Volunteer Angling with CCFRP

Jeff with young-of-the-year Blue Rockfish. Photo courtesy of Starr Lab

By Jeff Christensen, CSU Stanislaus

In 2011, I had the opportunity to participate in a California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP) fishing trip.  When I received a message from Andrea Launer, CCFRP Volunteer Coordinator, this spring about the summer data collection schedule, I knew I wanted to go out again and be part of this amazing project.

With one of my classes starting on the first day of sampling, I wasn’t able to make the Monday, August 6^th date but I was aboard F/V Caroline at Monterey’s Fisherman’s Wharf before sunrise on Tuesday with hot coffee in hand ready to do some angling.  After a safety briefing by Captain Shorty we headed out along the Monterey coastline as Cannery row began to stir in the light of the pre-dawn sky.  The sea was a bit rough and the wind waves made the trip out to the Point Lobos State Reserve a small adventure in and of itself.

Cheryl Barnes, CCFRP Field Coordinator and MLML graduate student, gave the anglers an amusing briefing about the specifics of the collection protocols of the catch and release program.   In order for this work to be helpful in determining if the Marine Protected Areas (MPA) are effective in propagating the species within these areas since their inception in 2007, a variety of anglers were assigned different lures and/ or bait similar to fishing techniques used on guided recreational fishing trips from the area.

By the time Captain Shorty announced over the loud speaker to drop our lines in the water of the first research cell of the day, the rolling waves were already taking its toll on our balance and stomachs. The port side “fish feeding station” was busy early on but as the fog receded, we all got our sea legs and the fishing improved.   The boat as a whole ended up catching and releasing a total of 176 fish from 14 different species, including a 84cm lingcod (Ophiodon elongates) caught by Chris L., fishing next to me.  We must have been in some big fish because not too long after Chris’s lingcod, I hooked another giant fish, I estimated at over 100 cm (due to how hard it was to pull up) but after a perilous fight, the “Big One” got away as it neared the surface.

MLML grad student Katherine Schmidt measures a Lingcod.  Photo courtesy of Starr Lab

While the anglers were pulling up their catch, the scientific staff was busy collecting the fish, measuring them, tagging some, and making sure they were returned to the bottom as soon as possible.  I was thoroughly impressed how each staff member tried to make sure every fish was returned to their home with human stories to tell of their own.  One sea lion, however, was happy to accept a free lingcod h’ordurve as it took a large bite out of an angler’s catch as it was reeled up.  That lingcod, too, was returned to the ocean making a meal for the fish, crab, and sea stars that would finish the work of the sea lion.  The seas were rough as we headed back in and even tossed a few of us out of our seats to the deck (Ouch!).

Pinned to the Bottom of the Sea

The long trawl net coming on board as it's supposed to. (photo: E. Loury)

Erin Loury

by Erin Loury, Ichthyology Lab

I’ll admit, the prospect of spending ten days at sea aboard a 60 foot fishing vessel to do a fish survey had me a bit nervous.  The conditions in sunny southern California are nothing to rival the Bering Sea storms that Nate Jones blogged about – but even so, there can be tense moments.  The day I have in mind was while we were trawling off the coast of San Diego.  The continental shelf is very wide in this area, and we were miles from shore on the continental slope. With nothing but water all around us, we were reeling in our long net when suddenly it wouldn’t budge any further.  We were stuck.

Our lead scientist and the fishing crew deliberated our choices.  We could cut the net, which would involve a considerable loss of money, and any further sampling would literally be cut short.  We’d have to return to port early, and our survey would be over.  Or they could try to salvage the net, although how to do so without any help in over a thousand feet of water was beyond me.  Unable to contribute any useful skills or advice to the situation, I curled up and took a nap.  The crew later said they were impressed that I seemed unperturbed by the whole situation.  But in reality, sleeping was my best way to avoid thinking of that fact that I was bobbing in a tiny boat effectively pinned to the bottom of the sea.

The tangled net limps back on board after being stuck to the bottom of the sea. (photo: E. Loury)

The crew’s strategy to free us from our deep-sea snare turned out to be straightforward: it involved letting out one side of the net, then reeling it in as they let the other side out.  This alternating dance of pull and release essentially rocked the net back and forth, attempting to shake it from the grip of whatever underwater ledge or rocky outcrop had us snagged.

After about three tense hours, it worked.  With a sigh of relief and a tinge of sadness, I welcomed our tattered net as it limped back to the surface, a messy tangle of floats and line.  Once it was aboard, the crew set about mending the tear.  I’m fascinated by the historic artistry involved in “sewing web,” as the mending of the net is called.  I have to say I was not a quick study in the skill, but my fellow scientist Melanie was an old hand at it.  Consider it just another a job hazard in the world of fishing.

Scientists and crew mend the torn net to get it back into service – all in a day's work! (photo: E. Loury)

 

 

Sea Slug: A Little Drop of Sunshine

A nudibranch in the hand is worth a dozen hidden under intertidal algae during an early low tide! (photo: T. Mattusch)

by Erin Loury, Ichthyology Lab

Sea slugs, or nudibranchs, are some of my favorite marine animals.  While an undergraduate at UC Davis, I participated in the awesome summer program at Bodega Marine Laboratory and did a research project on these sponge-eating squishies.  I spent many an early morning on hands and knees in the rocky intertidal zone, searching for nuidbranchs to use in my experiment (I was trying to test their movement in response to chemical cues from their sponge prey).  Despite being bright yellow, these buggers can be hard to find, and I often had my boots filled with water from trying to nab them in hard-to-reach crevices.

