More Lionfish

07/29/06

Chief Scientist Paula Whitfield popped up from the RIB onto the deck of R/V NANCY FOSTER beaming. ‘We hit the mother lode,’ she announced, in her effervescent way.

A record 16 lionfish had been surveyed in the transect – a 10m X 50m swathe of rocky ocean bottom.

But it was bittersweet news. High numbers were good for the scientists’ research, but bad for the environment. Invasive lionfish have a powerful toehold in their new habitat.

To do our part to slow their invasion, we ate some.

The crew was served blackened lionfish, along with vegetables, salad and yellow rice (we are fed well -- and did I mention, regularly? – on R/V NANCY FOSTER). Lionfish is a white fish with firm texture, like flounder; meaty and not at all oily or fatty. I think it would make a killer fish taco.

Another of the scientists aboard studying lionfish is Dr. David ‘Wilson’ Freshwater, a Research Analyst 2 for the Center for Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. With each fish collected and dissected, a small chunk of flesh is gathered for DNA testing at Wilson’s lab. These little glass jars of sushi line the table where we talk in the wet lab.

Wilson admits that he bartered his way aboard this research cruise, offering to work as a ‘grunt diver’ on deck in exchange for the chance to study the fish in person. The extensive work that Wilson and his associate Rebecca Hamner have done has proven so far that North Carolina’s invasive lionfish are all from Indonesia. One might expect a more diverse background – with a mix of fish from Taiwan, the Philippines and Mozambique. But Wilson says genetic markers indicated otherwise – and suggest a lack of genetic diversity in North Carolina’s invasive lionfish: what you might call ‘inbreeding’ – risky business for a species indeed.

The wet lab is unusually empty and quiet as we wrap up our talk. Wilson has stayed up late to ensure a good and thorough interview. But the days start early here on R/V NANCY FOSTER, so we put away the ‘sushi’ and sign off.

Even Paula, the Chief Scientist and orchestrator of all the activity, is asleep when I enter our quarters. The individual bunks have heavy maroon curtains drawn for privacy, and mine is the only one still open. As I get ready to crawl into bed I notice a small chocolate candy nested on my pillow, and smile. This may not be the QUEEN MARY but the R/V NANCY FOSTER is one special ship.

Non-native Lionfish invade the Atlantic

Revisiting the Lionfish documentary shoot 07/28/2006

Life aboard a ship at sea is dictated by unfamiliar parameters.

There are strictly adhered-to boat deployments and dive times. Emails come and go twice a day. There's a dress code (no flip flops; no tank tops in the mess hall). And the most precisely planned and regimented things are meal times, by which everything else is planned. They are chiseled in stone.

With all of this under our belts, we tackle Day 2.

Curtis Callaway [cinematographer] films the early morning (0630) plankton tow: a search for lionfish larvae; while Norb Wu [cinematographer] readies for the first dive of the morning (0730) - a survey of lionfish on one of the earlier identified research sites - along with a side by side comparison of HD (high definition) vs. SD (standard definition) footage. He likens his assignment to "jumping off a two-story building with 600 pounds of equipment."

Throughout the morning the wind picks up, to a rip roaring 25k. Great for sailing; not so for retrieving divers and dinghies. The afternoon dive is abandoned and instead R/V Nancy Foster undertakes more multi-beaming exercises, utilizing the state-of-the-art equipment upgraded this past winter.

Multi-beaming is a form of echolocation which uses a 'fan' of beams to map the ocean floor. Out here, Paula Whitfield [NOAA Chief Scientist] is looking for the kind of hard bottoms and structure the lionfish like to hang out on, for further studies. Everything we do is oriented toward finding out the most information possible about this fish: where it lives, what it eats, how it reproduces, whether it is thriving ... and tomorrow, we just may even find out how it tastes.

