RV Cefas Endeavour 19/17 Leg1
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RV Cefas Endeavour (74E9) |
| Cruise identifier | 19/17 Leg1 |
| Cruise period | 2017-09-29 — 2017-10-16 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Swansea, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Falmouth, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | Aims
1. To carry out the sixth of annual multidisciplinary pelagic survey of the Western Channel and Celtic Sea waters to estimate the biomass of, and gain insight into, the population of the small pelagic fish community (sprat, sardine, mackerel, anchovy, horse mackerel). a. To carry out a fisheries acoustic survey during daylight only using four operating frequencies (38, 120, 200 and 333 kHz) to map and quantify the small pelagic species community. b. To trawl for small pelagic species using a 20x40m herring (mid-water) trawl in order to obtain information on: - Species and size composition of acoustic marks - Age composition and distribution, from all small pelagic species - Length, weight and maturity information on pelagic species - Stomach contents 2. To collect plankton samples using 2 different mesh ringnets (80 μm, and 270 μm mesh) at fixed stations at night by vertical haul. Samples will be processed onboard: a. Ichtyoplankton (eggs and larvae, 270 μm) of pelagic species will be identified, counted and (in case of clupeids) staged and measured onboard to identify spawning areas. b. Zooplankton (80 μm) will be stored for further analysis back in the lab. 3. Water column sampling. At fixed stations along the acoustic transect, a CTD (either an ESM2 profiler or a Seabird mounted on a Rosette sampler) will be deployed to obtain a vertical profile of the water column. Water column profile and water samples will provide information on chlorophyll, oxygen, salinity, temperature, turbidity, and dissolved inorganic nutrients as well as the relevant QAQC samples for calibration of the equipment. Water samples will be collected and fixed on board for analysis post-hoc. 4. Seabirds and Marine Mammals. Locations, species, numbers and activities observed will be recorded continuously during daylight hours by a Marinelife observers from bridge. 5. Additional high resolution ESAS observations will be conducted on critically endangered Balearic shearwaters and other seabirds by 2 ESAS trained observers during parts 1 and 2. 6. Ferrybox Continuous CTD/Thermo-salinograph. Continuously collect oceanographic data at 4 m depth during steaming, including chlorophyll concentration (from calibrated fluorescence). 7. To carry out hourly measurements of the phytoplankton functional groups using an online flow-cytometer, connected to the Ferrybox; in collaboration with project JERICHO NEXT. 8. To trial the continuous Plankton Image Analyser (PIA) 9. To collect a zooplankton sample using the 200 μm mesh ringnet at the West Gabbard SmartBuoy, for the Lifeform project (Defra) as part of the UK monitoring network for zooplankton. 10. To collect and freeze small pelagic fish specimens for genetic study into stock structure of sardine, sprat and anchovy. 11. To collect and freeze up to 100 horse mackerel specimens at three different locations: eastern English Channel, Western English Channel and Bristol Channel. |
| Chief scientist | Jeroen Van der Kooij (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Lowestoft Laboratory) |
| Cruise programme |  (0.51 MB) |
| Cruise report | (1.12 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | English Channel Bristol Channel Celtic Sea |
| Specific | Western Channel, Celtic Deep |
