For my next day at the New England Aquarium, I was lucky enough to get to shadow the caretakers of the Penguin Exhibits! The aquarium is home to about 50 penguins, including a mix of African Penguins and Southern Rockhoppers, with each individual penguin being marked by a colored band in order to make them more easily recognizable. My day started with a general tour of the exhibit, highlighting the individual structures and facilities unique to each species section, as well as some of the systems that make maintaining the exhibit easier (Such as concealed sprinklers to clean up after the penguins). Once we finished the tour, I got to see how the penguins food was prepped for the day! The penguins get a filling serving of fish, and have the species of fish cycled through to ensure they all get plenty of nutrients that they may need while living in the Aquarium!
Once the food was all prepared, we got suited up to head into the exhibit. Because the water is pretty brisk, the staff and volunteers working in the water normally wear 7mm wetsuits, so that they aren’t worried at all about being cold after a decent amount of time moving around. Once we were ready, we hopped on in! The first task on schedule for the staff today was a feeding, so we moved through the exhibit until we got to a rocky island that seemed conducive to for anything else going on in the exhibit, such as cleanings. Feeding the African Penguins was super interesting to watch and help with, since the penguins are basically fed until their full, and they tend to swim away once their full, making it simple to know who needs to eat. I was able to help as the scribe, keeping a tally of how much each penguin ate, which would be logged later as a record of each individual penguins’ diet!
Once the penguins were all full from breakfast, I got to help clean some of the Southern Rockhopper exhibits rock scapes. The exhibits are all cleaned by not only chipping away at any physical debris left on the islands, but also by scrubbing them down with a sterilizing agent to make sure there’s no bacteria or anything else left on the rocks’ surfaces.
We scrubbed the exhibits for a little while, and then it was time for the penguin’s enrichment. Because the penguins are kept in the same exhibit all day, its important for them to get enrichment through either visual, tactile, or other stimulations to keep their skills sharp. I got to shadow the exhibit’s enrichment coordinator for the sessions, and luckily she said I was there on the most fun day! Today was bubble day, which meant we would be blowing bubbles at/around the penguins for them to not only chase said bubbles, but to also work on a behavior called “tracking,” which is the penguins following an object with their eyes while being stationary. Blowing the penguin-safe bubbles around was super fun, especially when they would get curious enough to chase them.
Once their enrichment was completed, I got an amazing tour of how the animals are taken care of at both a young age prior to entering the exhibit, as well as any individuals which may be having issues with the rest of the colony or environment. All of the penguins at the New England Aquarium are taken care of in both a preventative, as well as a remedial stance, and it is absolutely amazing to see how much effort is put into keeping them as healthy as they can be. Thank you so much to the penguin team for a once in a lifetime day!
For an adventure closer to home, I got to spend time at the New England Aquarium! For my first day, I met up with Dan Dolan at the Aquarium’s Husbandry Facility! Dan has been a volunteer diver for the aquarium for many years, and for the past few years has been working at their offsite facility. For the first half of my day, I got to spend some an amazing time with the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehab Facility! I met some of the amazing staff and volunteers who make the entire facility run, and got to learn all about their day to day work. The Rescue and Rehab program has been ongoing for over 25 years, working to rehabilitate Sea Turtles that become cold-stunned when they are caught in Cape Cod bay, as well as helping turtles with a number of other injuries.
It was interesting to see all of the observation and care that goes into each turtles rehabilitation, with the staff and volunteers noting everything from their swimming habits to dietary changes, and more; especially since there were two different species at the facility! I was also lucky enough to get to help feed the sea turtles. Each of them ate a mixture of food and we made a sure every turtle ate its share for the day. Once the turtles were fed and happy, it was time for their exams! Some of the turtles had general checks, while a few were getting prepared to be released soon. Thanks to some guidance from the aquariums vet staff, I got to help hold the turtles while they were being inspected! It was super interesting to see how some of the procedures went, especially the process of tagging the turtles!
Sea Turtle Rescue and Rehab Facility Photo by Vanessa Khan, from the New England Aquarium Website
I finished up with the team for the day, and then I got to spend some time with the husbandry division! Dan gave me a quick tour of the facilities, and we even got to watch some target feeding training for animals which could be soon released into the Aquarium’s exhibit! After watching such a cool demonstration, Dan and I spent some time cleaning some of the holding tanks in the facility. The biggest problem for these tanks is the growth of algae while they sit in the bright light, so Dan works hard to make sure they are scrubbed clean and ready for any animals that may need to find a home in them. Cleaning the tanks was really satisfying, and super fun when we had some of their newer animals swimming around and investigating us while we cleaned!
Once our day at the facility was done, Dan and his wife were kind enough to take me out to dinner with them. I had some amazing food at a local restaurant in Quincy, and was able to meet a ton of their friends at a really cool beachside venue where we listened to one of their friends play in a band. In all my first day with the New England Aquarium was super interesting, and I cannot wait to see what the next few days have in store.
After completing an amazing week with Holly Bourbon at the National Aquarium, I got to head right into my next assignment. I got picked up from the aquarium and we started the journey to our new home for the week. After picking up another member of our crew from the airport, we arrived at our hotel and got unpacked for the fun week of work ahead! The International Sub Races are a biennial event in which students from around the world are challenged to design, build, and then race a human powered submarine. The event is sponsored by FURE, the Foundation for Underwater Research and Education, and held at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division. For this week I got to join Vin, Kim, Bobbie, Ryan, Jessa, and Lissette as a member of the dive staff! At the races, the dive staff works with the help of the the Navy and other volunteer divers to ensure the races go smoothly and all of the contestants are safe in the water!
For our first day at the facility, we spent the bulk of the time setting up the dive station. This included a medical station for any emergency we may have to deal with, a method of organizing divers’ ID’s while they’re in the water, as well as all our or personal gear. After the station was all set up, I got to meet some of the Carderock staff, some of which are even previous contestants at the sub races!
The races themselves are held in the David Taylor Model Basin, which was a super impressive body of water which is twenty two feet deep, fifty feet wide, and over a half mile long! Prior to all of the contestants arriving, we all got into the water to go for a dive and make sure the bottom of the basin was clear of any major debris. We swam the length of the basin in a line as to not miss anything, and picked up a shocking amount of zip ties from previous races.
Once our dive was finished, we headed back to the hotel to organize some paperwork, and got to sit in on the briefing for the contestants participating in the races. It was super interesting to learn more about the history of the races, and even get a better idea about how the general procedure works with sub inspections and more! After hearing from a list of distinguished FURE board members, we went to get dinner at the local Thai restaurant. It was a great first day with everyone, and I look forward to the week ahead!
Day 2
After a nice breakfast at the hotel, we were on our way back to Carderock. We all got their nice and early to prepare for everyone to arrive. Bobbie and I went through paperwork we had received prior, making sure we had all of the forms for both contestants and volunteer divers. This ensured that no one who had a possible medical condition or even the risk of one would be allowed in the water, as well as verifying that every diver was certified and safe! Once we had all of the paperwork prepared, we got ready to take on the rush of divers coming in, this included a station where we could inspect the tanks that divers brought with them, ensuring they were all within visual and hydrostatic inspection, and had no obvious causes for concern.
With everything ready to go, Kim, Jessa and Lissette began taking in the volunteer divers for checkout dives! The purpose of the checkout dives was to guarantee that divers were confident in their skills, that way they could work together on their submarines underwater.
After a fun day at the base, it was time to head back to the hotel. Here we were able to sit through a briefing given by both Navy staff, as well as FURE members. This meeting was super helpful to listen too, as it provided a great outline for how the week would go! Contestants go through a series of presentations and inspections leading up to their races in order to ensure the submarines work as designed and that the Navy is comfortable recovering divers from each sub.
We listened intently to all of the briefings presenters, including staff who had previously been a contestant in the races! Once the briefing was concluded, A few of us went out to enjoy a nice dinner before an even busier day tomorrow.
Day 3
Time for contestants to arrive on base! Since today would be a busy day, Ryan, Lissette and myself headed to pick up donuts so all of the staff, including the navy, would have some motivation for the day. After doing or coffee/donut run, we arrived on base to attend the first daily meeting for team captains, which provided a great method of organizing teams and streamlining how teams were informed of the days proceedings. Following the meeting, contestants were ready to get checked in and geared up for checkout dives! The experience from previous races really showed in Vin, Bobbie, Kim, and Ryans organization, as they already had methods of checking divers in and out of the water, which kept things moving super quick and organized. The dive staff took groups of contestants into the water, entering using a huge elevator which would come in handy for lowering submarines into the water later on. The elevator was super fun to both watch and use, as it moves slowly and can be stopped at varying heights to make donning and doffing fins much easier.
