Only NY recently connected with fisheries technician Joseph Warren on the marine research vessel Henry B. Bigelow, a 209' fisheries research vessel operated by the United States' National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration. The NOAA ship’s mission is to protect, restore, and manage the use of living marine, coastal, and ocean resources through ecosystem-based management.
With the Henry B. Bigelow operating 24 hours a day in 12 hour shifts, Only NY worked with scientific crew member Joseph Warren to wear-test our Waterproof Trail Jacket out at sea. Warren is responsible for hauling massive trawl nets and documenting the catch. Each catch is brought into the wet or fish lab, for sorting and identification, weighing, length measurements, sex and maturity classification, age structure extraction, stomach content analysis, and to preserve special samples for researchers. A match for the vessels rough conditions, the Waterproof Trail Jacket features a waterproof nylon ripstop body, fully taped seam construction, two-way adjustable hood, heavy duty storm flap and vented sleeves, which held up to the grueling 12 hour shifts aboard the Henry B. Bigelow without compromise.
With the Henry B. Bigelow operating 24 hours a day in 12 hour shifts, Only NY worked with scientific crew member Joseph Warren to wear-test our Waterproof Trail Jacket out at sea. Warren is responsible for hauling massive trawl nets and documenting the catch. Each catch is brought into the wet or fish lab, for sorting and identification, weighing, length measurements, sex and maturity classification, age structure extraction, stomach content analysis, and to preserve special samples for researchers. A match for the vessels rough conditions, the Waterproof Trail Jacket features a waterproof nylon ripstop body, fully taped seam construction, two-way adjustable hood, heavy duty storm flap and vented sleeves, which held up to the grueling 12 hour shifts aboard the Henry B. Bigelow without compromise.
Joseph Warren currently lives in Massachusetts. In addition to marine research he enjoys illustration and watercolor, which are featured below in his hand-painted charts. More about Joseph Warren.
Photos by Joseph Warren & Adam Poquette
More info on NOAA.
Only NY: How did you get involved with NOAA/this line of work?
Joseph Warren: I studied fisheries and biology in college and knew of the survey having spent a lot of summers in Woods Hole, MA as a kid marveling at the Henry B. Bigelow’s predecessor, the Albatross IV.
Can you tell us some basics about the boat that you work off of and its technical features?
The Henry B. Bigelow is a federal research vessel whose namesake helped lay the groundwork of modern oceanography. The ship’s primary mission is to study and monitor fish stocks. The Bigelow is 209 feet long and usually there are 38 people on board, 15 of which are in the scientific party. It carries the equipment and systems to conduct fisheries, oceanographic, and hydrographic research.
The trawl net is equipped with sensors that allow the shape and depth of the trawl net to be monitored during fishing operations. In addition to the fishing, a CTD system is used to measure the distribution and variation of water temperature, salinity, and density at our sampling locations. Bongo nets are also used to take plankton samples.
The ship has a “quiet hull”, a design feature that minimizes sound made by the ship underwater. This is supposed to reduce changes in the natural behavior of animals due to ship noise. It also has a multibeam sonar system to provide information on marine organisms in the water column as well as the topography of the seafloor.
Can you explain in layman's terms about where the information is going and how it's used after you log everything?
The info collected on the bottom trawl surveys is one of several data sources used by scientists to assess the status and trends of fishery resources. This information is used by scientists to provide advice to policy makers at the regional, national, and international levels. The survey has been going since 1963 and since the survey methodology is held constant, you can get an idea of relative abundance indices over time.
Joseph Warren: I studied fisheries and biology in college and knew of the survey having spent a lot of summers in Woods Hole, MA as a kid marveling at the Henry B. Bigelow’s predecessor, the Albatross IV.
Can you tell us some basics about the boat that you work off of and its technical features?
The Henry B. Bigelow is a federal research vessel whose namesake helped lay the groundwork of modern oceanography. The ship’s primary mission is to study and monitor fish stocks. The Bigelow is 209 feet long and usually there are 38 people on board, 15 of which are in the scientific party. It carries the equipment and systems to conduct fisheries, oceanographic, and hydrographic research.
The trawl net is equipped with sensors that allow the shape and depth of the trawl net to be monitored during fishing operations. In addition to the fishing, a CTD system is used to measure the distribution and variation of water temperature, salinity, and density at our sampling locations. Bongo nets are also used to take plankton samples.
The ship has a “quiet hull”, a design feature that minimizes sound made by the ship underwater. This is supposed to reduce changes in the natural behavior of animals due to ship noise. It also has a multibeam sonar system to provide information on marine organisms in the water column as well as the topography of the seafloor.
Can you explain in layman's terms about where the information is going and how it's used after you log everything?
The info collected on the bottom trawl surveys is one of several data sources used by scientists to assess the status and trends of fishery resources. This information is used by scientists to provide advice to policy makers at the regional, national, and international levels. The survey has been going since 1963 and since the survey methodology is held constant, you can get an idea of relative abundance indices over time.