Non-native Lionfish invade the Atlantic

Revisiting a blog I did for the Lionfish documentary shoot 07/27/2006

Topside research scientist James Morris' excitement is palpable. An earlier lionfish retrieval hadn't yielded what he was looking for: eggs and sperm to fertilize, to incubate lionfish larvae. But now Christine Addison, scientist and diver, proudly hands him a lionfish plump with eggs. She's just brought it up from a 120-foot dive on the reefs off North Carolina where beneath the endless blue waves and rich Gulf Stream waters, is a hidden Garden of Eden of the sea.

We set sail today promptly at 0900 aboard the R/V Nancy Foster. This 187-foot reincarnated Navy ship is massive, with so many levels I continually get lost, walking into walls and doors, up and down stairs, in and out (it seems) of the same room, through various head-banging hatches. Steaming out past Fort Macon, we did fire drills and abandon ship drills (including mandatory donning of our 'Gumby suits' - oversized orange neoprene survival suits with built-in footies and mittens that make getting in and out of them next to impossible), on our way to the specific sites where earlier research has been done.

Everyone is so excited to see what has changed and what has stayed the same; to gather their data, their temperature gauges, their eggs, and do their counts. I guess the thing that has struck me strongest so far is how excited everyone is! How enthusiastic and passionate they are about their part in the puzzling proliferation of this Indo-Pacific species in the coastal Atlantic.

And their enthusiasm is contagious. Norb Wu, our underwater cinematographer, does two underwater dives today and works endlessly to perfect his housing. Topside cinematographer, Curtis Callaway and I stay up 'til 2100, trying to light and film a beaker of eggs, reveling in the fact that today, the scientists think they may have solved a mystery about the lionfish' egg sacks.

Exhausted with the excitement and anticipation of the day, I tiptoe into the bunkroom I share with three other gals, slip in to my bottom bunk (more head-banging) and hurry to sleep, anxious for what the new day will bring. - Betsy Crowfoot

Martini Shake-Off - Feb. 9!

The Nauti Chica Women’s Sailing Team is hosting a Martini Shake-Off cocktail contest and party to kick off our 2008/2009 Sailing Campaign Saturday Feb. 9 at Dana Point **

You be the judge of our complimentary concoctions served by the crew:

• Light appetizers, no-host bar, music, dancing, and prizes
• Videos and displays of our previous women’s Transpac adventures
• Team merchandise
• Modest cover charge and other details to be announced ($25-30)

Net proceeds will go to support race specific costs such as entry fees, deliveries, professional coaching. Sponsorship and charitable contribution opportunities are available. Contact me for more info at crazeemermaid@yahoo.com

Our program is to work hard and practice often during this two year campaign to win the Transpac in 09 and the LB Women’s One Design in 08, while inspiring young women sailors to do the same.

Race Schedule 2008/2009
March 28 Corona del Mar to Cabo (J35 Predator)
April 25 Ensenada - 2 boat campaign: Predator and Rattle & Hum
May 29 Puerto Vallarta Women’s OD
August Santa Barbara King Harbor (The new boat?)
October Long Beach Women’s OD (Cat 37)
Feb 09 Newport to Cabo
July 09 Transpacfic Yacht Race to Hawaii

Thank you in advance for your support!

**The Dana Point Marina Inn is within walking distance and will offer a “Dana Point Yacht Club” discounted rate the night of the event

Rhymes with 'Maybe Boats' ...

Baby Goats! One of Coco's goats, Tana, has had her babies. How adorable! We heard them bleating insistently this morning when we were walking toward the farm, and Coco took off running. 'Must have been recently born as one was still kind of wet and wobbly. Then we had some clean-up to do, secured the pens with chicken wire, got ready for the coming rainstorm, etc. Something different and fun for us!
Both (girls) are feeding well, tottering around, and look healthy. Now we are on standby for Missy (our foster-goat) who looks like she has two watermelons tucked in her sides, and need to see if Kiki is pregnant too (or just fat).