A Day of Science Onboard the CCGS W.E. Ricker
Onboard the CCGS W.E Ricker, a crew of 20 and a DFO science team navigate the Canadian West Coast waters with only one goal in mind: to support fish stock assessments to advise catch limit settings. Follow their journey!
Transcript
Welcome onboard the CCGS W.E. Ricker.
This Canadian Coast Guard vessel is carrying a crew of 20 and a science team of 6, who are conducting a science mission at sea for Fisheries and Oceans Canada!
They are out on the water in search of fish to count - as part of the science program's to support fish stock assessments to advise catch limit setting.
Chris Grandin
Hi, my name is Chris Grandin, I'm the Hake Program Head at the Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo B.C.,
W. E. Ricker is used for our surveys here on the West Coast of Canada.
It's a trawler with mid-water and bottom trawl. We use acoustics, which is, it's a fancy fish finder, like a scientific fish finder.
Chelsea Stanley
Hi I'm Chelsea Stanley and I'm an Acoustics Research Technician with Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
For our survey, it's an acoustic survey which means that we use scientific echosounders to look at the distribution of Hake under the water.
It takes "all hands on deck" for a successful mission... The Captain - he is in charge of the ship and has ultimate responsibility for the safety of the crew onboard. The bridge officers - navigate the ship.
The engineers work to make the ship go, lights work, and even make clean water to drink.
The fishing master - drawing on his experience with the fishing industry, he works closely with the chief scientist onboard, to find the fish - advanced acoustic technology is also used to decide where and how deep to cast their nets.
The crew on deck work to pull in their catch and make sure the gear is in good working order.
The fish are lowered to the wet lab, where scientists process the samples - the fish are weighed, measured and dissected to determine their sex, sexual maturity, and digestion. Tissue samples are sent for DNA analysis, and the ear bones (or otoliths) are taken for aging... They use other tools to sample the water - to measure the temperature and chemistry of the water, and bongo nets to collect plankton suspended in the water column.
...all aboard need to work together and each person plays an important role in the success of the mission. ...they work long hours, both day and night, sometimes facing harsh conditions - and at the end of a shift they head to the place that some say is the most important part of the ship... The Galley... for a hot, hearty, delicious meal, prepared and served onboard before heading off for a well-deserved rest in their cabins...
Each day of an at-sea science mission like this one, holds new and interesting tasks and discoveries... the resulting science provides a foundation for the management and protection of our aquatic resources, helping us predict changes in our waters, and ensuring safe navigation and sustainable fisheries for future generations.
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