"An International Collaboration" Una Cooperacion Internacional

TEACHER LOG#8
NOAA Teacher at Sea: Obed Fulcar
NOAA SHIP:Oscar Dyson
Mission:Summer Pollock Survey III
Geographical Area:Bering Sea
Date:Thursday, July 29, 2010

Weather from the Bridge:
Time:05:56 am
Latitude:61.05 N
Longitude:178.51 W
Wind Direction: 300 N
Wind Speed:12.5 knots
Sea Temperature:8.0 C (46.4 F)
Air Temperature:9.5 C (49.10 F)
Barometric Pressure:1008 mb
Foggy Skies
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY LOG:
Wednesday, July 28: after a cloudy and foggy day, (Picture of a ship on Russian waters)the weather finally changed and the afternoon became sunny and clear, very pleasant to be on deck. For the past several days we have been navigating in the Russian territorial waters of the Bering Sea, for which we have permission, as testified by a letter in Russian posted on the bridge. Alaska used to be a possession of Russia, until October 18, 1867 it became a territory of the United States. We can still see Russian Orthodox churches still open today in some islands of Alaska. Pretty soon the direction of the current transect or line course, will bring us as close as 12.6 miles from land. At one point we were close to 14 miles off Cape Navarin, but there was fog in the distance and without notice the beautiful afternoon disappeared and I was not able to see Russia. Later on during the afternoon trawl, while sorting the catch of Pollock, a big fish came out on the conveyor:it was a Chum Salmon or Dog fish" said Dr. Mikhail Stepanenko, a Russian scientists working with his colleague Elena Gritsay, from the Vladivostok School of Fisheries, collaborating in the Walleye Pollock survey.to help improve the management of Russian fisheries. According to Mikhail it was most likely that the chum salmon had been born in Japanese waters, and had migrated to spawn near Cape Navarin. After I measured it then I dissected the fish to see if it was male or female. The organs were slightly different in size and location than the Pollock, but basically the same. The pillora seca was very large, engulfing the long stomach and liver, and the kidneys were right behind the swim bladder. The presence of an organ called gonads or testes confirmed that it was a male. I tried to locate the otolith, for my classroom collection bu could not locate it. There was also a very interesting fish in the catch: a Toad Lump sucker, a very cute looking fish that resembled a blow fish because it was swollen like a balloon. It had a suction orifice in the underbelly too.

Animals Seen Today:
Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta), Toad Lump sucker (Eumicrotemus phrynoides)
Vocabulary:
Cape Navarin, Gonads, Pillora Seca, Orthodox, Swim Bladder

PERSONAL LOG:
I noticed that in this cruise there is an atmosphere of professional collaboration between scientists and the crew. There is also a sense of collegiate amongst all the scientists working on board the Oscar Dyson. The Pollock Survey is the primary mission, but there are other parallel missions going on: the seabird survey, done by Marty and Liz, and the marine mammal survey, done by Patty, Paula, and Ernesto. To do research on the Bering Sea is very challenging due to the remote locations, and the storms, winds, large waves, and extreme weather. The need for oceangoing vessels to work in these extreme conditions makes it very expensive, so when ships like the Oscar Dyson are deployed, different missions are planned to "piggyback" along. I was very impressed by the international collaboration in the mission, with the two Russian scientists on board conducting research on the Pollock fisheries, since part of the transects done by the Oscar Dyson covered Russian territorial waters as well. The fact the one Mexican scientist, a Filipino cook, and a Dominican teacher at sea were part of this cruise added more countries to the mission. Just like us, fish travel in different waters, local and international, and they too are citizens of the world's oceans. I wanted to commend NOAA's administration for providing career opportunities to minorities, Latinos, and women to work as scientists, technicians, Corps officers, and crew.
"Una Cooperacion Internacional" Durante todo el trayecto de este crucero de Monitoreo del Pollock he notado un ambiente de profesionalismo entre el personal cientifico y la tripulacion, asi tambien como un ambiente de colegiatura enter los diferentes cientificos trabajando a bordo del Oscar Dyson. La mision primaria es el Monitoreo del Pollock, pero a su vez hay otras misiones paralelas a la mision principal, como son el Estudio de las Aves Marinas,por Liz y Marty, asi como el Estudio de los Mamiferos Marinos, por Patty,Paula, y Ernesto. Hay que entender que hacer investigacion cientifica en el Estrecho de Bering es una tarea logistica complicada por lo remoto del lugar, lo extremo del clima, asi como gigantescas olas. Solo se pueden usar barcos de navegacion oceanica que son muy costosos, por lo que cuando embarcaciones como el Oscar Dyson son lanzadas, multiples misiones son planeadas al mismo tiempo tambien. Me llamo mucho la atencion la cooperacion internacional, especialmente los dos cientificos rusos a bordo, que tambien relizaban estudios del Pollock, lo cual tiene mucho sentido, debido a que gran parte de la investigacion cubria aguas territoriales rusas. El hecho de que un biologo Mexicano, un filipino (Ray el cocinero), y un Maestro en el Mar dominicano tambien forman parte de este crucero le agregan mas paises a la mision. Yo quiero felicitar a la administracion de NOAA por proveer oportunidades de carreras profesionales tanto a minorias, como a Latinos, y a mujeres para trabajar como cientificos, tecnicos, Cuerpo de Oficiales o como tripulantes. Yo creo que esto es un gran incentivo para que mas jovenes estudiantes de escuela intermedia y secundaria puedan perseguir carreras profesioanles en Conservacion Ambiental.