Fall at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center means researchers are sifting through all the data they collected over the summer months in the field. For the Steller sea lion team that means reviewing hundreds of thousands of photos. Every summer AFSC’s Marine Mammal Lab scientists conduct Steller sea lion surveys along the Aleutian Island […]
Every year, gray whales migrate from their summer feeding grounds in the Arctic to their wintering grounds off Baja California in Mexico. And roughly every other year, scientists with binoculars count them as they funnel past a point on the California coast a bit south of Monterey Bay. Scientists conduct this survey to keep track […]
“Start haul back,” the NOAA Corps watch officer says to the fisherman operating the winch controls. The officer monitors the helm and navigation settings to maintain a smooth ride while the fisherman, a NOAA wage mariner, begins the slow process of reeling in a trawl net from the depths. They’re aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson in […]
A team of NOAA Fisheries scientists set out on a month-long research survey onboard the NOAA ship Reuben Laskerto try to locate the rare North Pacific right whale, possibly the most endangered marine mammal to visit U.S. waters. Today, only an estimated 30 North Pacific right whales remain, the legacy of extensive historical whaling in […]