Merlin II 0209H
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | Merlin II (74N3) |
| Cruise identifier | 0209H |
| Cruise period | 2009-02-10 — 2009-02-18 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Stromness, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Stromness, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Fisheries |
| Objectives | Objectives
1. To increase the knowledge of the offshore and inshore crab stocks to the North of Scotland. 2. To tag Brown Crab, of a range of sizes, from inshore waters to the north of Scotland for investigations of their movements. Tagging will involve using both high visibility double t-bar tags that are retained on moulting and 'cable-tie' type tags, which will be attached to the claws of some of the animals. 3. To biologically sample all tagged crabs for carapace width, shell condition, sex and reproductive state (of females) and record date, time and latitude, longitude, and depth of the return location. Narrative All gear and scientific equipment was loaded onto the vessel in Stromness on the morning of Thursday 12 February. Weather and sea were both calm, the vessel departed and made passage to fishing grounds within Scapa Flow, where it already has gear deployed. The vessels hauled 11 strings of 65 creels around the island of Grimsay. Again, due to the strong full moon tides we returned to Stromness mid afternoon. On Friday 13 February we steamed from Stromness to fishing grounds to the north west of Hoy, the vessel hauled a further 8 strings of 65 creels before having to return to Stromness due to the tides mid afternoon. All gear and scientific equipment was unloaded on arrival at Stromness. |
| Chief scientist | Gareth Jones (Fisheries Research Services Aberdeen Marine Laboratory) |
| Project | MF06R06 10632 |
| Cruise programme |  (0.02 MB) |
| Cruise report | (0.10 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North East Atlantic Ocean (limit 40W) |
| Specific | West of Orkney, North/West of Hoy, North/West of Westray |
| Track charts | (0.09 MB) |
