The 2005 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) (MF0509, EK500). Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Pacific region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted the Joint 2005 Integrated Acoustic Survey (IAT) survey aboard the NOAA Ship Miller Freeman, a stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) aggregations were targeted along the continental shelf and upper slope of the entire survey area. Hake populations were surveyed along a series of parallel line transects that in general were oriented east-west, spaced at an interval of 10 nmi apart, and traversed sequentially in alternating directions; The survey began from north of Point Piedras Blancas, CA (35.7°N) to the Dixon Entrance area, Canada (54.5°N) between June 20 and Aug. 19. All transects up to the Dixon Entrance and along the west coast of Haida Gwaii were completed. Sea depth at the inshore end of individual transects was nominally 50 m. Offshore extent of individual transects was typically at a depth of 1,500 m.

The 2003 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) (MF0316, EK500). Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Pacific region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted the Joint 2003 Integrated Acoustic Survey (IAT) survey aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) W.E. Ricker, a stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) aggregations were targeted along the continental shelf and upper slope of the entire survey area. Hake populations were surveyed along a series of parallel line transects that in general were oriented east-west, spaced at an interval of 10 nmi apart, and traversed sequentially in alternating directions; The survey began from south of Monterey, CA (36.1°N) to the Dixon Entrance area, Canada (51.4°N) between June 29 and Sep. 1. All transects up to the Dixon Entrance and along the west coast of Haida Gwaii were completed. Sea depth at the inshore end of individual transects was nominally 50 m. Offshore extent of individual transects was typically at a depth of 1,500 m.

2007 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) (MF0710, EK60). Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Pacific region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted the Joint 2007 Integrated Acoustic Survey (IAT) survey aboard the NOAA Ship Miller Freeman, a stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) aggregations were targeted along the continental shelf and upper slope of the entire survey area. Hake populations were surveyed along a series of parallel line transects that in general were oriented east-west, spaced at an interval of 10 nmi apart, and traversed sequentially in alternating directions; The survey began from north of Point Piedras Blancas, CA (35.8N) to the Dixon Entrance area, Canada (54.9N) between June 20 and Aug. 21. All transects up to the Dixon Entrance and along the west coast of Haida Gwaii were completed. Sea depth at the inshore end of individual transects was nominally 50 m. Offshore extent of individual transects was typically at a depth of 1,500 m.

2005 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) (MF0509, EK60). Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Pacific region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted the Joint 2005 Integrated Acoustic Survey (IAT) survey aboard the NOAA Ship Miller Freeman, a stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) aggregations were targeted along the continental shelf and upper slope of the entire survey area. Hake populations were surveyed along a series of parallel line transects that in general were oriented east-west, spaced at an interval of 10 nmi apart, and traversed sequentially in alternating directions; The survey began from north of Point Piedras Blancas, CA (35.7°N) to the Dixon Entrance area, Canada (54.5°N) between June 20 and Aug. 19. All transects up to the Dixon Entrance and along the west coast of Haida Gwaii were completed. Sea depth at the inshore end of individual transects was nominally 50 m. Offshore extent of individual transects was typically at a depth of 1,500 m.

