An innovative scientific approach to survey Alaska pollock this year. Scientists are capitalizing on existing technological capabilities and partnerships to collect fisheries data. This will help fill the information gap resulting from the cancellation of FY20 ship-based surveys due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NOAA Fisheries plans to use autonomous surface vehicles to collect some […]
The saildrones are completely autonomous, so they can sail along under their own power as long as there’s a little sun and wind to send them on their way. But aimlessly floating around might not produce the best science, so it’s our job to give them a place to go. All of our communication to […]
We’ve launched The end of June, four Saildrones left Dutch Harbor, AK and headed north. These ocean-going robots have started to carry out a 700-nautical-mile trip to Bering Strait, where they will enter the Chukchi Sea and begin their work in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and the Arctic Ocean. NOAA Fisheries scientists at the […]
Fisheries researchers using Saildrones surveyed more than 1,700 miles within the fur seal foraging area of the Bering Sea this summer, measuring and locating walleye pollock that are the main food source for northern fur seals. The unmanned drones are giving the Alaska Fisheries Science Center new insight into foraging habits of female northern fur […]