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Scallop Dredging and Octopus Spotting
14th July 2017
Last month our Ships Co-ordinator joined the Alba na Mara for a day to observe colleagues during the East Coast Scallop Dredging Survey 0917A. The aim of this visit was to get a better understanding of the scallop dredging process, the equipment and techniques used, and the challenges associated with this sampling method. The feedback…
SCObs Weekly Sampling to Expand at St Abbs
7th April 2017
The Scottish Coastal Observatory (SCObs) monitors the temperature, salinity, nutrients and plankton community at a number of sites around the Scottish coast. The efforts of Marine Scotland scientists are supported by a network of local citizen-scientists who deploy small temperature sensors and collect water samples for analysis. Many of the SCObs sites have been collecting…
MRV Alba na Mara Survey 0517A Programme
6th April 2017
Duration: 06 – 26 April 2017 Fishing Gear: Scallop Dredges Objectives: To carry out a survey of scallop stocks on the West Coast. To age, measure and assess shell damage on all scallops caught. To Identify and sample additional areas of commercial interest to the scallop fishery. To collect information on by-catch of other commercial…
MRV Alba na Mara Survey 0417A Programme
24th March 2017
Duration: 25 March – 03 April 2017 Gear: Surface and subsurface PAM moorings Objective: To deploy a series of moorings comprising dhan buoys (9 surface marked moorings) and acoustic release systems (21 subsurface moorings) with attached acoustic recording devices (30 C-POD and 10 SM2M) as part of the east coast marine mammal monitoring programme (see…
Keeping the Beaches Clean in Aberdeen
17th March 2017
In the next few days some colleagues will be donning their gloves, picking up their biodegradable bags and heading out around the beaches of Aberdeen in an effort to rid the shores of unsightly litter. The first event is organised by the Marine Conservation Society at Nigg Bay, further details are shown below. Then on…
How would you like to be a Scientist-in-Charge?
8th March 2017
I work as a physical oceanographer for Marine Scotland Science and every December I am also the Scientist-in-Charge (SiC) of the MRV Scotia’s research cruise. Before taking over the December cruise I work-shadowed a colleague who taught me the ins-and-outs of Scotia and this type of cruise. Funnily enough not many people are keen on…
Ask a Scientist
31st January 2017
Always keen to make science accessible for everyone, our colleague Dr Francis Neat recently contributed to a series of children’s books on ocean ecology. Dr Neat was approached only last week to answer some questions, posed by children through a school project, in the “Ask a Scientist” section. As a specialist in the habitat and…
Out of Doors with the Dolphins and Porpoises
19th January 2017
Last week, our Marine Mammals Specialist, Dr Kate Brookes was interviewed by Euan McIlwraith from the Out of Doors programme on Radio Scotland about the ECOMMAS project. They had been intrigued after seeing our blog post about one of the acoustic loggers from the ECOMMAS array being found on a beach near Aberdeen harbour. Euan…
Scottish Fishermen Land 1000th Tonne of Marine Litter
18th January 2017
Our very own Professor Colin Moffat was asked recently to attend and give a short presentation at an event to celebrate the success of the KIMO UK’s Fishing for Litter scheme. Supported by partners, including the Scottish Government, the Fishing for Litter scheme encourages skippers of fishing vessels to land litter they catch in their…
MRV Scotia Survey 0117S Programme
4th January 2017
Duration: 4-19 January 2017 Fishing gear: BT 137 with Ground gear E; Sediment Sampling: Day grab and sieves; Litter sampling: Catamaran neuston trawl; Plankton net; Water sampling: Aquatracka fluorometer, Seabird 19 and sled. Objectives: To undertake water, sediment and biological sampling for the Clean Seas Environmental Monitoring Programme (CSEMP). To collect water samples for nutrient…