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Morning deployment of fish traps.
So far my trip on this ocean exploration has been an
enjoyable, education-filled trip. This is my first ocean exploration
looking at deep-sea wrecks. I am enjoying the opportunity to learn what
sea whips and rusticles are. I am even more excited to see the different
shipwrecks and the fish associated with them. I was placed on the night
shift from midnight to noon, which was a major adjustment for me. But I
cannot complain about the shift because I am enjoying the moonlit
nights, the cooler temperatures, and the cheerful company of the night
shift.
The first shipwreck on our
schedule was the Virginia. Although I
was not awake when we arrived at the Virginia, I was able to see
the second half of the survey. Vermilion snapper, red snapper, and scamp
were very abundant on this site. The vermilion snappers showed their
vanity by appearing on the camera every chance they could. We baited
four traps (two small chevron traps and two large ones) with squid and
menhaden. One large trap and one small trap were placed 1000 feet away
from the wreck while the other large and small traps were placed next to
the wreck. But that was only the beginning of the adventure. At around
23:00 hours, the large chevron trap 1000 feet away was brought on board.
The king snake eel crowded the trap and was the most abundant species.
We had a total of six king snake eels ranging in size from 102 to 183 cm
(three- to six feet). These slimy creatures were thrashing all over the
deck once they were released from the traps. Although these big eels
invaded the trap, three smaller fish - a vermilion snapper and two rock
sea bass- managed to stay alive in the trap.
Herb Leedy and
Will Patterson measuring eels caught
in the fish sampling trap.
Soon after the large
trap was processed, the smaller trap at 1000 feet was brought on board
by the ROV. The small trap contained fewer
fish. There were only three species found in this trap: one vermilion
snapper, one rock sea bass, and one king snake eel. This king snake eel
was just as slippery as the others, but this particular one was much
smaller. King snake eels can grow up to 7 feet in length.
Garry Myers takes
a sample from a core brought up by the ROV.
The large and small traps next
to the wreck were brought up last. The small trap regretfully did not
contain any fish species, while the large fish trap contained six red
snappers. A crab trap was placed down next to the wreck hoping to catch
invertebrates. Although this trap did not catch the desired fauna, it
did attract one lonely red snapper. All of the snapper and the sea bass
were sampled by extracting the otoliths, stomachs, and muscle tissues
for later analysis.
Nicole Morris and Will Patterson baiting
traps with squid.
After the last traps were placed
on deck, we started heading to the site of the next wreck, the
Halo. Upon arrival, we immediately saw
numerous amberjack around the wreck. These fish were also not very
camera-shy, seemingly attempting to be the center of attention during
the beginning of the survey. Other fish species crept out from behind
the shadows such as warsaw groupers. We hope the fish traps at this
site will contain different and numerous fish species.
Joey
Lekovich of Sonsub
preps the Triton XL-11 for a dive on the
wreck of the Halo.
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