Marine

  • Sampling in the Strata

    14th November 2018 by

    Scotia at Sea

    Survey: 1718S MRV Scotia Programme Duration: 12 November – 4 December 2018 Fishing Gear: GOV (Grand Overture Verticale) Trawl (BT137) and ground gear D (hoppers). Objectives: Participate in the ICES co-ordinated western division demersal trawling survey. Obtain temperature and salinity data profiles at each trawling position. Collect additional biological data in connection with the EU...

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  • Rockall Haddock Trawling Survey – An update

    4th October 2018 by

    Scotia at Sea

    Survey: 1318S Rockall Haddock Trawling Survey Duration:  19 September – 1 October 2018 The 2018 Rockall haddock trawling survey got off to a blustery start with Scotia departing Aberdeen on the morning of the 19th September and heading straight into the teeth of Storm Ali; the first officially named storm of Autumn 2018. Gusts of...

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  • Surveying the Haddock on the Rockall Plateau

    3rd October 2018 by

    Scotia at Sea

    Survey: 1318S Rockall Haddock Survey Duration: 19 September – 1 October 2018 Fishing Gear: • GOV (Grand Overture Verticale) Trawl (BT 137) with ground gear D. Other Gear: • Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) Seabird 19+; and • Van Veen Grab. Objectives: • Undertake the bottom trawl survey of haddock on Rockall Bank to a depth...

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  • Herring or Sprat; and the Notorious Case of Burke and Hare

    24th September 2018 by

    Mummified sprat and herring from Queens Ferry Fishery, 30 December 1837

    One of the earliest pieces of fisheries research carried out in Scotland concerned the Firth of Forth herring fishery, and whether herring and sprat were two separate species. An artefact from this research is on display in the library foyer at the Marine Laboratory, in Aberdeen. The Board of British White Herring Fisheries was established...

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  • Let’s Go Fly a Kite

    17th September 2018 by

    Alba na Mara

    Survey: 1418A MRV Alba na Mara Programme This survey will be executed in two parts during the window of 12th September to the 25th September 2018. Part One Objectives: Live fish capture for tank based trials in our Fish Behaviour Unit (FBU); and Trialing new Vonin ‘Flyer’ headline kites. Part Two Objectives: Recover (VR2Tx) salmon...

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  • Go west….to Greenland!

    13th September 2018 by

    Maniitsoq Copyright of Sean Dugan

    We’re excited about bringing you this next blog. Sean, who you’ll read about below, is taking part in a West Greenland Salmon Sampling trip. But what is it and why is sampling done in Greenland? Read on to find out….  Welcome to my West Greenland Salmon Sampling Photo Blog My name is Sean Dugan and...

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  • The Latest News from Survey 1218S

    5th September 2018 by

    Faroe Shetland Sponge Belt Critters

    It is 3am and we’re on our way to Rosemary Bank. We’ve had three nights of towing the chariot across the different depths at Faroe Shetland Sponge Belt and three days of sampling the fish and benthic fauna with trawls, and we’ve seen lots of sponges, bizarre invertebrates, and fish. We’ve recorded lots of video...

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  • How Mature are Nephrops?

    4th September 2018 by

    Alba na Mara

    Survey : 1318A MRV Alba na Mara Duration: 25 August – 10 September 2018 Objectives: Obtain estimates of the distribution and abundance of Nephrops burrows in the Firth of Forth and the Moray Firth using underwater cameras. Use the TV footage to record the occurrence of other benthic fauna and evidence of commercial trawling activity....

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  • Inspecting a freezing Afrika

    9th August 2018 by

    MPV Jura

    On the 16th of July a boarding party from MPV Jura, including two trainees, carried out a routine inspection of the Dutch pelagic freezer trawler ‘Afrika’ to the east of Fair Isle. The ‘Afrika’ is big vessel – 126m long with 11 refrigerated seawater tanks (RSW) onboard, giving her a total capacity of over 690m³. A...

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  • An Egg Hunt of Large Proportions

    28th June 2018 by

    Returning back into Loch Broom enroute to Ullapool – 0118H Survey

    Survey: 0118H MRV Altaire (Part 3) Duration: 22nd May 2018 – 6th June 2018 This survey was tasked with providing answers to one very simple but, up to now, unanswered question. How much further west of the current survey extent would a mackerel egg survey need to go to secure a mackerel spawning boundary, in other...

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