How about a "One fish a day" thread to pass the Feb boredom?

[shresearchdude]

Hello All!

I used to post more, and fish much more often, now I'll sit back and enjoy fishing reports more than I go, more often than sitting on a beach, I just catch fish using other methods.
I usually catch when an unidentified fish gets posted, though if someone else gets it right I don't need to get involved.
I may still have status of one of the "OG's" but honestly, I think that faded a bit since I'll be non-existent for long periods.

Who am I and why do I matter, or what do I do and why does it matter?
How about if I start with the basics?

My profile from a few years ago.
https://apps-nefsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/rcb/news/pr2018/features/faces-nefsc-rosendale/

Where I work.
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/james-j-howard-marine-sciences-laboratory-sandy-hook

I get the chance to go on many of the Northeast NOAA ships. Every year I go on the NOAA Research Vessel "Henry Bigelow", I have also been on the retired Albatross, on other current Northeast/Southeast ships, Gordon Gunter, Pisces, and Thomas Jefferson.
Most fish pics that I'll share are from trips over the last 20 years on the Bigelow.
https://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/marine-operations/ships/henry-b-bigelow

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NOAAS_Henry_B._Bigelow_(R_225)


"Survey cruises use a bottom trawl to sample randomly selected stations in an attempt to delineate the species composition, geographic distribution, and abundance of various resources. Fish and selected invertebrate species are identified. Weight, length, total catch numbers, age structures, maturity stages, sex determinations and food content are recorded or collected during the survey cruises. Associated oceanographic and meteorological data, salinity, conductivity, and temperature data are available for all stations. Ichthyoplankton and zooplankton data is available for a subset of the stations. Geographic coverage is from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Maine and from the coast to the slope water.
Purpose: The surveys are designed to provide information on the abundance, biology, and distribution of the living marine resources of the Northwest Atlantic and the environmental conditions affecting them for management purposes and to provide for broadscale ecosystems research."


I have most fish pics in alphabetical order, some may have improper labels (catch me if you can) and some labels just make more sense.

I'll start with A and end with Y since I don't think I have any Z fish.
I'll also provide a link to some sites for info about each species.

If you've got questions, I'll try to answer.

Let's see what happens!

FYI. Just as many people know me as "JR" as John. It's just a result of 4 "john's" in a 20ft Boston Whaler many years ago...

[shrimpman steve]

Welcome back. From one OG to another.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Good to see you back here John. So what's the game? You're going to post fish pics with labels and we are going to guess if they are right or wrong?

[shresearchdude]

Rather then start with pics, lets describe the process first.

The trawl survey ranges from NC up to Canadian waters (where we fly the Canadian colors on the mast). I've been doing one or two trips a year and generally I'll do Georges Bank/Gulf of Maine leg. The legs run from 2 weeks to 21 days with weather influencing how many days we actually work. During tremendous bad weather the ship will hide or even go into a port. I've spent a few days in Northport Maine, sitting inside or outside of Cape Cod or just "jogging" in place while waiting for the worst of the wind/swells to pass. The forecast isn't always right in the ocean either.

So, the ship wanders through a random generated set of stations with various scientific samples occurring at each spot. Generally, it's water samples/classification of the water column, plankton samples, and bottom trawl at most. When we're in the deep spots it all takes longer as the gear needs to get down and back up. The ship can do about 11-15knots based on weather and when the seas get lumpy and the boat stops for a station the boat rocks a bit, though it has stability systems.

The ship gets on location, smaller gear gets set over the side and retrieved and then the trawl gets set out. After the nets on the bottom for 20 minutes it gets retrieved. All the while there's hardware on the net communicating to the ship about how the net is fishing. A good trawl isn't luck on this ship, as certain parameters must be met for it to count, as this info from the net is super important.
The net gets winched back, lifted onto the "checker" and then conveyor belts bring it into the ship for scientist to sort and work up the catch. There are times when the catch cannot be brought inside, when a checker buster or deck tow happens. More often than not when the net is that full, it's spiny dogfish. Then they cut the net open, and we take a subsample and count and toss fish back. Inside when we're done working fish up another conveyor belt send the fish dead or alive, back. Nothing goes over the side when we're within a certain distance close to shore, or if we're too close to the next station.

