Scientists and crew completed 364 of the 377 planned representative trawl sampling stations (96 percent). Sampling occurred over the full survey region. During the cruise those aboard also collected 370 vertical profiles of temperature and salinity and took 113 of 116 plankton samples at a subset of stations.
This long-running, fishery-independent, bottom trawl survey monitors fishery abundance and distribution of the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf from Cape Lookout, North Carolina to the Scotian Shelf.
Data collected include fish age, length, weight, sex, maturity and food habits information. All are critical data used in regional fish stock assessments that help inform fishery management decisions by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, as well as the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Percentage of Trawl Stations Completed
Percentage of Vertical Profiles of Temperature and Salinity Completed
Percentage of Planned Plankton Samples Completed
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Four oysters held by oyster grower Mike Gilman
Sustainably grown, organic Alaskan kelp is harvested at the Seagrove Kelp Co. farm in Doyle Bay. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Jordan Hollarsmith
View over the stern of the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow, exiting the Cape Cod Canal headed east toward Provincetown, Mass. at the beginning of Leg 3 of the 2021 Northeast Fisheries Science Center fall bottom trawl survey. The two bridges spanning the canal are used by trains (background) and vehicle traffic (foreground). Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Katelyn Depot.
