"So here we are again, a mix of Cefas and JNCC staff ready for another busy couple of weeks onboard Cefas Endeavour. On this survey we will be visiting a few of the recommended Marine Conservation Zones (rMCZs) to collect data to verify the presence and extent of features of interest.
If you want to learn more about the process that led to the recommendation of these sites, visit the JNCC website for more information. On the first two weeks of this survey we will be visiting rMCZ sites in the Irish Sea. To avoid a very long steam from Lowestoft, all staff travelled to Swansea to join the vessel. This means that within a couple of hours we will be at our first survey site where the work can begin.
Recently a new multibeam echosounder and a few other pieces of equipment were fitted to the vessel, so the first job will be a thorough test and calibration to make sure everything is working satisfactory. Once completed, we will start collecting seabed samples to tell us more about the physical and biological character of the sites. Whilst we steam to our first site everyone is busy getting all our equipment ready to go, from computers to sample pots to sieving tables to connecting cables. So I'll leave it at this and go down to help the team.
More tomorrow!