Three sets of scientific staff work up the samples at three stations with touch screens, magnet driven measuring boards and scales that we calibrate often. Samples are taken based on a hierarchy, and many samples are preserved or frozen for scientists that work for NOAA or other entities.

[shresearchdude]

Pics didn't load on my earlier post

Not sure what happened. When I uploaded the pics they were oriented correctly?

[Dawn Treader]

Whiting, redfish and some scattered winter flounder? Plus nice lobsters. Good seafood dinners? Good photos - keep ‘em coming!

[AndyS]

I have a ton of questions !

How can a registered United States ship change to flying a Canadian flag ?

How many miles offshore are you ?

Can you eat what you catch, it's okay, I wont rat on you if you sneak a few lobsters :D

The majority of the catch looks like it goes back dead ?

What was the worst seas you were ever in ?

Do you Red Over White ( fishing at night ? )

[Gerry Zagorski]

Cool stuff John…. Found this on the Bigelow https://noaateacheratsea.blog/tag/noaa-ship-henry-b-bigelow/

[Captain Rich]

It's too bad the fish aren't donated to a food bank instead of being shoveled overboard.

[shresearchdude]

Andy;
How can a registered United States ship change to flying a Canadian flag ?
As per the custom of entering foreign waters there's criteria for which flag "flies" above the other. I've seen ships during Fleet Week when foreign ships change up their flags. While I haven't found the exact rules, here's something I found. " The Courtesy Flag -Flying the courtesy flag is a centuries-old tradition that is still relevant in these modern times. The act of flying a foreign nation's flag as your ship passes through or enters its waters is not only a sign of respect, it is an essential etiquette to observe. While there is no legal requirement to fly a courtesy flag, it is a polite custom to which you should adhere.

How many miles offshore are you ? I haven't calculated it. I'll attach a pic.

Can you eat what you catch, it's okay, I wont rat on you if you sneak a few lobsters.
While I don't know if it's a SOP, when we cut up highly edible species for science(which includes cutting up skulls, determining food habits, determining sex and maturity etc..) and there's time to fillet fish, we bring it into the galley to cut food costs.

The majority of the catch looks like it goes back dead ?
Some of that is determined by how deep we are fishing, how much is in the net, climate conditions etc... The catch/species gets subsampled. Some may go back through the conveyor belts before it's dead. Northern Gannets, Pilot whales, various dolphins, and who knows what else benefits from what is going back. Though it would be nice to consider freezing and allowing the dead fish to benefit someone, the storage space isn't' there and it's not part of the mission.

What was the worst seas you were ever in ?
In the worst weather the ship will seek safe harbor. During the first trip I was on the Albatross was in 15-18 and it sucked. That is the first time I realized that it's not wise to get a full cup of coffee in the galley and that ship was "famous" for its corkscrew rolls!!!!! I also learned the importance of duct tape. Not just for taping things down but to put a drink in the center of the roll. On the Albatross there were bungee cords on all the chairs.
Years ago, on the Gorden Gunter? we sat inside Cape Cod. We dragged the anchor and there was a reported gust near 90K. The ships call in weather conditions so that others will know. I remember a warship calling the ship to warn us of weather that was heading our way.
I got sick one time on a NOAA ship. It was the Albatross after a particularly soupy breakfast and rough weather. I worked through it after finding a bucket! It was one of my first trips 20+ years ago and the guy I was teamed with was an "old salt" and had tremendous patience.
Oh and when the ship is pounding into big seas, It flexes, and it's quite unnerving the first few times. We stop all work in bad weather, hide from terrible weather, and some trips start later and end before anticipated.

Do you Red Over White ( fishing at night ? )
I'm not sure. I can ask as I've made many friends in NOAA Corp (that runs the ships and hurricane hunters). NOAA Corps is one of the 8 uniformed services, though not armed. If the USCG is pulled into armed service I think NOAA Corps can be activated in some way. Though I'm not sure how.
https://www.omao.noaa.gov/learn/noaa-commissioned-officer-corps

[Capt. Debbie]

Wow whiting. I haven't seen those not wrapped in butchers' paper in years.

