The NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada left Newport, OR on June 27 to begin the 2021 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Ecosystem and Pacific Hake Acoustic Trawl Survey (henceforth referred to as the “survey”). This survey supports the Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) stock assessment, provides acoustic and biological data (including select specimens) for other assessments/research, and collects key environmental/oceanographic information scientists use to model habitat and distribution of fish and invertebrates.
The ship is currently steaming south and will stop somewhere along the way to calibrate the acoustic echosounders. Once the calibration is complete, the ship will continue to Point Conception, CA, where it will turn north and begin surveying. Transects are spaced ten nautical miles apart, run along a specific latitude, cover depths from 50 m inshore to 1500 m offshore or deeper (depending on the presence of offshore hake), and are oriented perpendicular to the coastline. During the day the echosounders and trawls will collect acoustic and biological information, respectively, while night operations are dedicated to environmental/oceanographic data sampling.
The Bell M. Shimada also serves as a platform for researchers collecting data on Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), environmental DNA (i.e., eDNA) of hake, eulachon, krill, and lamprey, and phytoplankton using an Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB). The survey is also trialing a pilot project this year to collect marine mammals and seabirds observations as the Bell M. Shimada moves along acoustic transects. Much more on these topics to come in future blogs!
Safety is always vital in both survey planning and operations, but this year’s efforts are heightened due to the global pandemic. The scientists and crew followed strict COVID-19 safety protocols, including multiple COVID tests before boarding the vessel.
