RV Corystes COR14/99
Cruise summary report
| Cruise Info. | |
| Ship name (ship code) | RV Corystes (74RY) |
| Cruise identifier | COR14/99 |
| Cruise period | 1999-11-25 — 1999-12-08 |
| Status | Completed |
| Port of departure | Lowestoft, United Kingdom |
| Port of return | Lowestoft, United Kingdom |
| Purpose | Research |
| Objectives | The main aims of the cruise were to identify species that are vulnerable to beam trawling disturbance and describe the structural and trophic changes that take place in benthic communities when vulnerable species are lost.
The main objectives of this cruise were: 1. To complete a sidescan and Questor Tangent survey in 3 boxes (each 2 x 1 nautical miles) to the south-east of the Dogger Bank. 2. To sample the benthic invertebrate and fish community at impact and control sites in these boxes using corers, grabs, dredges and beam trawls. The impact sites were trawled on CORYSTES 12/99. 3. To collect sediment cores at impact and control sites to investigate nutrient fluxes and changes in sediment quality. 4. To collect fish stomachs for dietary analysis and invertebrate and fish tissue for stable isotope analysis. 5. To conduct further experimental beam trawling in 3 boxes. 6. To sample benthic invertebrates and fish communities at a series of offshore sites in IV b and IV c that are subject to different levels of fishing disturbance. The aims of this cruise were not met in full due to 130 working hours being spent dodging bad weather. |
| Chief scientist | Simon Jennings (Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science Lowestoft Laboratory) |
| Coordinating body | CEFAS |
| Cruise report |  (0.14 MB) |
| Ocean/sea areas | |
| General | North Sea |
| Specific | Silver Pit, Botney Cut, Hills, Western Mud Hole |
| Measurements | |
| Biology and fisheries | |
| Sediment traps | Quantity: number of stations = 12 Description: As above (after experimental fishing impact) |
| Sediment traps | Quantity: number of stations = 12 Description: NIOZ cores for sediment, mezobenthic and flux measurements (before experimental fishing impact) |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of stations = 78 Description: As above |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of stations = 42 Description: Anchor dredge + beam trawl samples (to compare communities at sites subject to different fishing intensity) |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of stations = 12 Description: NIOZ cores for sediment, mezobenthic and flux measurements (before experimental fishing impact) |
| Zoobenthos | Quantity: number of stations = 12 Description: As above (after experimental fishing impact) |
| Geology and geophysics | |
| Long/short range side scan sonar | Quantity: number of track lines = 4 Description: side-scan lines to analyse the effect of trawling. |
