Obsolete - AFSC/RACE/EcoFOCI: 2011 Gulf of Alaska Late Larval Survey DY11-02/2DY11

A total of 70 stations were occupied. The standard FOCI grid and line 8 were samped. At each station we sampled using paired 20 and 60 cm Bongo frames (150 and 500 micron mesh nets, respectively). A SeaBird SeaCat (SBE 19 plus) was used with the bongo frames to determine the depth of the samplers in real time and to measure temperature and conductivity. On line 8 CTD casts were also taken.

We left Dutch Harbor at 2300 on May 31 (GMT time) and arrived at our first grid station, GV147, at approximately 0500 on June 2. The deployment and retrieval of both the 60 cm bongo and the neuston gear were successful until the weather conditions became too severe to continue sampling our planned grid stations on the evening of June 2 after station 13 (HH151) was completed. Operations were resumed at GV151 on June 4 at 0200 until another storm made sampling conditions difficult after station 55 (HD 165) on June 7 at 0330. We waited in Alitak Bay on the south end of Kodiak Island to resume sampling. Since so much sampling time had already been lost due to weather, it was decided to abandon the rest of the planned grid stations below Shelikof Strait and steam to Line 8 and resume sampling there. We arrived at the first Line 8 station and began sampling at 2230 on June 7. After all six of the Line 8 stations were completed, we resumed sampling at designated grid stations until it was necessary to head into port on June 9.