Mission Logs from NOAA research vessel R/V Nancy Foster in its expedition from July 27 to August 4, 2006.
Betsy Crowfoot, EISF's journalist, participated in this exciting voyage to investigate the Indio-Pacific red lionfish invasion into U.S. Atlantic coastal areas. Betsy posted Blogs "live" daily to inform us about her at-sea experience and new scientific discoveries from this mission's research.
After successfully writing a grant proposal for the NOAA Sea Grant & The Aquatic Invasive Species Program, Susan Sember and Dr. Bud Cross, in collaboration with NOAA research biologist Paula Whitfield, see the lionfish educational and outreach objectives begin to materialize today in a dynamic and wide-reaching way. Months of research and communication with the NOAA scientists, as well as with the medical, SCUBA, fishing, aquarium and the coastal target communities, lead now to the production of our high definition products. In addition, the opportunity to be a part of the R/V Nancy Foster lionfish research cruise provides an unmatched platform for this vitally important invasive species subject matter.
Susan Sember, President and Founder of EISF and Executive Producer on the Lionfish Project; Betsy Crowfoot, writer; Dr. Bud Cross, EISF Scientific Advisor; Norbert Wu, underwater high definition cinematographer; and Curtis Callaway, topside high definition cinematographer all head to North Carolina to participate in the NOAA lionfish research cruise today. A bit tired from the intense preparation for this production shoot but running on excitement and adrenalin, the team-each flying from different cities and every part of the country-heads to the east coast in great anticipation of discovering the “Lions of the Deep.”
The morning begins with a very informative on-camera interview with Morehead City physician, Dr. Jeff Anderson. Dr. Anderson, intimately involved with the SCUBA community, discusses the potential health hazards of the invasive lionfish and the recommended treatment for envenomation (lionfish stings).
Lionfish stings are excruciatingly painful and are a new marine-related injury, previously not encountered by Atlantic coast physicians and first responders. As such, the footage from Dr. Anderson’s interview is a valuable resource for the medical communities, as well as those in the SCUBA, fishing and coastal communities.
While Curtis, Susan and Betsy were at Dr. Anderson’s office, Norb was with the Beaufort Lab’s Dive Master and scientist, Pete Parker, having his final dive and swim “check-out.” Prior to launching our trip, Pete and the NOAA Chief of Operations, Dave Dinsmore, as well as Doug Kesling, the research diving coordinator of the Foster cruise and others, aptly provided the professional and expert knowledge to lead us through the complex process of getting our underwater cinematographer, Norb, certified to be able to dive off of the NOAA vessels. Norb has gone through the arduous process of becoming NOAA-certified to dive off of the NOAA vessels and with the NOAA scientists on this trip…lots of paperwork, letters regarding scientific diving experience, decompression with oxygen/first aid/CPR certifications, medical exam, written NOAA dive exam, and more. He passes with flying colors and the underwater shoot is now definitely on!
Two local college students, Patrick Moore and Alex Heller, join our team as production assistants during the afternoon topside production shoots. EISF has a mission of mentoring young people interested in film making and marine science and these two soaked up every word and experience of the day, while providing additional assistance on location.
With Curtis doing the topside cinematography, our writer, Betsy Crowfoot interviews Dr. David Johnson, the NOAA Beaufort Lab Director, in the afternoon. The Beaufort Lab is the second oldest federal marine research laboratory in the nation, founded in 1899. The lab is uniquely situated at a location on the east coast where two biologic and geographic areas overlap, i.e. where northern and southern species inter-mix. The Gulf Stream represents an extension of tropical and sub-tropical habitats with species that one would typically imagine reside only in the Caribbean. Yet, these exotic and captivating species reside in the waters, nestled amongst the shipwrecks, rocky reefs and tropical corals of North Carolina. Because of its proximity and abundance of lionfish off the North Carolina coast, the NOAA CCFHR (Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research, a/k/a the Beaufort Lab) has become the predominant federal marine laboratory to study the lionfish invasion.
Dr. Johnson, a very articulate and forward thinking manager, eloquently presents the numerous benefits of high definition in scientific research during his on-camera interview, as well. Susan, having visited the Beaufort Lab on other North Carolina trips and establishing numerous collaborations with Dr. Cross and the lab scientists there, views Dr. Johnson’s vision and pro-technology attitude as a real plus in EISF’s partnership with the NOAA CCFHR.
