October 15, 2024 — I was onboard the F/V Dyrsten for a 3-day research trip last June to investigate how oceanography affects shortfin squid movement and biology in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. This work is just one component of our center’s cooperative effort with industry to better understand our squid stocks . By pairing oceanographic data with abundance and biomass estimates we hope to provide insight into squid biology and movement.
The data collected on this trip lay the groundwork for the next 2 years of this project. Our goal was to collect a suite of oceanographic and biological data including:
- Chlorophyll and oxygen isotope water samples using a Niskin bottle
- Conductivity (salinity), temperature, and depth, measured both with instruments deployed from a winch in the stern of the vessel and instruments attached to the headrope of the net
- Zooplankton samples collected in a ring net
- eDNA collected using a new technique