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Tracey Ward
Mentor: Dr.Correigh Greene
Internship: NW Fisheries Science Center, Seattle,
WA
Title: Fishery Stock Assesment
During the summer of 2003 I participated
in a research program with NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Association) at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in
Seattle, Washington. My research was on the life span and
abundance of juvenile salmon. The main focus of the program
was directed to two types of salmon, the Coho and Chinook
salmon.
The first week of the internship was spent in the lab dissecting
salmon from earlier catches of the year. During the dissection,
the kidney, otolith (ear bone), stomach and fins of the fish
were removed for future testing. Each part of the fish was
measured and/or weighed and placed in small tubes to be kept
on ice. I also spent time on the research vessel used to collect
the sample salmon used for testing. The tow net was used to
trawl the bottom of the Bellingham Bay and other waters along
the Washington coast and inland waterways. The net was pulled
behind the research vessel and a smaller boat to cover a large
region of the water. After the net was brought up to the boat
the catch was put into separates containers according to the
tow number. The catch was sorted and the salmon was separated
and kept on the boat while other species were measured, weighed,
recorded, and thrown back. Some biopsies were performed on
board of the research vessel. The crew consisted of about
eight people. The remainder of my time in Seattle was spent
in the office documenting the catches and putting them in
spreadsheets according to site locations. My overall experience
was great. I would recommend to any one who wants some hands-on
experience in the fields of fisheries to go to Seattle to
gain this knowledge and experience.
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