Marine

  • 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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  • Live and Acoustic with Herring and the Sprats

    26th June 2018 by

    Scotia in Scapa Flow by Michael Stewart

    Survey: 0918S Duration: 28 June – 20 July 2018 Sampling Gear: Midwater trawls PT160 x 3; Demersal trawl (BT237); Seabird 19plus CTD; GoPro cameras x 2 with underwater housings and lights; and Scanmar trawl eye sensor. Objectives: To conduct an acoustic survey to estimate the abundance and distribution of herring in the north western North...

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  • Mackerel and Eggs on the Altaire

    29th May 2018 by

    MFV Altaire survey 0118H May 2018_5

    MFV Altaire departed Ullapool at 1400hrs on the 22nd May to begin survey 0118H. Onboard during this exploratory mackerel egg survey we have an international scientific complement including scientists from: Scotland, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands. Flowmeter calibration deployments were completed successfully in the Minch, west of Melvaig, and the Altaire is now proceeding to...

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  • Rockall and Mackerel

    28th May 2018 by

    MFV Altaire during survey 0118H May 2018_6

    Survey: 0118H MFV Altaire Duration: 22 May – 6 June 2018 Fishing/Sampling Gear: Gulf VII plankton sampler Objectives: To carry out standalone mackerel egg survey, on the western shelf and slope in the area from 52o N to 59o N (see Figure 1). Opportunistic trawling for adult mackerel samples; for exploratory ovary analysis. Procedures: After...

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  • Significant Celebrations for Scottish Freshwater Organisations

    9th May 2018 by

    Freshwater Fisheries Lab Present Day

    2018 is looking to be quite a significant year for two organisations at the core of freshwater research in Scotland. Marine Scotland Science’s Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory (FFL) at Faskally in Pitlochry, has just celebrated its 70th anniversary and the Scottish Freshwater Group (SFG) has just turned 50. Freshwater fisheries research has been a Government responsibility...

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  • Rock-all and Trawl with Genesis

    2nd May 2018 by

    Survey: 0818H – MFV Genesis BF505 Duration: 25 April -10 May 2018 Fishing Gear: Anglerfish Trawl BT 195 Objectives: To undertake a nationally co-ordinated demersal trawling survey of Anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa) at Rockall Bank (ICES area VIb and Northwestern Shelf (ICES area VIa) inside the 1000m isobaths. To additionally record and map...

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  • Twinkle twinkle little starfish

    12th April 2018 by

    Alba na Mara

    Survey: 0518A Duration: 14 April – 2 May 2018 Gear: Scallop dredges Objectives To carry out a survey of scallop stocks on the West Coast. To age, measure and assess shell damage on all scallops caught. To Identify and sample additional areas of commercial interest to the scallop fishery. To collect information on by-catch of...

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  • What’s your anglerfish?

    5th April 2018 by

    Survey: 0218H – MFV Genesis BF505 Duration: 6-20 April 2018 Fishing Gear: Anglerfish Trawl BT 195 Objectives To undertake a nationally coordinated demersal trawling survey of Anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa) in the Northern North Sea, ICES area IVa. To record and map distributions of Megrim (Lepidorhombus wiffiagonis), Four-Spot Megrim (Lepidorhombus boscii) Cod (Gadus...

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