Applicability:

These instructions, with FOCI Standard Operating Instructions for NOAA Ship MILLER FREEMAN dated June 25,1999 present complete information for this cruise.

Area:

Southeast Bering Sea, head of Bering Canyon

Itinerary:

Depart Dutch Harbor, AK 1200 February 15, 2000
Arrive Dutch Harbor, AK 1200 February 17, 2000

Participating organizations:

NOAA - Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC)

CRUISE DESCRIPTION:

Fisheries-Oceanography Coordinated Investigations (FOCI) is an effort by NOAA and associated academic scientists. At present, FOCI consists of a Shelikof Strait (western Gulf of Alaska) walleye pollock project, and a NOAA Coastal Ocean Program project: Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity. FOCI also supports associated projects, such as the Arctic Research Initiative, U.S. GLOBEC, and NSF Inner Front Study, that address scientific issues related to FOCI's. FOCI's goal is to understand the effects of abiotic and biotic variability on ecosystems of the North Pacific Ocean and Bering Sea in order to discern the physical and biological processes that determine recruitment variability of commercially valuable finfish and shellfish stocks in Alaskan waters.

CRUISE OBJECTIVES:

 We will be conducting bottom trawl sampling in the head of Bering Canyon to collect ripe arrowtooth flounder (ATF) and deploying deep bongo plankton tows to collect their eggs. This work is needed to establish the appearance of arrowtooth flounder eggs, so they can be identified with confidence in plankton samples. Data on biological, chemical, and physical characteristics of water in the area will also be collected.

1.0. PERSONNEL

1.1. Chief Scientist:

Busby, MorganM/USA
NOAA/AFSC
(206) 526-4113
morgan.busby@noaa.gov

The Chief Scientist has the authority to revise or alter the technical portion of the instructions as work progresses provided that, after consultation with the Commanding Officer, it is ascertained that the proposed changes will not: (1) jeopardize the safety of personnel or the ship; (2) exceed the overall time allotted for the project; (3) result in undue additional expenses; (4) alter the general intent of these project instructions.

1.2 Participating Scientists:

Cartwright, RachaelF/USA;NOAA/AFSC
Rugen, LisaF/USA;NOAA/AFSC

1.3 NOAA Pacific Marine Center Operations Contact:

Larry Mordock
NOAA/PMC (PMC1x4)
1801 Fairview Ave. East
Seattle, WA 98102-3767
(206) 553 - 4764
Larry.Mordock@noaa.gov

1.4 Program Contacts:

Dr. Art Kendall
AFSC
7600 Sand Point Way NE
Seattle, WA 98115
(206) 526-4108
 

2.0. OPERATIONS

A standard oceanographic watch will be utilized which consists of a winch operator, a scientific staff of three and a Survey Tech on deck. Operations will be conducted 24 hours a day. A fishing crew will be required to assist with bottom trawls which may be conducted in daytime or nighttime. They will be unscheduled because their occurrence depends on what is caught in plankton tows.

2.1. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES:
Ship will proceed to station 1 (appendices 1 and 2) to deploy first bongo tow and CTD/rosette cast. If suspected ATF eggs are found, a bottom trawl will be conducted to capture gravid adults to spawn on board ship. If no suspected arrowtooth flounder eggs are found, we will proceed to the next station etc. If no suspected arrowtooth flounder eggs are collected in bongo tows at any scheduled stations, a bottom trawl will be conducted near the final station. Additional bongo and bottom trawl sampling stations will be added if time permits.

2.2 PROCEDURES FOR OPERATIONS:
The following are operations to be conducted on this cruise. The procedures for these operations are listed in the FOCI Standard Operating Instructions (SOI). Operations not addressed in the SOI and changes to standard procedures are addressed below.

Bottom trawl
MARMAP bongo tow (SOI 2.2.2)
CTD/Water samples (SOI 2.2.1)
EK500 monitoring (SOI 2.2.12)

A poly Nor'eastern or 83-112 bottom trawl will be used to collect live adult ATF to spawn on board ship to obtain live fertilized eggs. After deployment and settling of the net on bottom, it will be towed for 30 minutes at a speed of 1.5 m/sec. Location and duration of trawls, however, may be altered if bottom conditions will not allow a complete haul. ATF will be the only species processed from the catch. In the event of a large catch, only a subsample of ATF will be processed. Eggs will be stripped from gravid females and mixed with milt from ripe males and then counted and placed in thermoses and coolers for transport by air to Seattle. Niskin bottles will be deployed to collect water for holding and transporting eggs. Bongo tows using both 60 cm and 20 cm arrays will be conducted at each station. Bongo tows at stations 1 and 2 will be to 350 m depth. All others will be to within 10 m of the bottom. From each bongo tow, one sample will be examined at sea for the presence of possible ATF eggs and the other will be preserved and processed ashore.

