We are approaching the end of the survey. We have plans to continue surveying stations all the way to the border of the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of Mauritius.
Catches of fish have been very low. Only mesopelagic fish have been observed. During daytime, those fish have been dispersed at depth between 400 and 600 meters.
During night time, most of the mesopelagic fish have migrated towards the surface for feeding on plankton. During the day, the mesopelagic fish are mostly distributed in layers with a high content of oxygen, while at night, they are to be found in layers above the maximum chlorophyll.
We continue to steam towards Mauritius, and the last station along the 20th degree S. We will continue to carry out sampling every 100 nautical miles.
The conditions for data sampling at sea can be rough and we cannot always rely on good weather, but during this survey voyage, everything seems to have been working well. Since we only work in international waters, we will soon stop collecting data, and we will concentrate on writing a preliminary report. The final report from the survey will then be finished within three months.
We are scheduled to arrive in Port Louis, Mauritius on Thursday, 16 July.
14/07/2015