This spring I set sail on the F/V Mary Elizabeth for all four trips of the Gulf of Maine Bottom Longline Survey. The survey just celebrated its tenth year on the water! It began as a way to complement data from the Bottom Trawl Survey. Our survey sends baited hooks to the seafloor in an effort to catch fish that use crevices and rocky structure. We sample all over the Gulf of Maine, but focus primarily on rocky bottom areas where trawl gear can have difficulty sampling. The data from both surveys can then be combined in stock assessments to provide a better understanding of the species that live in our aquatic backyard. In terms of biodiversity, we tend to catch the same 20 to 30 species regularly on our survey, but there's always something to keep me surprised. Please enjoy my favorite moments from this past spring survey.
Aurora Awakenings
During our transit, and deep in REM sleep, I saw a bright light. In my dreamy state, for a split second I thought I was being abducted by aliens, but it was just the mate with his flashlight trying to wake me up to come outside. The photo is dark, but it captures the subtle streaks of the aurora borealis! We were at sea for part of the massive solar flare that occurred in May, allowing much of the country to see the northern lights. It was an awe–inspiring sight.
A Whale-come Sight
While our longline gear was soaking, we saw a humpback whale mom (named Clamp) and her calf swimming around the boat for about an hour. At one point, the calf breached four times in clear sight of the delighted crew. Clamp and calf weren’t the only visitors; we also saw two fin whales in the area, likely drawn in by abundant food.
Toothy Triumphs
Check out the teeth on this Atlantic halibut! The crew were very excited to see this individual come over the rail. The F/V Mary Elizabeth caught 10 halibut between four trips. It was a very good season for halibut on the survey, with 13 caught between our two partner vessels—the most we’ve ever caught in one survey!
Lucky Catch
What are the odds? This Atlantic cod was double–hooked in the same exact spot on its mouth. I think that was a first for everyone on the vessel and we all had a good laugh. Maybe it was a sign to buy a lotto ticket?
Catching a Two-for-One
Talk about eyes bigger than your stomach! This monkfish had a spiny dogfish longer than its body crammed in its maw. Monkfish (aka goosefish) are ambush predators with incredibly large jaws and heads with a comparatively small body. That doesn’t stop them from eating very large prey, like this unfortunate spiny dogfish.
Cusk: from Drab to Fab
Cusk are normally very drably colored—usually an olive brown, occasionally with very faint stripes. Sometimes though, the stripes are vivid yellow–orange and they end up with really neat tiger stripes. For me, this automatically elevates the individual to “cool fish” status—like the individual seen here.
A Hitchhiker’s Guide to Longline
I was very excited to see my first sea slug. This itty–bitty creature was about an inch long, and must have hitched a ride to the surface on one of our lines. The seas were pretty rough on that haul, so I put it in a bucket of water until it was calm enough to release. This gave me time to watch it slowly move around and wave its antennas in the water. I was enamored with it and named it Eustice!
These snapshots capture just a glimpse of what the Gulf of Maine has to offer. After a memorable spring onboard the Mary Elizabeth, I am eager to skip the heat of summer and head straight to fall survey.
