Summer 2003
Summer 2003 Abstracts

Donald Charity

Willie Gilchrist
L. Creekmore
Vincent Davis
Danielle Graves
Carl Seward
Eunice Smith
Nelson Veale
A. Anderson
Zaccheus Eley
Cory Hill
Karitsa Williams
Tracey Ward
Golar Newby
 

Tracey Ward 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.