Day 5 R/V Point Sur Part 2

Today we did two otter trawls at 200 meters. They were both extremely successful. We got many of the same fish from the 100 meter trawls, but this time, the fish were a lot bigger. There were even empty skate egg casings. I’ll be bringing some of those egg casings home for my classroom. Again, the fish from the trawls get separated, identified, measured, and some get dissected. Many of the fish are released back to the ocean. Unfortunately, the sea gulls are constantly around waiting for their next meal.

















Some of these fish have photophores on their bodies. These photophores light up when they are in the ocean. Some fish use the photophores for protection and also to attract food. The trawls do come back to the surface fairly quick. Sometimes the fish come up too quickly and their swim bladder balloons.





Tomorrow, we will recover the camera and respirometer in the morning. The respirometer will be deployed to 200 meters after the data is collected from the electronic brain. There will be two more trawls at 200 meters.

=)



“This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0727135. Any opinions, findings and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation (NSF).”