Marine Directorate Communications
Written 96 posts
Gear Selectivity in the Moray Firth
5th November 2019
MRV Alba na Mara Survey 1919A Duration: 4 – 12 November 2019 Gear: Trawl BT201; Net mounted camera system; Scanmar instrumentation; Seltra box incorporating a 300mm square mesh panel Objectives: To undertake catch comparison trials using a Seltra sorting box rigged into the extension of the BT201. Target species will be commercial gadoids,…
Hydrographic Sampling in the Northern North Sea
15th October 2019
MRV Scotia Survey: 1519S Programme Duration: 14-24 October 2019 Gear: Sea-Bird Conductivity Temperature Depth units (CTDs), RBR CTD, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) and current meter instrumentation, water filtering equipment, mooring equipment, chemistry sampling equipment. Objectives: Test the SBE911 and CTD carousel (main CTD crane) and the SBE25 and Aquatracker (using plankton crane) in the Buchan…
King Scallop Surveys in the Clyde
7th October 2019
MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 1719A Programme Duration: 4 – 18 October 2019 Objectives: Carry out a dredge survey of king scallops in the Clyde. Age, measure and assess shell damage for all king scallops caught. Collect information on by-catch of other commercial fish and shellfish species. Identify and quantify all starfish species in all…
Joint Warrior Training Activity: 5th-17th October 2019
2nd October 2019
Exercise Joint Warrior (JW), organised by the Ministry of Defence, a major programme of exercises involving land forces, warships, submarines and aircraft from all the NATO partners, across the UK. The next exercise, Joint Warrior 192, will take place between 5 and 17 October 2019 in the airspace, offshore and coastal waters to the west of Scotland…
Scotia Set for Deepwater Sampling
28th September 2019
MRV Scotia Survey: 1419S Programme Duration: 28 September – 11 October 2019 Objectives: Map the composition, distribution and abundance of continental slope species on the deepwater slope west of the Hebrides from Donegal to the Flannans (55–59oN) and Rosemary Bank (Figure 1). Collect samples (genetics and otoliths) of key species for population studies. Continue use of…
Skate Research: Survey in the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura MPA
19th September 2019
MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 1619A Programme Duration: 24-30 September 2019 Background and Objectives: Survey 1619A will conduct a benthic survey of juvenile common skate within and around the Loch Sunart to the Sound of Jura Nature Conservation Marine Protected Area (hereafter referred to as MPA). The primary objective of survey 1619A is to assess the…
Rockall Haddock Survey
16th September 2019
MRV Scotia Survey: 1319S Programme – Rockall Haddock Survey Duration: 14-26 September 2019 Fishing Gear: GOV (Grand Overture Verticale) Trawl (BT 137) with ground gear D Other Gear: CTD (Conductivity Temperature Depth) – Seabird 19+ Van Veen Grab Objectives: Undertake a bottom trawl survey of haddock on Rockall Bank to a depth of 350 m. Deploy…
Juvenile Fish Habitat
3rd September 2019
MRV Alba na Mara Survey: 1519A Programme Duration: 2-21 September 2019 Gear: 2 x Jackson Rockhopper Trawl BT158 with 10 mm Cod end + Spare Scanmar net sensors – trawl width, height, and depth (x2 units) 2 fleets of fish traps Fish/prawn sorting table SBRUV – baited camera frames – (QTY 2) 2 x Day grab,…
Coring the Scotia on-board the Scotia
16th August 2019
It is 0300 in the morning and the MRV Scotia is steaming to the eastern section of the Fladen ground, in the central North Sea. We have received the go-ahead to run a short survey over the giant Scanner and Scotia pockmark complexes. These large conical shaped depressions found occasionally in the North Sea and…
Scotia and Carbon
13th August 2019
The 1019S Scotia cruise (21–31 July) was a 10 day long oceanographic research cruise focusing on the role of carbon within the marine environment, primarily within the water column and marine sediments. I took part in this cruise in order to gather samples for use in my PhD research project from hot spot fishing grounds…