Welcome back

Pics didn't load on my earlier post

Not sure what happened. When I uploaded the pics they were oriented correctly?

[AndyS]

Wow, thanks for the quick response. What I meant by Red over White I think are the mast colors if fishing at night, saw it on many commercial boats fishing the canyons at night. Maybe it's white over red over white, can't remember. Just wondering if you drag the net at night.
So when I read about how limits and seasons come about for recreational fishermen I see NMFS and also see NOAA, does this mean these drag results somehow calculate into not only recreation limits and seasons but also commercial fishing as well ?
I think stuff like this is amazing, it is science, and what I learned about science by PIT tagging American Shad on the Raritan river is one question may be answered, at the same time 20 more questions come out of the original question. The planet Earth is truly amazing and how it works and we as humans may never actually figure it out as hard as we try.
And of course, being on a United States warship I don't think it would be cool if we switched flags, just saying :)

[Ol Pedro]

Wow whiting. I haven't seen those not wrapped in butchers' paper in years.

Welcome back
RD, looking forward to your posts.I see Whiting smoked from time to time. I've only caught three the whole time that I've been out here. One jigging Stripers in the Ambrose channel, one Tilefishing that came up bit in half, and the last Ling fishing for tuna bait on the edge of the Hudson Canyon. Great tuna bait.

[Gerry Zagorski]

Andy S.... As far as how far they go, I found this so looks like they go as far and the continental shelf https://i0.wp.com/noaateacheratsea.blog/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/end-route.jpg?ssl=1

[shresearchdude]

my friend Christine writes a blog about her time at sea. I've sailed with a few teachers Gerry. That map is not from the Bottom Trawl Survey but it's close. Looking for a pic I took of the stations this time.


https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/science-blog/gulf-maine-yields-brilliant-and-iridescent-finds

[Jigman13]

sundials, butterfish and what looks like herring, too

[shresearchdude]

Acadian Redfish. The only ocean perch/rockfish of the Atlantic. A very long lived fish. One of the few "live bearing" fish species in the Atlantic. When the nets catch a few, not so often. When it catches a lot is much more common.
They have plenty of spines! More often in the very deep waters of the northern Gulf of Maine.
These are one species that even I keep gloves on when handling/cutting, I tend not to cut with gloves on as I don't have the "touch" or feel that I want, and it's inherently dangerous as there are spines, barbs, fins, and venomous parts to marine animals that the net could have caught/come into contact with that aren't obvious.


I can't figure out why the pics are showing up-upside down? I've gone back and tried to resave them in my own files, but they still show up here wrong(upside down)???

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Sebastes-fasciatus.html

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/acadian-redfish

https://www.mass.gov/service-details/learn-about-acadian-redfish

[AndyS]

The guys on the Tilefish trips call them Rosy Reds :)

[shresearchdude]

These don't get big or thick. But they have always seemed like an expensive item on the menu when I see them.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/american-plaice

https://www.fishbase.se/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=4239&AT=american+plaice

https://oceana.ca/en/marine-life/american-plaice/

The cut on the fish is the classic type of "scallop" cut. It enables examination of gonads(this a ripe female), stomach contents(not quite in photo). Fish was already measured and weighed. The device we work on is a magnet driven measuring board that when the magnet is put at the end of the fish, it gets entered. The measuring board is also a scale. The next cut for this fish was to retain the otoliths in the head, for aging by technical staff at Woods Hole Ma.
https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/national/science-data/age-and-growth#:~:text=NOAA%20Fisheries%20scientists%20stu dy%20different%20aspects%20of%20a,almost%20like%20 counting%20the%20rings%20in%20a%20tree.

