The Nansen sets sail again!
- Map of Ghana, the 200 nm exclusive economic zone, and the Port of Tema
Once again, we’ll be blogging and tweeting from the #EAFNansen, and we hope you’ll join us on board virtually and send us your questions.
On this voyage, the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen will be conducting ecosystem surveys for 20 days along the coast of Ghana (see the accompanying map).
Two FAO staff members, Fabio Carocci, Fishery data and information specialist and Peter Psomadakis, Fish Taxonomist, are on board for this journey and they will be sending pictures and blog posts to keep you up to date with the goings on board the vessel.
On 31 March, cruise participants boarded the vessel for what will be one of the last trips for this soon-to-be-retired ship.
A new vessel is being built, and will be launched in 2017.
Take a look at the video below to see testing of the new vessel.
- The Nansen at port
- The Nansen hosts on board nine scientitsts from Ghana alongside FAO's Fabio Carocci and Peter Psomadakis
- The Nansen crew present the vessel and research objectives to a delegation from the Ministry of Fisheries of Ghana
- The Nansen being towed out of the port
- Sorting the first bottom trawl
- Deploying the CTD (equipment that measures conductivity, temperature, and depth), which gives the scientists precise chartings of the variation of water temperature, salinity, and density
On board this trip, the crew of the Dr Fridtjof Nansen welcomed nine scientists from Ghana (five women, including the cruise leader, and four men), and the two FAO staff. The survey will return to port in Ghana on 20 April.
Ecosystem surveys will be conducted within the coastal waters of Ghana, at depths from 20 to 200 m, which will be performed in two stages:
1. The first stage will assess the demersal resources of the area, steaming from the Eastern to the Western part of the Ghanaian EEZ for the first 12 days.
2. The second stage will assess the pelagic resources, going from the Western to the Eastern part of the Ghanaian EEZ for the remainder of the journey.
Before departing on 1 April from the Port of Tema, a brief ceremony took place on board and the crew and participants welcomed a delegation from the Ministry of Fisheries of Ghana and from the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Ghana.
The Dr Fridtjof Nansen left the port that afternoon and the first trawls took place in the morning of 2 April, leaving just enough time for participants to get over their seasickness from choppy weather that left only a few of the experienced crew still standing.
Once recovered, however, the first few hours of steam-time allowed the participants to familiarize themselves with the boat and the equipment, and watch-teams were divided with morning and evening shifts.
Bright and early at 6:45am on 2 April, the first CTD (conductivity, temperature, and depth) station was deployed and, soon after, the first trawl of the trip.
For the next 12 hours, six CTDs and six bottom trawls were set, leaving the participants very busy with many species to sample, sort, weigh, and measure.
Thanks to Peter, the taxonomy expert on board, all of the species were correctly identified and processed quickly before the next trawl came in.
The mood on board is one of camaraderie, and with some of us laid up with a bad case of seasickness, others have been helping to take over their shifts until they recover which speaks to their dedication and commitment to the research.
Activities will become routine over the next few days, but there is always a general air of excitement right before a trawl is brought on board and catches reveal the species diversity of the Ghanaian waters.
Stay tuned for the next blog! Fabio & Peter
- Royal spiny lobster (Panulirus regius)
- Smoothback angelshark (Squatina oculata)
- Peter holding a prickly puffer (Ephippion guttifer)
