Marine

  • Camera Trials and Nephrops Trawls – An Update

    21st January 2019 by

    Alba na Mara

    After a timely departure from Fraserburgh on Saturday the 5th of January, Alba na Mara sailed for the west coast to carry out underwater TV work on Nephrops grounds. The first task involved deploying a time lapse camera, attached to a large frame, in Upper Loch Torridon.  This was followed by a short steam to...

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  • Reviewing our Year of Science

    18th January 2019 by

    Trawling for smolts MRV Scotia. Photo by Ross Gardiner © Crown copyright

    Today sees the publication of our Annual Science Review for 2017/18. The Review, which highlights the impacts and achievements of Marine Scotland Science (MSS), details the overall contribution and support that our scientists make to the work of Marine Scotland. During this period we have published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and supported more than 75...

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  • Camera Trials and Nephrops Trawls

    16th January 2019 by

    MRV Alba na Mara

    Survey: 0119A Alba na Mara Programme Duration: 05 – 21 January 2019 Objectives: Calibrate the RoxAnn Acoustic Seabed Mapping System. Obtain video footage to estimate Nephrops burrow entrance size. Compare two different methodologies to establish Nephrops burrow abundance using the sledge and drop frame underwater TV (UWTV) systems. Monitor burrow reconstruction following trawl activity. Trial...

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  • A Century’s Worth of Data

    14th January 2019 by

    A CTD deployment at sunrise on Scotia

    The Marine Laboratory at Aberdeen has been collecting offshore water samples and taking related measurements since the 1890’s. Yet, while the equipment we use has changed a lot since that time, mostly due to advances in technology, the parameters we sample have remained the same. The Marine Scotland Science (MSS) Oceanography Group will soon be...

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  • St Andrews Bay on St Andrews Day

    14th December 2018 by

    1918A Forth Bridge pic2

    Survey: 1918A Alba na Mara Programme Duration: 29 November – 3 December 2018 Sampling Gear: BT 158 with 50 mm cod-end; 2 m beam trawl with 50 mm cod-end; Day grab and table; Catamaran, and Neuston trawl net. On 29th November Alba na Mara departed Leith at 07:00 hrs to sail up the Forth Estuary and...

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  • Pinging for Lost Moorings

    10th December 2018 by

    Scotia in Scapa Flow by Michael Stewart

    Survey: 1818S MRV Scotia Duration: 8-18 December 2018 Gear: Sea-Bird Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) Unit/Carousel, Water filtering equipment, Mooring recovery equipment, Chemistry sampling equipment, and AL-200 Trawl-Resistant Bottom Mounts (TRBMs). Objectives: Hydrographic sampling along the Stonehaven AlterEco section in the northern North Sea (Priority 1). Conduct routine hydrographic sampling at stations along the long-term monitoring...

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  • Sandeel Hide and Seek

    3rd December 2018 by

    Alba na Mara

    Survey: 2018A MRV Alba na Mara Duration: 6-19 December 2018 Objectives: Determine the abundance, length and age of sandeels in the sediment from regions east of the Firth of Forth and around Turbot bank. Collect and preserve samples of A. marinus, specifically: • all 0-group sandeels (size to be estimated from age/length keys of sampled...

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  • 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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  • Fishing Gear and Flying Kites

    1st November 2018 by

    Scotia in berth at Ullapool for blog 1218S

    Survey: 1618S MRV Scotia Programme Duration: 28 October – 08 November 2018 Objectives: To carryout catch comparison trials to compare the fishing performance of the BT237 against the standard survey trawl BT137 GOV rigged with ‘A’ gear. To assess the fishing performance, in terms of gear geometry, of the new Vonin ‘Flyer’ kite as a...

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  • Oil and Gas Pipeline Survey

    23rd October 2018 by

    Survey: MRV Scotia 1518S Duration: 18 –  24 October 2018   Equipment: Day grabs; TV drop frame with lasers; armoured cable; SVP; swathe multibeam echosounder system; EK 60; CTD; VMADCP and time lapse cameras.   Objectives: To assess the hydrographic influences on the aggregation of fish around surface laid oil and gas pipelines. To assess the...

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