Let me begin with the disclaimer that in accordance with
regulation, none of the photographs in this post were taken on my boat. All
were either taken from land, or were found on the internet, in which case due
credit was given.
This has been one hell of a great experience thus far.
I will give you a glimpse into my life right now. I am
assigned to the Catcher Processor (this means it has a factory on board) Golden
Fleece. Operations on this vessel are round the clock. While most of the crew
members work in set shifts, my work is centered around haulbacks, and starts when
the vessel begins pulling up the net. This could take place at any time of the
day or night. I am notified or woken up 20 or 30 minutes before haulback. This
gives me some time to grab a bite to eat and get my foul weather gear on. I
usually get on deck with some time to spare, which gives me the opportunity to
wake up a little more as the chilly Gulf of Alaska (GOA) air hits my face. At
this time, I am monitoring for birds of interest, such as Short-tailed
Albatross, as well as any marine mammal sightings/interactions.
 |
| My boat! The Golden Fleece |
The thing about these types of boats is there is heavy
machinery everywhere you look. There are very specific places that are safe and
dangerous to be a given times. For example, there
are components of the net called trawl doors -there are 2 of them, 1 on the
port and starboard side- which serve to hold the entrance to the net open under
water. They are the first thing to surface and for about 2 seconds, are under
immense tension until relieved. These cables have been known to snap, which
could kill anyone in their path. Therefore, during haulback, it is advised to
be nowhere near these parts. Another example is the codend is pulled on deck
into a trawl alley, where all of the fish are dumped. On many boats, it is a
bad idea to be between the trawl alley wall and the codend, as the codend is
often rolling around as the boat moves. If you are in that spot, you could be
sandwiched and crushed between the codend and the trawl alley wall.
 |
| trawl net (NMFS) |
As soon as it is safe to do so, I measure its dimensions of
the codend so that I may determine its volume. I can later multiply this by a
predetermined density in order to estimate the weight of the catch. After this,
I wait for the catch to be dumped into the trawl alley. I randomly select
regions of the trawl alley to sample and request some crew members to fill up
my baskets with fish from these zones. I identify, count, and weigh everything
in my sample, and occasionally take specimen samples. The other half of my job
is filling out paperwork to document information about the trip, haul, and
sample species composition.
The sampling and paperwork takes 2-4 hours and is fairly
physically demanding, and at times back breaking. The baskets can be heavy and
awkward to handle, especially when the seas are rough and the boat is moving
around, and there are obstacles to move over/around. I have already hit my
head, scraped my arm, tripped, smelled some awful smells, and gotten shat on by
a seagull. It is hard work, but it is very rewarding nonetheless. The air is
clean, I am in my element. The captain and crew are very helpful and
interesting to talk with. This first trip has been a positive one, and I hope
to continue with the good vibes. (Above written May 5th)
