Trawl Treasures
- Brittany R. Jones
- Jun 20, 2017
- 2 min read
It’s day 12, and we are already over half way through the research cruise on the R/V Sikuliaq. On June 14th, we crossed above the Arctic Circle and saw the first sea ice of the trip. We have seen a few more ice chunks since, but not much. People are amazed at how little ice there is for this time of year. The seas have mostly been extremely calm. The days have fluctuated between really sunny and blue to very foggy with limited visibility. On most of the clear days, we have been able to see to the Alaskan coast. On the 12th, we could simultaneously see Russia and Alaska as we passed by the Diomede Islands. Big Diomede is on the Russian side of the maritime border and Little Diomede is on the Alaskan side. We could also see the mainland coasts of both in the distance. We have a science observer on board from the village on Little Diomede. It was great sailing past her village of 80 people as she pointed out her house to us. Along the cruise, there have been many sea birds and a few gray whale sightings. Although I have not yet seen them, a few people have seen 3 or 4 walruses. There are scientists on board surveying for seabirds and marine mammals while transiting between stations.
We have finished the process stations and are heading back south along the survey stations (see map above). At each processes station, one of the science teams has been conducting bottom trawls to collect fish and sample epibenthic invertebrates (those that live on the surface of the seafloor). The critters from the bottom trawl tend to be very photogenic! They’ve included grumpy sculpin, baby sea stars, hermit crabs, scallops, snails, and much more.
For each bottom trawl, the fish and invertebrates are identified, counted, and weighed to be able to better understand variations in the community composition throughout the region. Most days, I have been able to help out at least for a few minutes sorting the trawl treasures. The critters I have collected for my respiration experiments have mostly been from these trawls. One of my favorite parts of sorting? Pulling out the speakers, digging through people’s iTunes from 10-15 years ago, and even doing a little dancing. Especially by the end of a long day, the little things like music can make a big difference in boosting the community morale.
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