3.0. FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT

The following systems and their associated support services are essential to the cruise. Sufficient consumables, back-up units, and on-site spares and technical support must be in place to assure that operational interruptions are minimal. All measurement instruments are expected to have current calibrations, and all pertinent calibration information shall be included in the data package.

3.1 Equipment and Capabilities to be Provided by the Ship

Oceanographic winch with slip rings and 3-conductor cable terminated for CTD,
Wire-angle indicator and readout for oceanographic winch,
Oceanographic winch for bongo net (and other nets when used) with slip rings and 3-conductor cable terminated for the SeaCat,
Sea-Bird 911 plus CTD system to be used with PMEL stand (primary system)
(The underwater CTD unit should have mounts compatible with the PMEL CTD stand),
Sea-Bird 911 plus CTD system with stand (back up system)
(Each CTD system should include underwater CTD, weights, and pinger and there should be one deck unit and tape recorder for the two systems),
For CTD field corrections: AUTOSAL salinometer,
Sea-Bird SBE-19 Seacat system (backup system),
Meter block for plankton tows,
Wire speed indicators and readout for quarterdeck, Rowe and Marco winches,
Refrigerator for live fish eggs,
Simrad EQ-50 echo sounder ,
JRC JFV-200R color sounder recorder,
Use of Pentium PC in DataPlot for data analysis,
SCS (Shipboard Computer System),
 Furuno net sounder,
Stern platform removed for trawl ramp use,
Laboratory space with exhaust hood, sink, lab tables and storage space,
Sea-water hoses and nozzles to wash nets (quarterdeck and aft deck),
Adequate deck lighting for night-time operations,
Navigational equipment including GPS and radar ,
Safety harnesses for working on quarter deck and fantail,

3.2 Equipment to be Provided by the Project

Sea-Bird SBE-19 Seacat system (primary system),
PMEL PC with SEASOFT software for CTD data collection and processing,
Fluorometer, light meter, and chlorophyll absorbance meter (ChlAM) to be mounted on CTD,
CTD stand modified for attachment of fluorometer,
Conductivity and temperature sensor package to provide dual sensors on the primary CTD,
CTD rosette sampler,
IAPSO water,
60-cm bongo sampling arrays,
20-cm bongo arrays,
Poly Nor'eastern and 83-112 bottom trawls with doors,
Spare wire angle indicator,
Miscellaneous scientific sampling and processing equipment ,
Sorting tables and baskets for processing trawl catches,
Discrete Sample Data Base software and forms,
thermoses and coolers for transporting live eggs.

3.3. Ship's Computer System (SCS)

The ship's Scientific Computer System (SCS) shall operate throughout the cruise, acquiring and logging data from navigation, meteorological, oceanographic, and fisheries sensors. See FOCI Standard Operating Instructions for specific requirements.
 

4.0 DATA AND REPORTS

Data disposition, responsibilities and data requirements are listed in the FOCI Standard Operating Instructions.

5.0 ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIONS AND PROJECTS

5.3 Piggyback projects:
None at this time.

6.0 MISCELLANEOUS

6.5. Hazardous Materials:

The Chief Scientist shall be responsible for complying with NC Instruction 6280A, Hazardous Waste; policy, guidance, and training, dated February 4, 1991, paragraph 7.g and paragraph 9. By federal law, the ship may not sail without a complete inventory of MSDS, and appropriate neutralizing agents, buffers, and/or absorbents in amounts adequate to address spills of a size equal to the amount aboard.

The following hazardous materials will be provided and controlled by the scientists with the Chief Scientist assuming responsibility for the safe handling of such substances:

Formaldehyde

7.0 COMMUNICATIONS

7.4 Important phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses:

AFSC/RACE Fax: (206) 526-6723

MILLER FREEMAN COMSAT (government account numbers): These are much cheaper than Inmarsat direct numbers and should always be used first.
800-678-0872, after voice prompt dial 330-394-113, after tone dial customer ID# (Voice)
800-678-0872, after voice prompt dial 761-267-348, after tone dial customer ID# (Fax)

Inmarsat (direct numbers)
011-872-330-394-113 (voice)
011-872-761-267-348 (fax)

CELLULAR: 206-660-7167
KODIAK ROAMER: 907-528-7626
DUTCH HARBOR ROAMER: 907-391-7626
(First dial the roamer, wait for dial tone, then dial cellular number.)

8.0. APPENDICES