The ship "Delaware II'' left Key West, Fla., today to collect tunas, swordfish and sharks to help determine the conditions the highly migratory species are experiencing in waters around the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill site, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
During its two-week mission the ship use longline fishing gear to capture the fish and will assess their environment using sophisticated water chemistry monitoring instruments, NOAA said. Every effort will be made to release any animals caught but not needed for sampling. Some of the fish might also be fitted with satellite tags to help determine how much time they spend in oiled and unoiled waters.
Two other NOAA ships, "Pisces,'' and "Oregon II,'' are in the midst of surveys of reef fish, bottom-dwelling fish, and shrimp in the eastern and western Gulf of Mexico to sample for seafood and water quality and species abundance as part of the oil spill response.
A fourth NOAA ship, the "Gordon Gunter,'' is in the Gulf surveying marine mammals. Researchers are taking biopsy and water samples for analysis and placing satellite tags on some animals to learn more about how they move between oiled and unoiled waters. The ship is also placing underwater listening devices on the ocean floor in the survey area. These will be left for up to four months, recording the vocalizations of marine mammals so researchers can better understand which species are present, the agency said.
Finally, a sixth NOAA survey vessel, "Nancy Foster,'' departs Miami next week for a mission to better understand the Gulf's loop current and how it may change over time, as well as to sample planktonic animals potentially affected by the spill.