Diving for NOAA and the NW Straits Commission

[Sounder]

On Wednesday, NwBrewer and I did some diving for science. NOAA and the NW Straits Commission needed some specific critters for a study on the consumption-rates of animals, specifically this time dead sea birds, that get caught in derelict fishing gear. We collected specific inverts to fill their request list and a few extra so they could choose the ones they wanted.

It was a neat experience and after the diving and critter collection was finished, we got a tour of their lab and more details on the experiment. During our conversation it became evident that there are too many divers who don't know how to report derelict fishing gear they come across, at which point they asked for our help.

I'll be talking with them in detail on Monday and will hopefully have something to post on the various forums regarding the derelict fishing gear reporting process. I'm hoping to work with the moderators on the various boards to ensure the reporting information remains sticky and easily accessed.

Safety and Reporting: Derelict fishing gear is EXTREMELY hazardous. If you encounter nets, please do not attempt to disturb them and be careful not to become entangled. Please just note the location and report them via the process we'll post or you may contact nwscubamom, NwBrewer, or myself directly and we'll put you in touch with the right folks.

Also - if you encounter derelict recreational crab-pots, they ask that you leave them in place but they appreciate divers who ensure the rot-cord has effectively rotted. Some cotton string has a nylon filiment core which effectively locks the trap shut. Moreover, plastic zip-ties are often used to secure the escape door. When there is no escape from the trap, derelict crab pots continue killing critters for years. If I come across a derelict crab pot, I check to ensure the escape hatch is open, and if it is not, I cut it open while leaving the pot in place. They said more than 1/3 of the derelict crab pots they recover are locked-shut with some inorganic string or tie that will not rot away.

It was a neat day and we learned a lot. It was also cool to see the NOAA marine lab at Mukilteo. If you've got any questions, please feel free to contact me directly. Jake has a few pictures to post later.

[whatevah]

Also - if you encounter derelict recreational crab-pots, they ask that you leave them in place but they appreciate divers who ensure the rot-cord has effectively rotted. Some cotton string has a nylon filiment core which effectively locks the trap shut. Moreover, plastic zip-ties are often used to secure the escape door. When there is no escape from the trap, derelict crab pots continue killing critters for years. If I come across a derelict crab pot, I check to ensure the escape hatch is open, and if it is not, I cut it open while leaving the pot in place. They said more than 1/3 of the derelict crab pots they recover are locked-shut with some inorganic string or tie that will not rot away.

FWIW, I've seen a number of crab pots with dead crab in them despite the cotton cord having rotted away. When I find derelict pots of the light duty recreational variety and they aren't worth salvaging, I pull them to pieces - the panels will generally break apart very easily. At the very least, open up one of the panels as they're designed to do - the escape doors aren't necessarily as effective as one would hope.

[Nwbrewer]

Thanks for posting that Doug. It was a fun day of diving, and cool to talk with folks in the know about some of the efforts that are ongoing to clean up the sound.

Here's the pictures.
Doug getting geared up before the dive -


The targets -



When you're looking for crabs, it helps to know where to find them. We chose the Mukilteo oil dock, it proved to have plenty of subjects to choose from -


We also collected a few sunflower stars. One in particular was not really interested in going in the bag -


The dive was only about 45minutes, when we surfaced we passed off our collection to the folks form NOAA and the NW Straits Commission where they were placed into coolers with bubbler systems to keep them healthy for the short trip to the tanks -




Crabs waiting for a meal -


I think the coolest thing was the small aquarium that they have just inside the doors of the NOAA lab. Cold saltwater aquariums are just cool to me for some reason, and they had a tiger rockfish in there.

It was fun, hopefully I'll get a chance to do more stuff like that in the future. We're hoping to get instructions from the source on what they prefer us to do when we find derelict recreational crab pots, but they did recommend opening one side, but leaving them in place, as having them on your boat without proof of ownership could result in running afoul of DFW.

Jake

[Sounder]

Tiger AND China rockfish!! Very cool to see.

[Nwbrewer]

We also got to do a fun dive afterward. Here's the pics from that too -

















Something about this picture just makes me laugh -


Never seen this before, crab vs anemone, anemone wins -


Jake

[spatman]

We also collected a few sunflower stars. One in particular was not really interested in going in the bag -

so Sounder scorched it into submission with his 50kw light sabre....



nice report, guys!

[Sounder]

I prefer my sunflower stars roasted.

[Nwbrewer]

I came accross this on the newspaper website this morning. There's no associated story, but I'm assuming this is the NW straights comission.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/lin ... 1858976478