2016 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 meters include: temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, transmissometer, PAR, C14 primary productivity, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity.

2013-2014 California Current Ecosystem (CCE14): Acoustic-Trawl Survey of Coastal Pelagic Fishes (Legs I and II); and Investigations of hake survey methods, life history, and associated ecosystem (Legs III and IV) (SH1405, EK60). The 2014 acoustic-trawl method (ATM) project aboard Bell M. Shimada represents a joint effort between the SWFSC and the NWFSC in investigating elements of the California Current Ecosystem (CCE). The primary goal is to use the ATM to estimate the biomasses, distributions, and biological compositions of the northern sub-population of sardine, other CPS (e.g., mackerels, anchovy, herring, and smelts), hake, krill, and gelatinous zooplankton within the survey region. The adaptive sampling may span the northern sub-population of sardine, probably between Cape Flattery to Point Conception, but potentially from the northern end of Vancouver Island, Canada to the U.S.-Mexican border, as safely navigable in the east, and to the western extent of CPS and hake backscatter in the west. The seconary goal is to investigate the methods that will improve the accuracy and efficiency of the Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) in the California Current Ecosystem (CCE). The overall 2014 effort, hereafter referred to as CCE14, consists of five project legs: Legs I and II: A SWFSC-led survey of coastal pelagic fishes (CPS), demersal fishes, zooplankton, and their oceanographic habitats within the California Current Ecosystem will be conducted during Leg I and Leg II (24 June to 24 August). This ATM survey will assess biomasses, distributions, and biological compositions of multiple species and trophic levels within the adaptively sampled region spanning the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax). During Leg II, as time permits (at the discretion of the Chief Scientist), the NWFSC will sample age-1 hake and characterize the western extent of adult hake. Legs III and IV: NWFSC-led investigations of Pacific hake (Merluccius productus) and joint survey methods, life history, and associated ecosystem components (trophic structure and oceanography) will be conducted during CCE14 Leg III and Leg IV (28 August to 14 September). The data included here are only those collected during Legs III and IV by NWFSC.

2012 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) and Pacific Sardine (Sardinops sagax) (SH1204, EK60). Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), the Fishery Resources Division (FRD) at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC), and the Pacific region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted the 2012 Integrated Acoustic Survey (IAT) survey aboard the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada and the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) W.E. Ricker. Both vessels are stern trawlers equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. The Shimada surveyed from 35.8°N to 50.8°N between June 25 and August 23, and the Ricker surveyed from 48.8°N to 55.3°N between August 15 and September 6. The industry-provided vessel the F/V Forum Star was primarily for groudtruthing activity, trawling with an Aleutian wing trawl 24/20 (AWT), and remained in the vicinity the Shimada between June 28 and August 11. The portion of the survey conducted with the Bell M. Shimada focuses on both Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) and Pacific hake (Merluccius productus), a Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake and Pacific Sardine (SaKe 2012) covered the area from the Southern California Bight (SCB), CA to north end of the Vancouver Island, Canada. The data include here are those collected on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada only, i.e. Sake 2012 data only. Hake and sardine 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; some areas in Canadian waters were better covered with transects that ran in a zigzag or north-south orientation. The survey began northwest of Morro Bay, California, proceeded north toward Dixon Entrance, and finished along the west side of Haida Gwaii (formerly called the Queen Charlotte Islands). Hake aggregations were targeted along the continental shelf and upper slope of the entire survey area, whereas sardine aggregations were targeted only as far north as the northern tip of Vancouver Island. The Shimada was tasked with completing transects up to the north end of Vancouver Island, from which point the Ricker completed the remaining transects north to Dixon Entrance and along the west coast of Haida Gwaii. Sea depth at the inshore end of individual transects was nominally 30 m, although a few transects ended in waters deeper than 30 m because of restricted areas, navigation hazards, or boat traffic. Offshore extent of individual transects was typically at a depth of 1,500 m or at a point 35 nmi west of the inshore waypoint, whichever resulted in a longer transect.

Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) led the winter 2016 hake IAT survey aboard the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, a 63.7-m (209-foot), acoustically quieted Fisheries Survey Vessel equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. The survey was conducted between January 9 and February 9 (Table 1). The Shimada surveyed from 45.5°N to 31.3°N, beginning at Newport, Oregon, proceeding south to the U.S./Mexico border, and then heading north back to Newport (Figures 1 and 2). Pre-planned (“coarse”) zigzag transects were oriented east-west, with larger offshore diagonals connected via smaller nearshore diagonals. Offshore diagonals, spaced roughly 100 nmi apart at the inshore side, ranged from the 30-m isobath (or as close to shore as was safely navigable) to bottoms depths of roughly 3,500–4,500 m. Nearshore diagonals extended from the ≥30-m contour to roughly 2,000 m. If hake were detected at the offshore end of a transect, the vessel proceeded west to the end of the hake sign and then beyond for an additional 0.5 nmi to ensure that the end of the aggregation was located. When aggregations of spawning hake were detected along a pre-planned transect and confirmed by midwater trawling, adaptive transects, either parallel at a fine resolution (spaced either 0.5 or 1.0 nmi apart) or in a star pattern, were used to determine the spatial extent and size of the spawning aggregation(s). Additional acoustic data were collected to evaluate crepuscular migration (vertical and/or horizontal) of spawning hake aggregations by having the Shimada remain stationary one hour before sunrise to one hour after.

The primary goals of the survey are to characterize the winter distribution of hake, the hake aggregations, and the fish within those aggregations in order to support an evaluation of the feasibility of a future winter hake biomass survey. The project will use data from an integrated acoustic and trawl survey off the west coast of the U.S. from approximately south of San Diego, CA (latitude 31.6°N along the U.S. EEZ) to approximately Newport, OR (latitude 44.6°N). Our objectives are to: - Conduct 24-hour acoustic, trawl, oceanographic, and zooplankton operations. - Continuously sample multi-frequency acoustic backscatter data using the ship’s Simrad EK60 scientific echosounders (18, 38, and 120 kHz) system. Simrad EK80 broadband echosounders will operate at 70 and 200 kHz. Collectively, the acoustic data will be used to characterize the distribution of hake and describe hake aggregations. -- Collect acoustic data along pre-planned diagonal transects along the coast (hereafter “transects”). -- Collect acoustic data over hake aggregations, where the design will be determined based on the observed aggregation (hereafter “adaptive transects”). - Collect stationary acoustic data 1 hour before sunrise/sunset to 1 hour after sunrise/sunset to evaluate migration (vertical and/or horizontal) of hake aggregations. - Conduct daytime and nighttime trawling (Appendices 3 and 4) to verify hake aggregations and obtain specimens for biological data (length, sex, maturity, age, ovaries, diet, genetics, etc.). -- Multiple trawl samples may be taken on a single hake aggregation to evaluate heterogeneity in sex, maturity, etc. -- Record data from shipboard net mensuration gear to evaluate trawl performance - Use a portable x-ray system (Appendices 5 and 6) to take radiographic images of fish swimbladders - Optically verify the presence of non-hake scatterers during trawling using a video camera and light(s) attached to the upper panel of the midwater trawl approximately 20-30 meters forward of the codend. - Conduct vertical casts with the ship’s CTD rosette, outfitted with a dissolved oxygen sensor and Niskin bottles, at pre-planned stations along transects and/or at trawl locations (Appendix 2, Table 2, Table 4, and Table 5). These data will be used to describe the vertical and horizontal distributions of hake relative to oceanographic conditions. Niskin water collections will be filtered for evaluation of environmental DNA (eDNA). - Conduct underway CTD (uCTD) casts at pre-planned stations along transects (Appendix 2, Table 6). These data will be used to supplement oceanographic information obtained from the CTD rosettes and will be used to describe the distribution of hake relative to ocean conditions - Continuously collect Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) data along transects. These data will be used to describe the distribution of spawning hake relative to currents. - Conduct vertical ring net zooplankton tows at pre-planned stations along transects (Appendix 1, Figure 1; stations are listed in Appendix 2, Table 2) and bongo net tows (Appendix 1, Figure 1; stations are listed in Appendix 2, Table 3). These data will be used to describe the winter distribution of zooplankton species. - Continuously sample sea-surface temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll-a using the ship’s thermosalinograph and fluorometer. These data will be used to estimate the physical oceanographic habitats for spawning hake. - Continuously sample air temperature, barometric pressure, and wind speed and direction using the ship’s integrated weather station. - Collect broadband acoustic data with EK80 echosounders operating at central frequencies of 70 and 200 kHz. The use of the EK80s will require temporary modification to the ship’s EK60 set-up.

