Sunburn

Sunburn is what we definitely will not get here if this quasi-continuous layer of thick clouds and fog and accompanying cold do not go elsewhere. 

I started writing at one, when we had three hauls at 1000, 700 and 400 m. We were on our way to the fourth, at 100 m. The team including Alba, Venicio, Edu, Roi and Andrés, with Javier y Yolanda loitering about searching for their stomach samples. Very scarce catches, mostly blue antimora, a bit of Greenland halibut, a bit of roughhead grenadier, plus an array of several other species in tiny amounts.

So here are the blue antimora and black dogfish pictures requested by Alex. I must say now that blue antimora loses quite a lot when dead, and not only life, which is actually losing everything. We have been looking at some photos of living blue antimora and it has nothing to do with the sorry sight we bring up from the sea bottom. It inhabits the 300 – 3000 m depth range, which is very impressive, and it is a cosmopolitan species. This means that if you go fishing at such depths you are bound to get it pretty much wherever you are. And the deeper you go, the larger the percentage of females, according to information publised in http://www.iucnredlist.org/ The same source says they are generalist predators, no fuzzy eaters at all. A Norwegian called Inge Fossen studied the species during his PhD and found out they can live up to 25 years. A very quick look at the introduction has left me wanting to have time to read more of this thesis, so bookmark his work if you find you have a soft spot for antimoras.

Antimora rostrata,  blue antimora

It is way easier to find information on black dogfish, since it is a commercial species. It lives on the continental platform and the slope, mostly between 500-1000 m. It is an ovoviviparous species: the eggs hatch inside the female. Black dogfish do not reach large sizes, and are usually below 90 cm. They like shrimp, precisely the same we find here, Acantephyra and Pasiphaea tarda. The eyes glow like those of cats, chimeras and other animals living in poor light conditions or with nocturnal habits. It is due to a layer of tissue in the eye called tapetum lucidum, which reflects light.

Centroscyllium fabricii, black dogfish

We also got several spinytail rays, one of them was late for its appointment with the biologists and I took a picture of it on deck, besides Paco. But it is not a good idea to be there while they are working, so as you can see the pic is not unforgettable.

Paco and spynitail ray, Bathyraja spinicauda

 So finally we reached haul number 50, during Jose’s watch, and I said to him “go get something special to make haul 50 stand out”. And so he did. In an area where we usually drown in fish he has caught a basketful of sea cucumbers, a handful of capelin and a few invertebrates. 

 

Believe or not, this picture and next show ALL the catch in haul 50. The box is 80 cm wide.

The rest of Jose's special 50th haul. Honestly.

At least we got some yellowtail flounder and American plaice in the next haul, but we are fishing very little today. No wonder there are no other trawlers in sight.

Here are the canyons where we have been today. Find the hauls (green dots)! The bathymetry is available only for depths between 500 and 2000 m. The shallow area is extremely flat, so no need for the extra expense...

Detail of the amazing canyons in the Grand Banks. Bathymetry obtained during NEREIDA project, leaded by Spain (IEO and Spanish Directorate of Fisheries)

And finally, the witch flounder I intended to show yesterday that refused to upload. The final score is then Flounder 1, Elena 1. There.

Witch flounder, Glyptocephalus cynoglossus

More news tomorrow...