This months adventure...begins Tuesday

[white cap]

good luck safe trip and tight lines

[shresearchdude]

Most dominant fish today in 165 meters:
Acadian redfish.
others:
blueback herring
thorny skate
smooth skate
some dogfish
silver hake
red hake
ocean pout
hagfish(yuck)
various crabs
lobster
and some grey sole(not much meat on the flounders) I don't know how big they have to be to have them served for dinner.

link to info on acadian redfish(fishbase)
http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/Spec...ry.php?id=3969

On another note... there are whales swimming around with the loons out here- I haven't seen the two together but there is a guy on the flying bridge doing a seabird/marine mammal survey.

[shresearchdude]

Out in the Gulf o Maine and headed towards Nova Scotia.
Water depth 718 ft on the next net set.
Overnight the catches included:

Blackbellied rosefish
acadian redfish
witch flounder
smooth skates
thorny skates
a few haddock
some dogfish
atlantic herring
alewife
silver hake
white hake
red hake
longfin hake
lobster
various small pink shrimp
a couple of tiny octopus
goosefish
sea ravens
some other misc fish I didn't get to see....

Saw a few whales blowing when I went out during the afternoon break. The marine mammal guy said the closer to the Bay of Fundy we get - the more we should see. Still not bad out here, sunny and cold(40F?). No wind yet...

[shresearchdude]

Wandering back and forth into Canadian waters. Cold breeze, must have been in the 30's all morn.
Catches from this morning include:

big pollack
small haddock
a cod here and there
more acadian redfish
black bellied rosefish
smooth skates
white hake
silver hake
ocean pout
witch flounder
lobster(retained for further analysis?)
a deep water red crab(not sure of proper name) more like a rock crab than anything else
and of course some fish I didn't even see since i was busy working on other fish....

[shresearchdude]

We've been in Canadian waters for most of my shift,air temps in the 30's.
Due to very harsh bottom, the fact that our ship has only one complete net rigged and the fact that this ship was built with the most advanced technology of any in use research vessel our shift hasn't set a net all night and into this morning. When I say harsh bottom... the area has a history of eating nets- and I've watched the depth sounders- craggy drop offs, ridges, shoals and the type of stuff that eats nets up. When I say most advanced, I mean the ship has the quietest "footprints" of any research boat, and the most advanced recording devices(really expensive fish finders) on any research ship.
There were lobster pots all over the area near Nova Scotia and it seem like a slalom course at times.
Our ship was recording fish instead of netting them. The other boat, which uses a different style of net, has been doing all the fish catching. Prior to the other ship setting the net our ship would scout out an area of the bottom for them to drag along.
Our last net of my shift did have the following:
Lobsters
cod
haddock
witch flounder
sea ravens
atlantic herring
alewife
thorny skates
winter flounder
acadian redfish
silver hake
white hake
red hake
longhorn sculpin
and some others....

I can't download pics until I get back on land due to download restrictions, but I've got just a few to share.

[Reelron]

"There were lobster pots all over the area near Nova Scotia and it seem like a slalom course at times."

Kind of like trying to fish a reef in New Jersey!

[shresearchdude]

Turned the corner and headed back south, running offshore along Maine.
Catches in 600-700ft include:
Lumpfish
Lobster
smooth skates
american plaice
small spoonfooted octopus
silver hake
white hake
alewife
various small pink shrimps
acadian redfish
butterfish

[shresearchdude]

more of the same so far this morning..

fish of the day?

wrymouth: eel like with short sharp spines all along its dorsal(top) fin.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wrymouth

[shresearchdude]

Some more catches this morning included:
2 more big halibut
more pink shrimp(bigger but not cocktail sized)
atlantic herring
blueback herring
alewife
smooth skates
american plaice
witch flounder
silver hake
red hake

some other misc fish that I didn't see came up but when I'm busy cutting ear bones(otoliths) out of fish that are used to age them I don't get to see everything.

Off Isle de Haut Island/Bay

[shresearchdude]

Some more of the same fish came up in the latest nets. Inshore/offshore Maine, last I looked Penobscot bay?
Any minute now there should be our weekly drills. Man overboard, fire drill and abandon ship drills. Get to struggle into my "gumby" survival suit, the newest versions are lighter but the neoprene on the cuff is so tight it's really hard to get it off again.
I got little of no sleep last night so I won't be lurking for at least the next 10 hours...