California Current Ecosystem Survey. 1. Each coast-wide survey station included the following: a. A CTD/Rosette consisting of four 2.5 liter hydrographic bottles lowered to 500 meters (depth permitting) to measure physical parameters and collect water at discrete depths for analysis of salinity. b. A CalBOBL (CalCOFI Bongo) standard oblique plankton tow with 300 meters of wire out, depth permitting, using a 505 µm mesh net paired with a 333 µm mesh net with 71 cm diameter openings. The technical requirements for this tow were: Descent wire rate of 50 meters per minute, held at terminal depth for 30 seconds and retrieved at a wire rate of 20 meters per minute. . A 45° wire angle was closely maintained during the ascent and descent of the net frame. All tows with ascending wire angles lower than 38° or higher than 51° in the final 100 meters of wire were repeated. c. A Manta net (neuston) tow, using a 505 µm mesh net on a frame with a mouth area of 0.133 m². The frame was towed for 15 minutes at a target speed of 60-70 cm/sec or an angle of stray between 20-25 degrees. d. Weather observations. e. A Pairovet (vertical) plankton tow was taken at all stations. The Pairovet net was fished from 70 meters to the surface (depth permitting) using paired 25 cm diameter 150 µm mesh nets. The technical requirements for Pairovet tows were: Descent rate of 70 meters per minute, held at depth for 10 second duration then an ascent rate of 70 meters per minute. All tows with wire angles exceeding 15° during the ascent were repeated. f. A surface tow using a Nordic 264 pelagic trawl was conducted during nighttime operations. Each tow was fished for a 30 minute duration at a towing speed of approximately 3.5 knots. The catch of each tow was processed in the following manner: Sardines collected in each trawl were randomly sub-sampled. Standard length and body weight were measured, otoliths were collected, and ovaries preserved in buffered formalin. These fish were assigned a maturity code based on a four stage system developed during a previous Tri-national Sardine Forum. 3 g. During daylight hours marine mammal and seabird observations were conducted enumerating and identifying all seabirds and marine mammals encountered. Mammals were not quantitatively surveyed on Leg II. 2. While underway during the coast-wide sardine survey, the following operations were conducted: a. Directed adaptive sampling of pelagic fish eggs using the following protocol: Water was continuously sampled using the CUFES (Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler) from a depth of six meters. Approximately 640 liters/minute was sent through a concentrator which filters all material larger than 505 µm. The sieved sample was collected and identified. All fish eggs were identified to lowest taxa, counted and entered into the data acquisition software. Each sample entry is coupled with sea surface temperature, geographical position, wind speed and direction, date and time, and surface salinity. Sampling intervals varied in length, depending on the number of fish eggs seen, from two to sixty minutes with an average interval of thirty two minutes. When two consecutive samples had a concentration of Pacific sardine eggs equal to or greater than 1 egg per minute, the ship stopped to conduct a Pairovet tow. Pairovet tows continued at four mile intervals until a concentration of less than one egg per minute was observed in two consecutive samples. All Pairovet samples were taken concurrently with a CUFES sample in addition to sampling continuously between Pairovet samples. b. Once underway, the Freeman’s Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP, RDI 150 kHz model) was sampling at all times. Data was periodically backed up to a writable DVD. c. Once underway, the scientific sounder (Simrad EK-60, 38, 120, and 200 kHz split beam transducer) was sampling at all times. Data was periodically backed up to a writable DVD. d. Once underway, the Freeman’s thermosalinometer (TSG) was

2009 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) (MF0903, EK60). Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Pacific region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted the Joint 2009 Integrated Acoustic Survey (IAT) survey aboard the NOAA Ship Miller Freeman and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) W.E. Ricker, both are stern trawlers equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) aggregations were targeted along the continental shelf and upper slope of the entire survey area. Hake populations were surveyed along a series of parallel line transects that in general were oriented east-west, spaced at an interval of 10 nmi apart, and traversed sequentially in alternating directions; The survey on Miller Freeman (US portion) began from north of Point Piedras Blancas, CA (35.8°N) to the northwest tip of Washington state (48.4°N) between June 30 and Aug. 22, while the survey on W.E. Ricker began from near US/Canada border (48.55°N) to the Dixon Entrance area, Canada (54.9°N) between Aug. 13 to Sep. 7. All transects up to the Dixon Entrance and along the west coast of Haida Gwaii were completed. Sea depth at the inshore end of individual transects was nominally 50 m. Offshore extent of individual transects was typically at a depth of 1,500 m. However, this package includes only the EK60 raw data from the US portion only.