[shresearchdude]

I've only seen a few of these while on my watch, which doesn't mean that more are not caught by the nets. I've considered if these got to be about 40 feet long how terrifying it would be!

https://fishspecies.dnrec.delaware.gov/FishSpecies.aspx?habitat=2&species=208


https://www.vims.edu/research/departments/fisheries/programs/mrg_draft/speciesofinterest/species_gridpages/atlantic-cutlassfish.php


https://www.fishbase.in/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=1288&AT=atlantic+cutlassfish

a decent full pic.
https://www.fishbase.in/photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=1288&what=species&TotRec=9


there's some videos of them being fished for in Japan.
https://youtu.be/BMoWQinpfeA

[Jigman13]

Cutlass fish

[shresearchdude]

This species is more often than not in the nets with Gulf of Maine shrimp. They're not eating the shrimp but what is eating them. I've seen fish +60 pounds and at those sizes their mouths are something to stay away from and their eyeballs are marble to golf ball sized. They are thick even when 15 inches and very strong when handled.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-halibut

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/Hippoglossus-hippoglossus.html

https://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/species-especes/profiles-profils/atl-halibut-fletan-atl-eng.html

[Jigman13]

Atlantic halibut...and I'd love to stuff it with gulf of maine shrimp hahaha

[Billfish715]

I've only seen a few of these while on my watch, which doesn't mean that more are not caught by the nets. I've considered if these got to be about 40 feet long how terrifying it would be!

https://fishspecies.dnrec.delaware.gov/FishSpecies.aspx?habitat=2&species=208


https://www.vims.edu/research/departments/fisheries/programs/mrg_draft/speciesofinterest/species_gridpages/atlantic-cutlassfish.php


https://www.fishbase.in/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?ID=1288&AT=atlantic+cutlassfish

a decent full pic.
https://www.fishbase.in/photos/PicturesSummary.php?StartRow=0&ID=1288&what=species&TotRec=9


there's some videos of them being fished for in Japan.
https://youtu.be/BMoWQinpfeA

Here's a picture of one that my wife caught a few years ago off Bay Head.

[shresearchdude]

Atlantic herring have a fascinating way of migrating up and down with the plankton that are trying to avoid predators. The plankton avoid the light penetration near the surface where predators can see them during the day, and the herring have learned this.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-herring

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/24

https://www.asmfc.org/species/atlantic-herring

plankton migration
https://www.whoi.edu/sbl/liteSite.do?litesiteid=6852&articleId=63308

[shresearchdude]

https://www.fishbase.se/summary/1084

[shresearchdude]

I've been slacking with well other stuff in my life!!!

This fish has a few names and one or two that have been removed "officially".

https://www.fishbase.in/summary/Zenopsis-conchifer.html

http://www.fortunefishco.net/Assets/ff-john-dory.pdf

[tjd24]

John Dory

[shresearchdude]

how about some iconic fish?

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-cod

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/new-england-mid-atlantic/science-data/analyzing-cod-populations-atlantic

https://videos.fisheries.noaa.gov/detail/videos/fish/video/2707680268001/changing-ocean-temperatures-atlantic-cod?autoStart=true

https://www.southcoasttoday.com/story/news/2022/02/11/noaa-research-presentation-rising-ocean-temps-sparks-debate/6738076001/

[shresearchdude]

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/haddock

https://www.fishbase.de/summary/1381

https://thefishingdaily.com/europe-fishing-industry-blog/haddock-populations-show-large-genetic-variations-according-to-new-study/

https://apps-nefsc.fisheries.noaa.gov/fbp/age-man/hadd/haddock.html

[shresearchdude]

How about some flatfish/flounders?

[shresearchdude]

these are some very deepwater species that come up in the plankton nets. Usuallly when something comes up from that deep it's condition is poor due to atmospheric pressure changes and the duration of time it takes for the plankton nets aka "Bongo nets" to reach the surface with a slow retrieval. Some of the larger fish like creatures do come up in the deepwater trawls also.

[shresearchdude]

can't leave this one out. I often imagine what it would be like to see a fish like this at 40ft! I threw in a few extras.....

[Ol Pedro]

Vampire fish.

[AndyS]

The deep water stuff is amazing !!

[dakota560]

It's amazing the fish you must see on these trips from deep water trawls. Few people on the planet have that opportunity, you're fortunate to have that experience. A world not known by and never to be seen by most that probably has more life form than any of us would imagine. Very cool looking pictures, thanks for giving us a glimpse of that world.

[Gerry Zagorski]

This was very cool, interesting and great of you to do John, Thanks!