Day 9 aboard the Nansen: Leg 1 is quickly winding down
- Esther Wairimu holding a Stomateous fiatola, a delicacy for the Senegalese people
We who attended the Nansen Durban, South Africa course earlier this year - Esther, Cosmas and Kamarel – have been excited for the opportunity to participate during this 1st leg of the North West Africa surveys, and to share some of our work with readers through this blog.
As we near port, we’ve had some time to reflect over these busy days since we set sail in Dakar.
We have had a great time on board these past days doing a lot of scientific work and gaining valuable hands-on experience about what happens during the surveys on the Nansen.
The cruise was a pelagic trawl survey and it was quite interesting in providing us an opportunity to learn and identify different species found in the Gambia and Senegal regions.
- A scientist from Gambia holding a Jerry fish found in the catch
The survey objectives were to estimate the abundance and map the distribution of the main commercially important pelagic and semi-pelagic fish species in Senegal and Gambia waters.
We were also charged with determining the length frequency measurements and the biological measurements (weight, sex, maturity, gonad and stomach fullness) of target species which were (Sardinella maderensis, Sardinella aurita, Trachurus treacae, Decapterus rhoncus and Scomber japonicus). Otolothis collection was done for Sadinella aurita in each sub region.
Additionaly, scientists were requested to identify all the species in the catch, do the total and sample weights, enter the data into the Nansis database and, finally, to scrutinize acoustic data.
Conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) device casts were also conducted at different transects and monitoring lines and we had a chance to learn how it works to obtain the vertical profiles of oxygen, temperature, florescence and salinity.
Today we plan to do calibration for the Senegalese vessel Itaf dem.
- The Nansis safety boat and crew ferrying the local cruise leader (Mr. Sarre) to the RV Itaf dem
- Boarding the RV Itaf dem
It’s hard to believe that tomorrow we disembark for departure back home after this adventure. There are so many people to thank, including the crew and scientists who did so much to make this survey trip run smoothly and were so generous in sharing their knowledge and expertise.
We were especially lucky to have such a strong team of fellow scientists from Kenya, Senegal and Gambia. The team work made the numerous tasks and long hours easy and interesting through great cooperation.
As our voyage on the Nansen comes to an end, we send our best wishes to the participants on the next three legs of the Northwest Africa survey trip, and we hope readers will continue to follow the work of the Nansen through this blog as this exciting journey continues.