The checkout dives went on till a bit later in the after-noon, and then we headed back to the hotel to organize the paperwork from all of the divers who checked in today. Once the days work was over, we found a local Mexican restaurant in an area that the staff hadn’t checked out previously, so we ventured over and found a ton of restaurants that we planned on trying throughout the week! Dinner was great and then we headed back to the hotel to relax before another day begins.
Day 4
After another great breakfast at our hotel, it was off to the base! Today we started the day by setting up dive gear, since there were a few checkout dives to complete from the previous day. I was lucky enough to get to shadow the instructors on the dive staff, which was super insightful as I was able to experience and learn from minute differences between each individuals teaching styles and preferences! Some of the most important things I was able to learn pertained to teaching and safely motivating students who may be slightly nervous, as well as methods of teaching students complex skills by breaking them down into simple parts! Thank you to all of the instructors who allowed me to learn from them!
Once the checkouts had been completed, it was time for something completely different. The race course consists of a 100 yard straight away, and at the point when a races was ended for any reason, the pilot would be safely removed from the sub, and it needed to be brought back to the starting area. The subs were often brought back utilizing a combination of a tow line from the dock, as well as a swimmer in the water to prevent the sub from dragging agains the concrete walls. My job for the afternoon would be to both observe teams and ensure they were safe, as well as assist in swimming submarines in, should it be an extremely heavy vessel, or if the team had a limited number of contestants available to help. As the day went on, teams become more and more efficient at retrieving their subs, and were even creative enough to through buoyant objects such as pool noodles into the submarine to keep in on the surface and easy the efforts of the swimmers.
Throughout the afternoon, it was a great experience being able to not only talk to the contestants, but also to some of the Navy divers who were helping retrieve the subs and their pilots! Their experience and efficiency was impressive, and it was great to watch their methods of diving for a while.
The teams raced until later in the afternoon, and then it was time for dinner! The dive staff continued to explore the new group of restaurants we found previously, and tonight was Lebanese food! While we ate, we spent time talking about how everybody’s day had gone, as well as any areas we could think to improve. These cooperative sessions were definitely an important part of each day, and I’m grateful to have been included in them! Any suggestions or changes made just got us more excited for the next day.
Day 5
Today started bright an early to do some maintenance prior to contestants arriving on base. I was lucky enough to buddy up with Kevin, Carderock’s very own dive safety officer (DSO). Our goal was to sweep the bottom of the race course to search for some items possibly lost in the tank by divers the previous day. After about 30 minutes of searching, we came up empty handed with the exception of a bouquet of zip ties.
I started the morning helping out again with the submarine recovery teams, and was able to see some great improvement in the team organization from the previous day! Along with the teams working even better together, the Navy staff had even built a platform for swimmers to enter the water in an even safer manner to recover the subs more easily.
After some time observing and helping out here, I eventually moved to the busier side of the races, where dive staff on the dock was managing all of the teams, as well as their submarines as they entered the water via elevator, and then moved to and from large beach like platforms between races. It sounds like a hectic setting, and it was even crazier in the water! Luckily the dive staff, including Vin, Kim, Jessa, and Lissette were all great at organizing and guiding the teams to keep them safe and out of the way. The system worked out perfectly, having our dry staff organizing and planning which subs needed to come in and out of the water, and the staff in the water organizing and moving submarines and their carts around the beaches and floor of the tank.
Kim and Jessa above the elevator to the basin.
We worked in this format until the end of the day, and ready for dinner we went to our next stop in the dinner exploration, Japanese Barbecue! The restaurant was super fun and Kim showed me the best ways to cook some of the meats we got, and we all enjoyed some great food. Today was another great day of new experiences, and I can’t wait for the next!
