[CINC] NOAA Ship Shimada

[Shauna Bingham]

 If you are by the Santa Barbara waterfront on Sunday morning you may see
the NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada making a stop about a mile offshore for a
scientist personnel transfer.  Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
staff will be helping out NMFS by transferring personnel on the Sharkcat.
If you are curious, or if you get questions, I've clipped some of their
cruise plan below.  The cruise is primarily a rockfish recruitment survey
for the NMFS groundfish stock assessment.

*I.  OVERVIEW*

* *

*Cruise Period:  *May 6 – June 20, 2012



            *Leg 1:* May 6 – May 18

            *Leg 2:* May 21 – June 3

            *Leg 3:* June 6 – June 20



*Operating Area:*  San Diego, CA to Cape Blanco, OR (see Appendix I and II
for station sample dates and locations)

* *

*Summary of Objectives*



1. Sample for pelagic juvenile rockfish (*Sebastes* spp.) and other
epi-pelagic micronekton such as juvenile Pacific whiting (*Merluccius
productus*), juvenile lingcod (*Ophiodon elongatus*), northern anchovy
(*Engraulis
mordax*), Pacific sardine (*Sardinops sagax*), market squid (*Loligo
opalescens*), and krill (Euphausiacea), to determine their distribution and
abundance.



2. Characterize prevailing ocean conditions and examine prominent
hydrographic features.



3. Map the distribution and abundance of krill.



4. Observe seabird and marine mammal distribution and abundance.



5. Collect Humboldt squid (*Dosidicus gigas)*.



6. Conduct deep midwater trawls to examine mesopelagic species.
-- 
Shauna Bingham
Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
113 Harbor Way, Suite 150
Santa Barbara, CA 93109
805-884-1460
805-568-1582 (fax)
http://channelislands.noaa.gov/
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.rain.org/pipermail/channel_islands_naturalist_corps/attachments/20120524/bb209f10/attachment.html>