2010 California Current Ecosystem (CCE) Survey (MILLER FREEMAN). Four frequency (18, 38, 120, and 200 kHz) split-beam, echosounder data were collected from Miller Freeman during the entire spring 2010 CCE survey. The survey transects from legs 1 and 2 totaled approximately 3109 n.mi., including 10 cross-shelf transects and 7 north-south connecting segments, spanning an area from San Diego (ca. 32 °N latitude) to San Francisco (ca. 38 °N), California, and from approximately 5 to 250 n.mi. offshore. The transects were approximately 200 to 280 n.mi. long and were typically 40 n.mi. apart. Leg 1 of the survey commenced with a calibration of the echosounders with the ship at dock in San Diego. After calibration was complete, the ship departed San Diego on 2 April at 18:00 PST (3 April, 02:00 GMT), sailed to the first sampling station (94.9-29.9), and then proceeded westward on CalCOFI Line 95. The echosounders were operated continuously along four transects (Line 95, 91.7, 88.3, and 85), after which the ship pulled into and docked at Port Hueneme, CA on 9 April for personnel transfers. The ship departed Port Hueneme for leg 2 at 17:00 GMT on 12 April. After a one-day weather delay, Miller Freeman sailed northward to Station 81.7-45, and began Transect 5 of the survey. Leg 2 followed Lines 81.7, 78.3, 75.8, 73.3, and 66.7 (traversed in both directions). The vessel returned to San Diego on 22 April. Prior to the CalCOFI survey (leg 3 of the CCE cruise), the echosounders were calibrated with the ship docked in San Diego. Results and settings from the calibration are described in detail in section 2.3.1. Leg 3 of the CCE cruise departed from the 10th Avenue terminal in San Diego on 26 April at approximately 23:00 GMT, with the planned route (lines 93.3, 90, 86.7, 83.3, 80, and 76.7). Due to bad weather, stations 70 and 60 on line 90 had to be skipped during that transect. Additionally, due to a faulty fire alarm panel, the Miller Freeman had to dock at Port Hueneme on 7 May until repairs could be completed, leading to missed stations on line 83.3. On 13 May, the Miller Freeman left Port Hueneme and continued on line 83.3, with a new cruise plan in order to survey each station. Leg 3 was comprised of 6 cross-shelf transects with 5 north-sound segments connecting each line. The surveyed area totaled approximately 2,120 n.mi. and ranged from roughly San Diego (ca. 32 °N latitude) to Avila Beach (ca. 35 °N).

2009 Sardine Acoustic Survey. The Simrad EK60 depth sounder was operated, at 18, 38, 120, and 200 kHz and interfaced to a data acquisition system to estimate micronekton and preliminary estimates of small pelagic fish relative biomass between 0 and 250 m.

Oregon - Washington Sardine Survey. Fourteen primary stations were occupied after dusk and prior to sunrise. Daytime activities included occupying a transect between survey lines using the CUFES and the EK-60 sounder. At each night station the following activities were performed: a. Deployment of a Seabird 9/11+ down to 200 meters, bottom depth permitting. The CTD collected depth, temperature, conductivity and chlorophyll fluorescence data. b. A standard Pairovet cast. The Pairovet net was fished from 70 meters to the surface (depth permitting) using paired 25 cm diameter 150 μm mesh nets. The technical requirements for the Pairovet tow was: descent rate of 70 meters per minute, a terminal depth time of 10 seconds and an ascent rate of 70 meters per minute. c. A CalBOBL (CalCOFI Bongo) standard oblique plankton tow with 300 meters of wire out, depth permitting, used paired 505 :m mesh nets with 71 cm diameter openings. The technical requirements for this tow were: Descent rate of 50 meters per minute, ascent rate of 20 meters per minute. All tows with ascending wire angles lower than 38° or higher than 51° in the final 100 meters of wire were repeated. d. Standard meteorological data including SST, wind speed and direction, wave height and direction, cloud cover, relative humidity, air temperature and barometric pressure. e. During all transit between stations continuous measurements were made of pelagic fish eggs (CUFES) and acoustic targets using the EK-60. f. A Nordic 264 mid-water trawl using 3.0 m² foam core doors was towed at the surface for 30 minutes traveling at approximately 3.5 knots. Every catch was sorted and target species were sampled.

2010 Spring CalCOFI. The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI) are a unique partnership of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries Service and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The organization was formed in 1949 to study the ecological aspects of the sardine population collapse off California. Today our focus has shifted to the study of the marine environment off the coast of California, the management of its living resources, and monitoring the indicators of El Nino and climate change. CalCOFI conducts quarterly cruises off southern and central California, collecting a suite of hydrographic and biological data on station and underway. Data collected at depths down to 500 m include: temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, transmissometer, PAR, C14 primary productivity, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity.