Today I got to work with Vin Malkoski, and the Division of Marine fisheries (DMF)! The DMF is a body of government which manages the states commercial and recreational fisheries, as well as other marine environments and communities. Vin is the Senior Biologist as well as the Dive Safety Officer for the DMF. I met with Vin at the DMF in order to firstly get a tour around his office, as well as to prep the boat for today. The goal was to visit 3 different coastal sites, taking both water and samples of quahogs from each site. Quahogs are a type of hard clam, and a staple for most New England seafoods! While walking through the building, we met up with Neil, who would also be helping out today.
The first thing we needed to do was load up the boat and attach the trailer to the truck, Vin and Neil helped show me the steps, and once our gear and the boat was loaded, we were off. The first site was the easiest to sample, Vin and I both got dressed up, and then waded into chest deep water with rakes and bags to collect the samples. While we were raking for the quahogs, I asked Vin what the samples were going to be used for. These samples were apparently going to be used to test the PCB levels in the water. PCB’s are carcinogenic chemicals released from nearby industrial processes. Once Vin and I got our samples, we headed back to shore to move to the next site!
The second site required use of our tin boat, so we launched it from a boat ramp and were on our way. At this site, Vin and I used SCUBA gear to search in around 10-15 feet of water, while Neil provided support from the boat. Vin and I hoped in and were able to find all our of samples relatively easily. It was interesting how many of the quahogs were sitting right on the surface instead of being buried into the substrate. In order to get back on the boat, we had to remove our gear, and climb over the edge. I had never done this before so I’m sure it wasn’t graceful, but definitely a learning experience!
The final site we had to sample from was definitely the most interesting! While it didn’t require SCUBA gear, the sediment at the bottom was so fine we had to wear our fins like snowshoes so we didn’t sink into it! Vin and I looked for a while, eventually finding all of the samples we needed, and not loosing out fins to the quicksand-like silt. Due to how fine the silt was, this was definitely the most time consuming part of the day, and messiest for sure! In all it was still super interesting and enjoyable to take part in the more laborious parts of science, and learn all the while.
Once we had completed the work at all three sites, we drove back to the Division of Marine Fisheries, and got to work cleaning the mud we had brought back onto the boat. We then made sure all of the samples were tagged and secured so for transport, and the day was done. Thank you so much to Vin and Neil for a fun and insightful day, and a special thanks to Neil for the photos!