Later in the afternoon, scientist Jennifer Potts is interviewed on the knoll outside of Duke’s marine laboratory overlooking the water, with the historical Front Street of Beaufort in the background. What an inspiring example of women in marine science she is and she advises young girls interested in following her footsteps to “persevere!” Jennifer studies the aging and growth of the lionfish. Initial analysis of the samples suggests that lionfish off the coast of North Carolina have not been there for very many years. The aging is determined through the examination of the otoliths (the ear stones) of the lionfish which is analogous to counting the rings of a tree. The lionfish in North Carolina, having no predators, are also larger than the Indio-Pacific lionfish found in their indigenous habitats. Jennifer also explains that the lionfish in the Atlantic are growing at a faster rate as they haven’t any known competition for food and habitat. The economic impact of the lionfish on recreational and commercial fisheries, like the groupers, is also an important research study for the future. The recreational and commercial fishing communities have been a critical source of information regarding the proliferation of the lionfish in the local fisheries’ waters.
At the end of the day, the EISF team heads to the NOAA R/V Nancy Foster for a pre-cruise briefing and to load the equipment for the next day’s sail.
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 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, our underwater cinematographer, does two underwater dives today and works endlessly to perfect his housing. Topside cinematographer, Curtis 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
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 films the early morning (0630) plankton tow: a search for lionfish larvae, while Norb 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; or as he puts it "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 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.
[Editor's note: Paula Whitfield is the NOAA mission's chief scientist; Curtis Callaway and Norbert Wu are EISF's high definition cinematographers]
Meanwhile, back in Beaufort at the NOAA Lab, Susan Sember and Bud Cross are coordinating logistics of the lionfish production, working on several other high definition documentary projects, including their Florida red tide film and writing several more grant proposals....
Somewhat disappointed that they were unable to go out to sea with the rest of their film production crew, Bud and Susan are rewarded, however, with an unanticipated "up close and personal" encounter with a lionfish. Just as Bud and Susan are exiting the Lab, a NOAA employee shouts, "We have a commercial fisherman out in the parking lot with a lionfish!"
Several go out to meet Milton Mathis, a long time North Carolina fisherman. This is actually the second lionfish he's caught. The first was last year. He brought that one to the Lab for reporting and examination by the NOAA scientists, as well. The lionfish he has with him today was caught hook and line using a cigar minnow as bait. It was caught six miles off of Cape Lookout at a depth of nine fathoms.
The NOAA scientists weigh Milton's catch. It's 2.66 pounds and 17 inches long. Milton tells Susan, "The lionfish I caught last year was forty miles offshore. This one was only six miles off the coast. They're getting closer, bigger and more abundant. I wish I had had a video camera when this one was alive swimming, she was a beauty!"
Just wait, Milton ... our underwater cinematographer, Norb Wu, will have lots of high definition video of the lionfish for you to see!
[Editor's note: Photo of R/V Nancy Foster aft deck by Curtis Callaway; photo of fisherman Milton's lionfish catch by Curtis Lewis, NOAA]
Chief Scientist Paula Whitfield popped up from the RIB (the accompanying dive boat to the R/V Nancy Foster) onto the deck of R/V NANCY FOSTER beaming. ‘We hit the mother lode,’ she announced, in her eternally 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.
[Editor's note: Photo of Paula Whitfield preparing to dive, with Doug Kesling and Norbert Wu in background, by Curtis Callaway; underwater photo of Paula Whitfield taking a video of a lionfish by Doug Kesling]
Day 4 is dawning and the residents of R/V NANCY FOSTER are already scurrying about. Scientists up for the plankton tow (looking for lionfish larvae) search for the sun too, as it allegedly rises at 0617.
A buoy drop is next on the agenda.
In this part of the Atlantic lionfish reside on the coral reefs, rocky ledges, shipwrecks and other man-made artifacts along the Gulf Stream. Buoy drops are crucial; as Chief Scientist Paula Whitfield attempts to place the marks at the exact spot where prior research has taken place - so the team can compare ‘apples to apples’.
Nighttime multi-beaming gives Paula the precise outline of the ledges and reefs - armed with this, the latitude and longitude, and real-time echolocation - Christine Addison and Jennifer Dorton prepare to fling the anchor and buoy into the sea.
R/V NANCY FOSTER is a huge ship and the currents strong.