Day 6
As a continuation of yesterday, I started the day helping the staff manage subs from the water. One of the tasks that the dive staff is responsible for rather than the contestants themselves is moving the carts which the subs rest on into the water. These carts allow teams to store the subs for longer periods in the water, and also provide a stable work platform for any modifications they need to do in the water! Because the carts themselves are usually built out of metal, they are to negatively buoyant to carry without the help of a flotation device such as a lift bag. Using one or two lift bags allows the dive staff to gently lower the cart to the bottom without straining themselves moving it, or by dropping it quickly to the bottom of the basin. Being able to make so many trips with these carts for teams was a great opportunity to get practice using lift bags, and I was much more confident by the end of the day in using them!
Today was a super busy day of racing, but we also had a special lunch today since a food truck was brought for the contestants and staff! After enjoying lunch, we got back to work in our newly stablished system, cycling through roles as either dry staff, sub recovery, or in water staff. The day went great and a ton of subs got to race for the first time, and some even broke their own records for the week!
Day 7: The Final Day
For the last day of the races, I was lucky enough to have some time to dive and take some photos using the incredible TG-6 setup provided by Backscatter Photo and Video! While there were less divers in the water, the ambient lights dropped in the tank provided some unique opportunities for photos to take, and I was able to learn a ton shooting the still subjects, which were drastically different than photographing moving animals at the aquarium.
While I’m no photography expert yet, it was super fun trying to take some creative approaches with the photos!
Today the races only went until noon, but teams were all able to get their final races in, and the encouragement for each team throughout the basin was amazing. Once the races had concluded and all of the subs were removed from the water, the volunteers as well as dive staff did out final sweeps of the tank, making sure there wasn’t any trash left behind. We cleaned up the basin itself, and then began to break down out dive station on the dock. Before finishing however, we got to attend the award ceremony!
It was great to listen to some of both the Navy and FURE’s distinguished members, as they reiterated the values and goals of the International Sub Races. The teams then took photos together after the awards were announced for best design presentations, top speed in each category and so on. One of the teams were even gracious enough to give us all donuts! After the ceremony was finished, we went back to the dive station and completed the clean up.
For our final meal of the week together, we went to a combo restaurant that had pho and crêpes.
This past week has been one of the most unique and amazing experiences ever! Thank you so much to the Navy and The Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock for hosting, as well as FURE for funding and organizing the entire event! And finally, thank you to Vin, Kim, Ryan, Jessa, Lissette, Bobbie, Bill, and all of the other staff and volunteers who showed me the ropes and helped me learn so much!
Sadly its my final day at the National Aquarium, luckily however I got to squeeze in some fun things in the time I had remaining. I started the day meeting some of the aquarium’s husbandry experts, giving them a hand preparing food for the animals in the Blacktip Reef. Because there are so many different species in each exhibit, they all have their own array of feeding strategies. For example, the larger animals like the sharks in this exhibit are all target or hand fed, that way the aquarists can track which individual is eating, as well as how much. It was super interesting to see how the sharks were fed, especially since one of the zebra sharks has vision issues. They counter this by using a pole with metal prongs, which is able to guide the shark to where the aquarists can hand feed it!
Once the zebra sharks are fed, its time for the Blacktips. These sharks are fed using longer poles to hold the food, since they have a much different style of feeding. The five sharks in the exhibit all took turns feeding, and then the rest of the fish were fed using a mixture of chopped fish and more traditional food being dispersed on the surface! The aquarists make sure to give a great mix of fish, pellets, and other supplements to ensure the fish get all the vitamins they could need for a busy day of swimming around.
Zuri the zebra shark getting fed on her platform!
After feeding all of the animals in Blacktip Reef, we were off to retrieve a fish who was having an operation. One of the smaller fish in the aquarium had an injured jaw, and today he was getting it fixed! The aquarists gathered up the fish, as well as an ample supply of fresh water and then we brought it all over to the medical area. Here I got to watch as the veterinarian and techs anesthetized the fish, did their exams, and then operated super swiftly so they could wake him back up. The procedure did not take too long as all, and they were able to hopefully fix his jaw for good!
Holly and I had a nice lunch, and then it was time for my last event here at the aquarium. The National Aquarium has an exhibit named Shark Alley, which houses multiple species such as nurse sharks, sand sharks, sand tiger sharks, one ray, and today’s focus: the Largetooth Sawfish! For their job today, three of the aquariums staff divers would head into the exhibit (with partitions in place to separate the sharks from the divers), and make their way closer to the sawfish, with a goal of acclimating him to divers in the water. If the sawfish is more comfortable around divers and the noise their SCUBA gear creates, it can make it much easier to handle him in the event he needs to be moved or any other circumstance where a diver would be in the water. The divers works slowly and patiently, carefully not to approach too fast, and after a while they were able to get relatively close to the sawfish, and stay there for a moment. The dive was a success! While the animal is not yet super comfortable with people in the water, every experience like this can grow his comfort level.
My week at the National Aquarium with Holly and Billy has been absolutely amazing, and I cannot thank them enough, Holly and Billy were wonderful hosts, and I am so glad I could spend time getting to know them. Thank you to all of the staff and volunteers at the National Aquarium who made my week so interesting and fun!
We started today at a different location! Today I got to tour the National Aquarium’s Animal Care and Rescue Center (or the ACRC). The ACRC is a state of the art facility which is responsible for housing and treating any incoming animals, putting them through a quarantine process to ensure their health and that of other animals in an exhibit. The ACRC also treats any animals which have become injured or sick in their exhibit; which ids exactly what I got to observe today!
After a quick tour around the building and meeting some of the personable patients, such as Pecorino the Kemps Ridley Sea Turtle, I got to tag along while the staff headed to the aquarium’s main building to pick up a fish who had injured himself on a piece of decor. The fish was picked up and transported back, then he was swiftly given medication and placed in a nice tank for him to recover in!
The next thing in store at the ACRC was turtle exams! Some of the turtles being held in the building needed their general check ups, so I got to see how the process works, and some of the details and strategies vets use when dealing with specific species. I had never contemplated being a veterinarian before this, however it was definitely an intriguing process to watch and learn from!
Next on the docket for today was sadly my last dive at the aquarium. I got to join a group of the aquariums volunteers to dive in the Blacktip reef Exhibit and help with scrubbing the rock and coral decor. Scrubbing the exhibit is important because a biofilm can form on the material, as well as a buildup of miscellaneous debris. Prior to the dive the entire team was given a safety briefing, discussing any possible hazards during the dive and more, and then we were off!
During the dive we focused on a specific area while cleaning, and it was fun to find pieces of decor that the fish called home! We cleaning for about an hour, using a set of brushes on specific parts of the exhibit, and enjoying the company of the sharks that would swim by and the onlookers through the aquarium windows.
Thank you again to Holly for taking such cool photos! Diving in these exhibits has been amazing.
For my third day, I got to see a much different perspective of working at the aquarium! To start the day I got to watch three of the assistant dive safety officers all work together to clean the Blacktip Reef using a pressure washer. It’s was super impressive to see how well the entire team functions, doing a mix of training each other as well as guaranteeing each other’s safety while one of them is in the water! The pressure washer provides a much deeper clean than sending in divers with a brush, much like using a water pick when brushing your teeth. However, it has to be done in the morning before any viewers show up since it can make the water slightly cloudy.
Once the tank was clean for the day, I got to spend some time with the aquarium’s registrar. The Registrar is responsible for record keeping throughout most of the aquarium’s facilities, such as animal care, transport, cleaning, and so much more. We got to spend some time organizing a ton of old files from some of the aquarium’s first years of operation, and it was interesting to see how resourceful some of the first veterinarians and aquarists were when finding ways of treating these animals, when minimal research had been done. After we organized a ton of files, they were put aside to eventually be digitized and scanned into the aquariums library.
The next part of my day was one of the most unique. I got to take a tour through the Institute of Marine and Environmental Technology (or IMET). The IMET building works in conjunction with the National Aquarium as a center for research and development, and in the aquariums case, the home of their jellyfish lab! At this lab, the majority of the Aquariums exhibited jellyfish are born and raised. While we walked around the lab and the technician explained some of the minutiae that goes into jellyfish care, it was clear that it took a ton of time and attention to detail to make sure they had the right amount of food, space and even the right shaped habitat! We finished up our tour around the lab, and then we headed back to the main exhibits to dive!
Our dive today was quite special, the aquarium was hosting researchers from the University of Maryland as they worked on a project relating to dive physiology. While I was not personally involved in the study, it was super fun to see how the process worked, and I even got to take some more photos during the dive!
Sargassum Trigger hiding in some decor.Sophie the Blacknose Shark!A shy Angelfish peaking through.
Thank you again to Backscatter for providing such a great setup to use!
After a fun day at the aquarium, Holly and her husband were kind enough to take me around Baltimore and show me some of the city’s highlights like Camden Yard!
Today was a super fun day checking out the other massive tank at the National Aquarium. Our day started nice and early so that the dive team could test some of the safety measures around the dive-able locations. One of the places we checked in on was the aquarium’s dolphin exhibit. I was so surprised to see them swim right up and check on what we were doing!
Once all of the safety tests were completed, we went off to dive. Guided by one of the aquarium’s assistant dive safety officers, I got an amazing tour of the Black Tip Reef (BTR) tank. The BTR is an award winning exhibit which houses over 60 species of marine animals based out of Indo-Pacific Reefs, and my personal favorite shark species, the zebra shark! While swimming around, my guide pointed out some key points and animals to see in the exhibit, such as two different species of wobbegong. The zebra sharks were super cute playing in our bubbles when we got near, and I loved the dive. Thanks to Holly for taking photos of us during the dive!
After the dive, we went over some basics about how these exhibits are cleaned, especially the decor which can be either soft or hard artificial coral, and the best tools for each job.
Next, I had the privilege of shadowing a few aquarists who work on the other exhibits around the aquarium. My first stop was to one of the more reef-based exhibits, in which I got to see how the aquariums are maintained and filtered through a plethora of steps, including biological, chemical, and physical filtering methods, as well as water balancing treatment. I also got to help with some live coral maintenance! Some of the Branch coral was growing too close to another species, and if it wasn’t fragged (cut and relocated), it could threaten the other species. This was a super fun project, and being able to work hands on with coral species was such a unique experience!
Glueing the cut coral to a new peg for it to be inserted into a holding tank. I may have been focusing a little intensely.
After we finished up with the coral, I moved over to the aquariums Maryland: Mountains to the Sea exhibit, where they showcase a ton of local species and how their diversity changes from freshwater to marine environments! Here I got lucky enough to see how they feed the animals inside, and the importance of a balanced and proper diet. These dietary concerns can be incredibly important for the juvenile and baby animals, since their diet can be highly based on the size of the food provided.
Being able to observe and help throughout the day was so interesting and insightful, and I can’t wait for the next day! Thanks again to Holly, the National Aquarium, all of the workers who take the time to show me around, and the Boston Sea Rovers for making this all possible!
For my first day at the Aquarium, I got to do two dives in their Atlantic Coral Reef tank! The tank is a large ring that allows guests to walk up and down within the tank, providing a super dynamic environment for guests, as well as a fun diving experience. For our first dive, Holly and I had some quick work to do inside, taking quick measurements of the tanks structure for an upcoming project. For this task, wrist slates came in handy so that we did not have to memorize measurements and not have any excess gear dangling for the animals inside to become interested in. After our tasks were done, we got to swim around though some of the exhibits swim-throughs, and then practice a few fundamental skills to ensure safety when swimming in the exhibits. It was super cool to see all of the animals in the exhibit, especially their reef shark named Sophie, and a green moray names Floyd!
After we finished the dive, I got to spend some time with another member of the aquarium staff who gave me an incredible tour of the aquariums exhibits, highlighting some of the important features of exhibits, especially those of concern for any dive staff. The National Aquarium has exhibits ranging from Australian wildlife, to sharks, and even a jellyfish exhibit. Following the tour, we went over some important onboarding training for their volunteers and staff, such as the types of work divers can do, as well as key safety points when working with and around compressed air systems.
Holly and I had a nice lunch packed from the day prior, and then it was time for dive number 2! On this dive a number of volunteers would be scrubbing the artificial coral in the exhibit, so I get to bring a camera in and practice my camera skills!
I would like to give a huge thank you to BackScatter Underwater Photography and Video, they generously provided my with an entire camera rig to use in order to document my summer! The kit included an Olympus TG-6 as the primary camera, as well as a set of Sea&Sea Strobes, Light and Motion Video Lights, and an assortment of hardware. Thanks to their generosity I will be able to provide images of my experiences underwater, and learn a ton about underwater photography!
Prior to these dives, I had not used a dedicated underwater camera rig, so this was the perfect environment to practice! I was able to manipulate the lighting and settings on the camera, gradually getting more comfortable with the system as the dive went on. The TG-6 is super simple to use underwater, and allowed me to take some cool photos (even with myself using it)! We were able to spend about an hour swimming around and practicing, this was a great start to the week!
Sand Tilefish hiding in his hole. I love his eye!Floyd the moray giving me his best “blue steel.”One of the biggest fish in the exhibit, this Tarpon has such pretty metallic scales. Definitely a learning experience with the lighting however!
Thank you so much to both the National Aquarium, Holly Bourbon, and BackScatter Photo and Video for an amazing start to the week!
For my first adventure out of New England, I get to fly to Maryland and spend a week with Holly Bourbon at the National Aquarium! The national aquarium is a staple of Baltimore, and has been around since the early 1980’s! It runs as a nonprofit devoted to inspire conservation, diversity, and inclusion. Holly is the Director of Dive Programs at the aquarium, and has ample experience working in these environments.
My flight into Baltimore was relatively short and easy so I got in nice and early with plenty of time to adjust and take in Baltimore. Once we arrived at Holly’s house, I was able to unpack and get comfortable, then it was too the pool! Before hopping in I was able to put my pool cleaning skills to use, and then enjoy the water! It was nice to get in the water and relax before an exciting week at the aquarium.
The next morning Holly’s husband and I got to enjoy a nice morning watching a baseball game, and then went for a hike around the local reservoir. The weather was perfect for the day, and the views did not disappoint either. We walked all along the waterline, seeing huge decades-old trees that had fallen, and even got visited by a few dogs on a stroll as well!
Holly and Billy told me all about Maryland while we walked, and it was a nice way to get to learn more about the state and them as well! After the hike we returned home, and I was able to prep for the day ahead.
Today I got to help out and observe how the MA Division of Marine Fisheries goes about sampling certain species of fish. I met with Vin Malkoski, and two other workers in order to launch the boat. The plan for the day was to pull up five fish traps throughout the bay, and take samples of Tautog fin spines which could later be used to find the age of the fish. So, we headed off into buzzards bay, and found the first trap!
When we arrived at a trap, Vin would start by pulling it onto the boat with a hauler. This was always exciting to watch, because we never knew exactly what was going to be in the trap! The first trap we pulled up had the most eclectic group of fish; It had not only our target tautog, but also a flounder, a spider crab, and even a toadfish! Vin told me that they can have an attitude, but I thought he was a pretty cute fish.
Once the trap was on the boat, one of the workers would sort of the fish, making sure any Tautog that were pulled up were both grown enough for sampling, as well as not recaptured from a previous sample batch. Once the right fish we’re sorted, their spine was clipped, stored, and labeled for review later on. We went through this process four more times, and eventually we had all the samples we needed. Before heading back to shore however, we needed to refuel the boat, and then load up for the next days work. We pulled up next the the pier, first unloading the traps from today, and then loading up with buoys that will be getting set tomorrow.
The next day Vin and I met at the marina again, but today I got to join him and Dr. Greg Skomal. Dr. Skomal is a Senior Fisheries Biologist at the Division of Marine Fisheries, and an accomplished explorer photographer and author. Dr. Skomal’ s goal for today was to launch the buoys which we had loaded onto the boat the day before. These buoys are equipped with an acoustic device which receives a signal from acoustically tagged sharks, and later provide data to Dr. Skomal, as well as the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy about shark position and movements! On our way to the coast of Cape Cod, I was able to practice steering the boat, and get used to navigating out on the ocean. Thank you Vin for all of the guidance! While we were under way, we got super lucky and saw a pretty big leatherback sea turtle too! Once we arrived at our first site, we immediately began to see seals by the hundreds along shore.
We started to get to work placing buoys, first we would attach the buoy to a mushroom anchor, then make sure the chain was in place to deploy without getting caught or tangled, and finally tossing the anchor into the water. We went through this process multiple times, leaving these buoys along the coast. On our last buoy, it started to rain, so I got to don the foul weather gear, and tossed the last anchor into the water. After the work was finished, we began the steam home. In all it was a great day, and I am so thankful to both Vin and Greg, as well as the Division of Marine Fisheries.
