December 3, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
A dozen scientists and staff members from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center visited the 90-foot F/V Darana R in Point Judith, Rhode Island on October 3. The stop was a port call in the midst of the fall NorthEast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP) survey off the coast of Rhode Island.
Science Center staff learned about the vessel, its equipment, and the survey. After some discussions in port, most stayed aboard as the vessel headed out to sea to sort fish from two tows made during an afternoon demonstration.
This was a great opportunity for staff from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to get out to sea for a few hours to see how they conduct the NEAMAP survey, and have a chance for Virginia Institute for Marine Science (VIMS) and Northeast Fisheries Science Center researchers to talk with each other and with the captain and crew about their operation. They are proud of it, and we appreciate their willingness to have us aboard,” said Anna Mercer, chief of the science center’s Cooperative Research Branch.
Each fall since 2006 the NEAMAP inshore trawl survey team has worked southward from Rhode Island toward Cape Hatteras, sampling juvenile and adult fish from dawn until dusk during four legs.