Winter 2017 California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations Survey

The NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker will attempt to occupy 104 scheduled station locations between San Francisco and San Diego, California. Researchers will be using a variety of survey methods, including surface trawls, plankton tows, acoustic data, CUFES (continuous underway fish egg sampler), and CTD data to gather information for the sardine stock assessment to evaluate the current health of the California Current Ecosystem.

January 25, 2017

The NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker is back out at sea after an onslaught of battering storms hit the west coast last week. Rough seas and strong winds forced the crew to depart from their original itinerary and seek shelter in the San Diego bay. With the passing of the storms, the crew only has five days left of the survey to complete as many lines as possible. The vessel will return to line 73.3 and head northward, occupying inshore stations as far up the coast as possible. There is a possibility they will still be able to make it to the original destination of San Francisco, but this is entirely dependent on the weather and timing. The vessel will then run the CUFES system on the return back to San Diego thereafter with the intention of identifying the distribution of spawning northern anchovy along the coast. The survey is set to end on Sunday, January 29, 2017.

January 20, 2017 

Further evidence of warmer than average temperatures has persisted in the third week of the 2017 Winter California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations survey. Preliminary CTD data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography shows slightly warmer temperatures than typical for this time of year. These temperatures seem to have slightly affected some marine life, as bongo nets have picked up some pelagic red crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes) inshore. Moreover, CUFES (continuous underway fish egg sampler) collected a number of northern anchovy (Engraulis mordax) eggs inshore of the Channel Islands, otherwise uncommon as the peak of spawning off the coast of California usually occurs in February. 

The crew completed the core 75 stations of the Winter California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations pattern by Thursday, January 19, before a series of storms along the coast required them to seek shelter south in San Diego Bay. The remaining survey path will be determined by how soon they are able to return to sea. 

January 13, 2017 

The second week of the Winter California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations survey was smooth sailing as the crew of the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker continued north towards San Francisco. Researchers from the NOAA Fisheries Resources Division and Scripps Institution of Oceanography found slightly elevated sea surface temperatures along the Southern California bight, with temperatures outside of the California Current reaching as high as 18°C. 

Several species have been prominent along the cruise so far. Pelagic red crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes) were found on the southern-most lines of the survey and decent numbers of anchovy (Engraulis mordax) eggs and adults found in the coastal regions. 

January 5, 2017 

Researchers from the Fisheries Resources Division at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography departed San Diego on the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker on Thursday, January 5, to begin the 2017 Winter California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations cruise. The survey will attempt to occupy 104 stations from San Diego to San Francisco, California, and gather information on current oceanographic conditions and coastal pelagic species (hake, anchovy, mackerel, and Pacific sardine). Methods of investigations will include surface trawls, plankton tows, acoustic data, continuous underway fish egg sampler, and conductivity, temperature, and depth data.