined trackline and to accurately hold the ship in a fixed position. The ship is also equipped with meteorological data collection systems and has extensive wet and dry labs to provide maximum utilization of every hour at sea. These technologies will dramatically improve the ability to conduct diverse data collection operations as required by its mission. The ship is named after Dr. Reuben Lasker (1929-1988), who served as the Director of SWFSC's Coastal Fisheries Division and as adjunct professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography, U.C. San Diego. Dr. Lasker built a renowned research group that focused on the recruitment of young fish to the adult population - a topic with implications for fisheries management throughout the world.