It takes a lot of effort to get this 187-foot behemoth to the exact location. Missing a buoy drop by a few beats might seem slight to the ship, but to a diver underwater it is critical, to maximize the brief 30-minute window they have to spy on the lionfish undersea.
There are two dives each in the morning and the afternoon, with the separate purposes of surveying, and collecting lionfish.
Today’s collection nets nearly 30 lionfish, and they are literally ‘stuffed to the gills’ with food.
As tiny fish after fish is pulled from the stomach of the lionfish, the team gets excited over the valuable input this provides on feeding habits; and clues as to what species the lionfish might impact via consumption, or competition for food.
Today is my last day with the lionfish team. Tomorrow Curtis Callaway, cinematographer, and I will be transferred off the R/V NANCY FOSTER and shipped home. Our other cinematographer Norbert Wu will stay aboard to capture more underwater high definition film.
My emotions are mixed. I'm anxious to get home to my family and home in California - but I’ve grown fond of my shipmates, and of life on an expansive sea. And I’ve finally gotten used to the rolling motion of R/V NANCY FOSTER; the strange rumbles and groans of a ship underway; and even the famed ‘Foster shudder’ that reverberates through the ship from the mast when the bow hits a wave. I’ve even learned to sleep through it.
[Editor's note: Christine Addison is a NOAA scientist & diver; Jennifer Dorton is the Outreach & Education Coordinator of the Coastal Ocean Research and Monitoring Program for the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. Photographs by Curtis Callaway]
“It’s not all about the divers,” Christine Addison explained as she leapt back aboard the R/V NANCY FOSTER.
It was an interesting statement from Christine, who had just surfaced from a half-hour lionfish survey in 120 feet of water (plus an equal amount of time in decompression). As much as we had been eager to hear her lionfish reports, she had made an interesting point.
Without the dive operations team facilitating with equipment and logistics, and ensuring the safety of the scientists; and without a well-oiled machine like the R/V NANCY FOSTER to carry them 60-miles offshore to the research site; the divers would be like ‘fish out of water’. It would be impossible for them to embark on the kind of extreme diving expeditions necessary to perform the critical survey and collection missions they were undertaking four times each day.
We spoke with Doug Kesling, whose monumental task has been to coordinate and oversee the dive ops aboard R/V NANCY FOSTER. Doug comes from the NOAA Undersea Resource Center (NURC) and has technically trained all of the divers for the ‘extreme’ conditions they would see on the trip.
‘Extreme’ as in long bottom times. ‘Extreme’ as in depths up to 150 feet. ‘Extreme’ as in deploying off the steel deck of a 187-foot moving vessel, in to rough ocean waters and strong currents, with 150-lbs of gear strapped to their backs.
“Safety is paramount; science is secondary,” is Doug’s mantra. He has parlayed a love for SCUBA diving and fascination with marine sciences into a long career that focuses on this type of research and exploration.
Doug remarked that R/V NANCY FOSTER was a well-suited platform for these kinds of operations. Sturdy, long-ranged, self-sufficient; she has compressors, equipment, utility boats and a diver staging area that’s functional, secure, and safe.
So it wasn’t unusual that safety-conscious Doug was standing by when cinematographer Curtis Callaway and I were disembarking R/V NANCY FOSTER to one of the smaller dive tenders, to get a lift back to the Morehead City, NC after five days of filming.
We were scheduled to transfer to a 47-foot US Coast Guard rescue boat.
Transfer, as in transferring funds, or transferring files, is swift. Effortless. But this was intense. Heralding the low dark clouds that were swiftly approaching were rough, choppy seas. Our low-lying tender and high profile USCG vessel handled the swells differently, and tangoed wildly on the sea. R/V NANCY FOSTER Captain James Verlaque instantly called us back to the mother ship, to attempt a safe transfer from there.
We reboarded R/V NANCY FOSTER to cheers – by now the entire crew had lined the deck; even master cook David Fare had left the galley, his apron still on, to observe.
Bags were offloaded and rewrapped in plastic (I think to keep them wet, as everything was already drenched from bouncy ride). The USCG pulled their vessel alongside the massive R/V NANCY FOSTER -- fenders fending, gunwales banging -- but somehow Capt. Verlaque and the USCG managed to hold steady as the crews loaded the massive camera-laden trunks and equipment aboard the lurching deck. The skies crackled with lightening and the first fat drops of rain plummeted, as strapping young Coast Guardsmen steadied us aboard.