But occasionally a nudibranch will turn up in an unexpected place, like on a fishing boat!  This little guy got taken for a ride when snagged by an angler’s hook during marine protected area monitoring surveys conducted by the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program.  Though I thought it was quite the catch, we were really after things like rockfishes, so we released it without a tag.  The poor thing had probably experienced enough trauma for one day!

A dorid nudibranch in a more natural setting. Their sensory rhinophores (those ear-like structures) and the tuft of gills (yes, they breathe near their rear ends) makes me think of them as little sea rabbits! (photo: Steve Lonhart / SIMoN NOAA)

A Salmon Fit for a King

photo: California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program

Hook-and-line monitoring surveys of central California’s new Marine Protected Areas yield catches mostly of different species of rockfishes, but every once in a while we reel in a surprise.  Ichthyology student Katie Schmidt shows off a King Salmon (the only one of the whole survey!) caught at Año Nuevo in 2009 during a survey by the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program.  We released the fish, despite the hungry looks of Captain Tom Mattusch, who is possibly envisioning some fillets served with a lemon wedge…

The Littlest Lingcod

photo: CCFRP

The little whippersnapper was too tiny to tag, but definitely deserves some points for biting a big hook!  This young lingcod was caught during a marine protected area survey at Año Nuevo as part of the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program.  Lingcod do have a reputation on our surveys for biting off more than they can chew (or swallow).

Staying Seine in Moss Landing

Pretty easy to guess where this photo was taken with those landmark smokestacks in back! (photo: E. Loury)

When it comes to doing ichthyology field work, loading up on nets is only the first step – then you have to actually use them to catch fish!  To study the sandy-bottom fishes in Elkhorn Slough, the MLML ichthyology class conducted a survey with a seine net.   This net has a weighted bottom, so casting it wide then pulling the ends together like a drawstring corrals all the fish into a small area to collect and study them.  What kind of fish did we catch?  Stay tuned to find out!

photo: E. Loury

A New Species, the Shoe Crab?

Littering leads to trash in the ocean!

As you may know, the water in our streets runs to the ocean.  After diving in Monterey Bay you begin to notice objects that do not belong in the water.  I have found car parts, floats, cans, bottles, plastic bags, Snow White birthday balloons, fishing rods, fishing line, fishing weights, dive flashlights, dive masks and snorkels –  even a SCUBA tank and a full set of gear resting on the ocean bottom in Santa Cruz.  We have come a long way from the mentality that the solution to pollution is dilution.  I would not want trash to end up in my backyard from visitors passing through.  Please remember to pack your trash and treat the ocean with respect.  She gives us so much in the way of food, from fish to algae, means of enjoyment, from surfing to boat rides, and a sunset that the East Coast has nothing on!

That Fish Has a Nice Looking Mohawk

photo: T. Mattusch

Ichthyology student Jahnava Duryea shows off a fine-looking specimen of cabezon (Scorpaenichthys marmoratus) during fish tagging surveys of Central California’s marine protected areas with the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program.  Cabezon are the largest members of the sculpin family, dwarfing their cousin sculpins that can fit in the palm of your hand.  What punks.

Living Deep and Hit Hard by Fishing: a video interview with Dr. Greg Cailliet

Video by Cassandra Brooks

Moss Landing Marine Labs alumna Cassadra Brooks has taken her research on the Antarctic toothfish to a new level, hoping to effectively convey relevant science to the public and  fisheries managers.  Now a science communicator for The Last Ocean project, Cassandra recently interviewed MLML Professor Emeritus Greg Cailliet about the aspects of deep-sea fishes, including their old ages and slow growth and reproduction, that make them vulnerable to overfishing.

Dr. Cailliet is our local goldmine of ichthyology (that’s fish knowledge!).  Get the scoop straight from the expert’s mouth!

Featured photo: Big Gulp – Eat that fish, tail and all

Game over: A lingcod shows off the tail end of its latest snack (photo: E. Loury)

Erin Loury

by Erin Loury, Ichthyology Lab

There’s nothing like seeing the food-chain in action to make you appreciate how important eating is in an animal’s life – and why it’s so important to study (says the fish guts girl)!  For many things in the ocean, it’s just a matter of time before they become something else’s lunch.   It’s a fish eat fish world out there!

This week’s photo comes from summer surveys I participated in with the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program while we surveyed new marine protected areas in central California.  The photo is of a lingcod, and shows off the feature that is probably most important to appreciate when working with these fish – TEETH!  Those are a clear indication that this fish is a predator, and it means business!

What you see in its mouth is the tail end of a hapless rockfish experiencing the ultimate “game over.”  This particular lingcod ate the rockfish right out of the fish trap that both were caught in, but are also big predators on rockfish in the wild too.

Chances are you’ve probably eaten rockfish or lingcod yourself if you live in California – meaning this photo really shows three levels of the food chain – rockfish, lingcod, and humans.   Humans are probably the most voracious predators of all in the marine environment, emphasizing the need to appreciate what we eat, and what it eats in turn!   So the next time you get that fish taco or fish and chips, think about how you are taking part in the bigger ocean food chain.

The long view: MLML student Katie Schmitt shows off a lingcod caught during a tagging survey in California's new marine protected areas (photo: N. Yochum).