2011 Spring CalCOFI Survey. 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 meters include: temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, transmissometer, PAR, C14 primary productivity, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity.

Spring Coastal Pelagic Species Acoustic Trawl Survey (SH1404, EK60). 14 Acoustic transects were run offshore of Southern California between San Francisco and Cape Mendocino, CA with CTD casts conducted daily and trawls nightly based on detections in acoustics throughout the day.

2011 California Current Ecosystem Survey. Split-beam echosounder data were collected at four-frequencies (38, 70, 120, and 200 kHz on Frosti; and 18, 38, 70, 120, and 200 kHz on Shimada), throughout the Spring 2011 CCE survey. On Shimada, the EK60-trigger pulse from the 38, 120, and 200 kHz EK60s was used to synchronize the transmissions of the three echosounders with the 18 and 70 kHz EK60s and the RDI 75-kHz Ocean Surveyor ADCP. Except for these acoustic systems, all other echosounders, speed logs, and sonars operating at or near the survey frequencies were secured during survey operations. Exceptions were made during stations when the Doppler velocity log was operated, and in shallow regions when bridge echosounders (50 and 200-kHz Furuno) were operated. The ME70 was set as slave triggered by the EK60 pulse, with a delay of 340 ms. On Shimada, 1024-µs pulses of the 38, 120, and 200 kHz frequencies were transmitted simultaneously with a one second ping interval to a depth of 250 m. The 18 and 70 kHz echosounders EK60s were configured to record to 1000 m, which required a longer ping interval. The 18 and 70 kHz GPTs were triggered by the 120 kHz GPT, but the operating range resulted in a ping interval of two seconds for these two frequencies. The ME70 was operated using the configuration ‘Beams27_BW10deg_Grp3_Overlap3_Sector100deg_Ref0’ designed by SWFSC. The exception being on 22 Apr, for 20 min. during station work in shallow water (83.3-40.6) when the ME70 was operated using the configuration ‘Grc0525_x3_pulse1536’ with 25 beams spanning 160°. Raw ME70 data were stored to files with the prefixes ‘ME1104SH’ and ‘CONFIGTEST’ for the ‘Beams27…’ and ‘Grc0525_x3…’ configurations. The operational range and recording range were 250 m, and transmission interval was 1 s. Differential-corrected position data for the ME70 were supplied by the MX Marine MX420 GPS, heading data were from the ship’s gyro, and motion data were from the POS-MV. The transducer offsets were set to distances between transducer and POS-MV IMU (0.60, -0.72, 1.08 m in x, y, and z directions). The ME70 GPS offset values were set to zero for all. These zero offset values appear to correspond to the POS-MV antennas and therefore POS-MV position, but not to the MX420 position. Hence it appears necessary to apply 17.250 and 1.00 m alongship and athwartship offset values to the ME70 position data to accurately place the samples.

2011 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) (SH1103, 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 2011 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 near Morro Bay, CA (35.2°N) to the west of Barkley Sound, Canada (51.7°N) between June 23 and Sep. 5, while the survey on W.E. Ricker began from near US/Canada border (49.2°N) to the Dixon Entrance area, Canada (54.9°N) between Aug. 13 to Sep. 9. 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.

2012 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 meters include: temperature, salinity, oxygen, phosphate, silicate, nitrate and nitrite, chlorophyll, transmissometer, PAR, C14 primary productivity, phytoplankton biodiversity, zooplankton biomass, and zooplankton biodiversity.