Then we were off: on a wet and wild ride back to port, eager to tell the story of our adventure on the lionfish expedition.
Underwater cinematographer Norbert Wu stayed behind to film the final four days of research, and will carry on this email blog. Stay tuned for Norb’s dispatches from the R/V NANCY FOSTER.
Signing off – Betsy Crowfoot
[Editor's note: Photo of Christine Addison waiting to dive by Curtis Callaway; photo of Paula Whitfield conducting a video transect by Doug Kesling; photo of USCG transfer by Barry King]
Underwater cinematographer Norbert Wu joined the lionfish collection team on two dives today in the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
At the first, a shipwreck in 18 fathoms (108 ft) of water, Norb reported, “There was a severe thermocline at about 100 feet. Below this, the water was very cold, green, and full of marine snow.” A thermocline is a temperature transition zone between warmer surface water and colder deep water.
“I followed Brian Degan around a bit and got shots of Brian spearing lionfish.” The collection of lionfish for dissection is critical to understanding their genetic history, reproductive systems, and what they eat. “At one point, a sand tiger shark was harassing him a bit for his fish.” Brian, one of the NOAA Beaufort Lab technicians, started diving just three years ago, and swiftly advanced to technical diving.
Norb filmed Dr. Wilson Freshwater too, collecting algae samples for fellow University of North Carolina researchers while an audience of spadefish watched.
Later in the day the team dove again, this time on the CITY OF HOUSTON – a freighter that sank in 1878. It was one of the team’s shallower dives, at 90 feet, in waters full of a myriad of small tropical fish – but no lionfish. Few of the dives have produced no lionfish, so it was good news for the environment … but disappointing for the ‘guts and gizzards team’ waiting topside for specimens to dissect.
[Editors note: Photo of Norb Wu by Doug Kesling]
“Excellent weather. Flat, calm seas.”
Weather conditions are critical to the team aboard R/V NANCY FOSTER on the lionfish ‘safari’. Calm seas mean ease in maneuvering the massive research vessel to the exact marker location; straightforward deployment of tenders and divers; safe retrieval of divers and equipment – including cinematographer Norbert Wu’s 80-lb enclosed HD camera and lights.
The team has been watching the seasonal development of low pressure systems such as Tropical Storm Chris, which luckily is fizzling to the south. But although this year’s hurricane season is expected to be much less fierce than last year’s, the threat remains.
So it was no surprise Wu began today’s report with a glowing account of the weather.
Calmer waters and less current also translate to better visibility, and Wu returned to the survey dive team better able to focus on close-up shots of lionfish in their adopted habitat.
But visibility and high definition (HD) video technology aren’t just important to the film-making team. HD video has a valuable place in research – allowing scientists to remotely view the features of the lionfish’ habitat; do thorough surveys of the subject, their food sources, and other species they might impact; and study the behaviors and characteristics of the lionfish. The high definition format is dramatically superior in resolution, color and detail - again, providing significant benefits to the scientists as compared with the standard definition digital video or film.
High definition is, additionally, superior to any other format when working in low light or turbid conditions underwater. HD video can also bring the entire research team to the ocean floor – virtually – where they too can study the lionfish, while still staying completely dry. EISF’s Media Bank technology further allows the scientists, along with the film makers-to review the HD footage, utilizing it for research purposes, annotating it and requesting dubs or copies of the footage, stills and audio.
[Editor's note: Underwater photos by Doug Kesling]
Final days, final dives…
Day Eight‘s dive was right on the money. Cinematographer Norbert Wu filmed Chief Scientist Paula Whitfield as she discovered the temperature sensor from last year’s survey, right next to the anchor line.
“I retrieved a temperature sensor from a site that is one of the farthest from land, and the temperature did not go below 60F all winter long,” Paula noted. “This is definitely warm enough for year-round survival of lionfish and other tropical species.”
Scientists have wondered whether the summertime expansion of the lionfish range can be maintained during the cold winter months. Apparently in some spots, along the warm Gulf Stream currents, they can – even at depths of 145 feet.
In addition to the success of the ‘treasure hunt’ for the temperature sensor though, the ability to return to the exact same location year to year is, in itself, a plus for scientists -- as it provides the most accurate picture of the lionfish ‘invasion’.
“But no more: the densities are climbing. We saw lionfish at all these locations.”
That pretty much summed up the preliminary findings of the 2006 lionfish research cruise aboard the R/V NANCY FOSTER. Lionfish seem to be here to stay.
“All in all a very successful cruise,” said Paula after the final dive of the day. “We’ve collected 120 lionfish specimens, for reproductive, diet and other life history examination.
“We’re heading back tomorrow after one last dive,” she smiles, contemplating what last potential discovery on that day, may be revealed.
[Editor's Note: Photograph of Paula Whitfield by Curtis Callaway]It’s the final day of the lionfish research cruise.
The last dive starts early in the morning in darkness, making it difficult to find last year's survey site. The scientists and our underwater cinematographer, Norb, discover, however, a new site that has, according to Norb, “a ton of lionfish.” Norb captures some engaging shots of the lionfish hunting in groups of three and four. The team’s persistence…and patience has paid off.
“Patience is one of the best attributes a wildlife or underwater cinematographer can have,” says Susan Sember, EISF President. “Cinematographers wait for the right light; they wait for the selected species to appear; they wait for the desired animal behavior to occur; they wait for inclimate weather to pass; they wait for the hours to pass when they can make their next dive; and they wait for the often delayed planes and lost baggage to show up.”
Yet, there is that element of surprise, intuition and a passion to make things happen that is also coupled with intense preparation and research, discipline, artistic vision and technical expertise that all factor in with that patience, as well.
As the last EISF member remaining on the cruise, Norb arrives with Paula Whitfield and her scientific team back to Morehead City, via the NOAA ship, the R/V Nancy Foster. He then must wait 24 hours, due to diver decompression limitations, after his last dive to fly home to California. There is the reward and satisfaction of new discoveries, new collaborations, new areas of research and a job well done.
Meanwhile, Curtis Callaway, our topside cinematographer is already home in Texas, reviewing the topside tapes and still photographs he shot.
He reflects, “Our writer, Betsy, a real trooper, and I were running non-stop from 0545 to 2300 with very few breaks between except for the “mandatory meal times”, which were usually brief with discussions of our next shot. The days were really long but with all of the excitement and enthusiasm from the scientists we never even noticed. Interviews, topside dive ops, shipboard activities, work in both wet and dry labs, macro photography, production stills, ship shots and much more were all critical components that had to be covered. The ship was continually filled with activity and everyone had their focused tasks and responsibilities."
It was non-stop shooting to get all of the scientists’ and divers’ activities, along with the ship’s personnel’s activities and then, our entire behind the scenes.” “It was truly satisfying to see how much these scientists recognized the power of imagery for both research and outreach purposes. When we weren’t knocking off our “shot list” and capturing all of the activities, the scientists were shouting, like excited kids, to shoot this or that. It was wonderful! They also got the “high definition fever”, too, seeing, immediately, the benefits of the format’s high resolution, low light capabilities and immersive nature.”
Curtis, also an underwater cinematographer, as well as a topside cameraperson, spent many years diving in the Indo-Pacific around the native lionfish but said, before this trip, “I knew very little about them other than they are great subjects to photograph, they are venomous and you don’t touch! This trip was such a thrill to be a part of since it was what the scientists refer to as ‘working on the edge.’ Instead of following the work of other scientists, you have a chance to break new ground and discover new things that have never been seen before. This is critically important research these people are doing and the invasive species issue is one that most of our country is unaware of and the need for education, outreach and research is huge.”
But the work on our invasive lionfish project is only beginning. There will be additional production, editing and post-production, further writing, and creation of the lionfish educational and outreach products and continuing partnerships with the scientists.
Dr. Bud Cross, Scientific Advisor to EISF, also notes, that “the scientists will be able to review and utilize the high definition footage from this trip for their research purposes, as well. The high definition video, still photographs and audio will be reviewed, logged, transcribed and annotated for "A" clips of interesting lionfish identification and behavior, habitat review, scientific interviews and more, all correlated to location, through EISF’s Media Bank."
Dan Powell, EISF Web Master and Director of Marine Operations, will also be integrating the GIS (geo-interspatial) components of the Media Bank with this lionfish imagery for additional use in the future.
“So, although today marks the end of one chapter of the lionfish project, it also marks the beginning of another: bringing these extraordinary high definition images and messages to people across the nation," says Susan Sember, “and we are very pleased to be in partnership with the NOAA Beaufort Lab to do so”!
[Editor's note: Photos by Curtis Callaway. Also check out the NOAA mission logs of the R/V Nancy Foster at "2006 Lionfish Cruise Logs".]