RV Cefas Endeavour 10/14
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RV Cefas Endeavour (74E9) |
| Cruise identifier | 10/14 |
| Cruise period | 2014-05-17 — 2014-06-06 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Lowestoft, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Lowestoft, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | Aims
1. To gather data to support a paired 'Before, After, Control, Impact' (BACI) study to investigate changes in benthic communities inside and outside proposed fisheries management zones in the Dogger Bank SCI. This will focus on four proposed fisheries closure areas within the Dogger Bank SCI. Data will be collected from similarly sized areas both inside (impact/treatment) and outside (control) the proposed closure areas (addressing Type 3 monitoring). 2. To sample along a fishing pressure gradient to develop a greater understanding of how the infaunal biological communities, characteristic of the Dogger Bank, respond to changes in fishing pressure (addressing Type 2 monitoring). 3. To collect data using different grabs to facilitate a gear comparison study: Survey some stations using at least two methods (e.g. the 0.1 m2 mini Hamon grab and the 0.2 m2 Van Veen grab) to enable the comparison of infaunal data collected using different gear types, possibly revisiting the historical 'Wieking and Kroencke' sampling stations. Revisiting the 'historic' sampling stations will also act to inform on the Type 1 monitoring principles, namely to explore temporal patterns in benthic faunal communities at fixed stations within the SCI. Narrative Cefas Endeavour departed Lowestoft approximately 24:00 BST on 17 May 2014 and began the transit to the Dogger Bank SCI. The vessel arrived at the first BACI survey area, 'Block A' at approximately 14:00 on 18 May at which time detailed guidance was provided regarding the safe deployment of the various sampling gears to be utilised during survey and the Standard Operating Procedures for subsequent sample processing. Final equipment checks and calibrations were carried out prior to survey commencing. Survey continued at 'Block A' until 22:50, 20th May 2014 when all survey objectives at this area had been successfully completed. The vessel transited to the second survey area, Block B. Objectives at Block B included sampling to inform on a BACI experimental design for proposed fishery management area 'UK 1081' and also acquisition of samples to fulfil objectives of 'Type 2' monitoring. Survey within this block also incorporated a dedicated study designed to allow a comparison of samples acquired using different grab sampling devices. A number of samples were also acquired at the historical time series fixed stations using a 0.1 m2 Hamon grab. Following successful completion of all survey objectives at Block B, the vessel transited to Block C where survey resumed at 02:20 on the 27 May 2014. Similarly, survey at this site employed a combination of seabed sediment grab sampling, seabed imagery techniques and utilisation of a 2 m scientific beam trawl to sample epibenthic fauna. At 07:45 on 30 May 2014, all survey objectives at Block C had been completed and the vessel transited to the final survey area, Block D where survey was resumed. All planned sampling was successfully completed within this survey block by 02:30 on the 3 June 2014. The completion of sampling at survey Block D also comprised the completion of all primary survey objectives. Therefore, a number of 'contingency' survey options were prioritised for the time remaining on survey. These consisted of 1) additional gear comparison survey at the subset of stations in Block B previously sampled with the 0.2 m2 Van Veen and 0.1 m2 Hamon grabs and 2) additional BACI survey within the UK portion of the 'cross boundary' proposed fishery management area 'UK + NL/1275'. |
| Chief scientist | Suzanne Jayne Ware (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Lowestoft Laboratory) |
| Cruise programme |  (0.36 MB) |
| Cruise report | (0.93 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North Sea |
| Specific | Dogger Bank |
| Data held at BODC | |
| Discrete samples | |
| 19 Sample taken from ship's non-toxic supply |
