Marine Directorate Communications
Written 357 posts
Today is the day of the Seafarer
25th June 2018
Today is the ‘Day of the Seafarer’ and to celebrate, we wanted to share a very special poem penned by our resident bard, net rigger and father of two Matt Kinghorn. It’s a little something for all of you who work at sea. Day of the Seafarer It’s not easy you know, going to sea, Maybe for some…
Multi-tasking with the Scotia: Part 2
22nd June 2018
The second week on the Nephrops TV survey on Scotia was considerably less eventful than the first – thankfully! The work progressed well having travelled through the North Minch recovering and then deploying another COMPASS cetacean mooring at the Shiants, and then working down past Uist and Barra, replacing a third COMPASS mooring en route….
Multi-tasking with the Scotia
19th June 2018
MRV Scotia left Aberdeen on 3rd June 2018 to begin survey 0818S – the ‘Annual Nephrops Underwater TV Survey’ (UWTV) – covering Fladen (North Sea), the North and South Minches, the Clyde, and the Sound of Jura. TV operations went well during the first day until the sea state worsened so the survey was halted until early on…
Benthic Biotopes in Barra
11th June 2018
Survey: 0818A Duration: 8 – 14 June 2018 Gear: Seatronics drop frame (to be loaded 05.06.18) – SNH hire Seatronics lights (to be loaded 05.06.18) – SNH hire HD TV system + lights (5 plastic cages) Armoured cable + spare + axle stands & bar Day grab + table + 2 x sieve drawers Background…
Mackerel and Eggs on the Altaire
29th May 2018
MFV Altaire departed Ullapool at 1400hrs on the 22nd May to begin survey 0118H. Onboard during this exploratory mackerel egg survey we have an international scientific complement including scientists from: Scotland, Ireland, Germany and the Netherlands. Flowmeter calibration deployments were completed successfully in the Minch, west of Melvaig, and the Altaire is now proceeding to…
Rockall and Mackerel
28th May 2018
Survey: 0118H MFV Altaire Duration: 22 May – 6 June 2018 Fishing/Sampling Gear: Gulf VII plankton sampler Objectives: To carry out standalone mackerel egg survey, on the western shelf and slope in the area from 52o N to 59o N (see Figure 1). Opportunistic trawling for adult mackerel samples; for exploratory ovary analysis. Procedures: After…
Pipelines, Camera, Action
25th May 2018
Survey: 0718S Duration: 18- 31 May 2018 Gear: Day grabs TV drop frame with lasers Aarmoured cable Multibeam echosounder system EK 60 Conductivity, Pressure & Depth (CTD) device Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (VM-ADCP) Fish cages PT160 (trawl) Objectives: To assess the hydrographic influences on the aggregation of fish around surface laid oil and gas pipelines….
Sunbeam Surveys going Swimmingly
21st May 2018
Scientists from Marine Scotland Science (MSS) have recently been operating on Fraserburgh pelagic trawler Sunbeam (FR 487) to survey salmon smolts at various points on the Scottish east coast. Operating in the Moray Firth, Firths of Forth and Tay, MSS used a specially designed net for sampling very close to the surface. The net incorporates…
New Marine Scientific Advisor for Government
18th May 2018
Our scientific work is at the heart of what we do and to reflect this, we have made some changes to our Senior Management and created the new post of a Chief Scientific Advisor for Marine (CSAM). We are delighted that our former Head of Science, Professor Colin Moffat, has taken up a new post as the…
Salmon Smolt Surveying on the Sunbeam
11th May 2018
Survey: 0718H – MFV Sunbeam FR487 Duration: 04-16 May 2018 Scientific gear: Smolt trawl, Thyboron type 15vf pelagic trawl doors (6m2), Dyneema sweep rig and Fenders (dia 300mm with 215kg buoyancy) attached 4 per side of the trawl. Video frame/box incorporating pit tag detector. Self-contained underwater camera systems. Objectives: To undertake smolt trawl surveys in…