RV Belgica 2011-22
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RV Belgica (11BE) |
| Cruise identifier | 2011-22 |
| Cruise period | 2011-08-22 — 2011-09-02 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Zeebrugge, Belgium |
| Port of return | Zeebrugge, Belgium |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | a) Indices of abundance and density of adult flatfishes (mainly plaice and sole) will be calculated by means of stratified tows in the southern and central North Sea. The results will be incorporated in the database of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and will be used in analytical population studies of these species/stocks.
Additionally, several other investigations are planned, such as (a) the construction of "age‐length‐keys" for a number of commercially important flatfish species and cod (b) documenting distribution and abundance of all commercial and non‐commercial bycatch species (c) collecting an array of organisms that will be used as training material for biology students at several Belgian universities, (d) documenting the amount and types of litter at sea. If time and weather permit it, ILVO‐Fisheries will also fish some reference stations that overlap with the beam trawl survey of the UK. These stations will be discussed with the Commander during the campaign. b) Research concerning authenticity, geografic labelling and stock discrimination using "finclips" (tissue samples from tail or dorsal fins) for sole, turbot, brill and sea trout (caught in the above mentioned tows). |
| Chief scientist | Kelle Moreau (Institute for Agricultural and Fisheries Research, Ostend) |
| Cruise report |  (0.45 MB) |
| NPRC | (0.13 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North Sea |
| Specific | Belgian , French and UK Continental Shelves. |
| Track charts | (0.02 MB) |
