Marine Directorate Communications

Written 357 posts

Predicting Suitable Habitat

10th May 2018

Survey: 0618A – MRV Alba n Mara Duration: 5-14 May 2018 Gear: Hybrid drop/lander frame and calibration mesh; HD TV system and lights (five plastic cages); Armoured cable, spare, axle stands and bar; Stereo TV system; and Day grab, table and two sieve drawers. Background and Objectives: This survey will conduct a benthic survey of southern,…

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Significant Celebrations for Scottish Freshwater Organisations

9th May 2018

2018 is looking to be quite a significant year for two organisations at the core of freshwater research in Scotland. Marine Scotland Science’s Freshwater Fisheries Laboratory (FFL) at Faskally in Pitlochry, has just celebrated its 70th anniversary and the Scottish Freshwater Group (SFG) has just turned 50. Freshwater fisheries research has been a Government responsibility…

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Recover, Download, Re-deploy, Repeat

4th May 2018

Survey: 0618S – MRV Scotia Duration: 2-12 May 2018 Gear: Sea-Bird CTDs, ADCPs and current meter instrumentation, water filtering equipment, mooring equipment, chemistry sampling and analysis equipment. Objectives: Perform hydrographic sampling along the AlterEco monitoring section in the northern North Sea, which will be sampled on all MSS oceanographic surveys in 2018. Perform hydrographic sampling…

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Rock-all and Trawl with Genesis

2nd May 2018

Survey: 0818H – MFV Genesis BF505 Duration: 25 April -10 May 2018 Fishing Gear: Anglerfish Trawl BT 195 Objectives: To undertake a nationally co-ordinated demersal trawling survey of Anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius and Lophius budegassa) at Rockall Bank (ICES area VIb and Northwestern Shelf (ICES area VIa) inside the 1000m isobaths. To additionally record and map…

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Celebrating our Most Excellent Colleague

29th March 2018

Last week a number of us congregated in our Lecture Theatre to celebrate our colleague Dr Ian Davies receiving his very well deserved MBE. The MBE, or Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, is an award that recognises and rewards contributions to the arts, sciences, charity and welfare organisations and Dr…

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Monitoring the Effect of Noise on Marine Environments

26th March 2018

Survey: 0418A Duration: 25 March – 11 April 2018 Gear: Subsurface passive acoustic moorings (incl. cetacean detectors and sound recorders); Subsurface VEMCO VR2 salmon tag detector moorings; and Subsurface Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) mooring. Objectives: To deploy 95 moorings with VR2 salmon detectors between Ythan Estuary and Findon Ness (‘outer array’ shown on Figure…

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What’s the (Organic) Matter?

13th March 2018

Picture of MRV Sir John Murray (SJM) provided courtesy of SEPA. Survey: 0118SJM Duration: 12-16 March 2018 Gear: Craib corer, CTD, Day grab and Auto sieve. Objective: To compare pore-water nutrients, sediment chlorophyll-a and organic matter content among seabed sediments from the Outer and Inner Firth of Clyde and sea lochs. Procedure: Figure 1 shows the stations…

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Trans-Atlantic Co-operation

8th March 2018

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) in Massachusetts contacted Marine Scotland on the 20th February, requesting assistance to retrieve one of their gliders. The glider was deployed near Iceland, but had broken down and had been drifting at the surface since November 2017, and was now approaching the western coast of Scotland …fortuitously near to where…

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Bright lights; Big fish trials

2nd March 2018

Survey: 0318A Duration: 8-22 March 2018 Equipment: BT 201 Prawn net – rigged with separator grid and two 80mm codends; Trawl doors, sweeps, bridles, backstrops and pennants; Spare netting and twine; Safety-Net Technologies light unit; PSL5000 light unit x 2; Lindgren Pitman Electralume light x10; 4 x 10m side emitting light cables; Battery pods; Video…

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Trawling for ICES in the north and west of Scotland

16th February 2018

Duration: 15 February – 7 March 2018 Fishing Gear: GOV Trawl (BT 137) fitted with ground gear D. Objectives: Demersal trawling survey of the grounds off the north and west of Scotland in ICES Subarea VIa. To obtain temperature and salinity data from the surface and seabed at each trawling station. Collect additional biological data…

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