Some more of Texas...

Hi Sea Fans!

I'm still in the land of everything that's BIG and I'm getting to do such cool stuff!!  After visiting OLE and seeing the Oregon II, I visited Kenny Guindon at Katie's Seafood Market in Galveston as his crew offloaded their most recent catch.  Agent Clark talked to them about their trip and sea conditions.

Me with Captain Kenny Guindon.

("Kenny Guindon captains the fishing vessel/boat Falcon from his homeport in Galveston, Texas. As a second-generation fisherman, Guindon has been associated with commercial fishing since 1983 as a commercial fisherman, commercial fishing vessel captain, and Manager of Katie’s Seafood Market in Galveston. He has been the captain of a commercial longline and bandit fishing vessel in the Gulf of Mexico for the past six years".)

Katie's Seafood Market takes part in the Gulf Wild program (http://www.mygulfwild.us/GW/our-story/) that allows the tracking of responsibly-caught and safety tested seafood back to the fishermen who bring it in.  It's quite an amazing system: their uniquely numbered gill tag on every Gulf Wild fish tracks everything: who harvested the fish; where it comes from in the Gulf; and even at which port the fish was landed!  In South Africa we have MSC (Marine Stewardship Council) labels which are similar so if you're a South African wanting to know more and wanting to be able to make a difference, have a look at http://www.msc.org/about-us/what-we-do.

From the seafood market to the classroom...

I helped Kelly Drinnen (my host in Texas and sanctuary outreach specialist) teach a class on reef monitoring for a group of high school students taking part in a Sea Camp program through Texas A&M University at Galveston. 

Examining a series of photos from 2002-2011 from one specific spot at Stetson Bank (in the sanctuary).

Part of the Long-Term Monitoring program at Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary includes taking photos at the same locations year after year, then comparing the images over time to identify any changes taking place in the habitat. 

Me helping Kelly Drinnen demonstrate how a
T-frame is used to help steady the camera and make sure we take the same picture in the same orientation (position/angle) at the same location (place) every year.

More information on their Long-Term Monitoring program in the sanctuary is available at

http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/science/monitor.html#longterm 

and if you'd like a downloadable copy of the Reef Monitoring Lesson, it's available at http://flowergarden.noaa.gov/document_library/eddocuments.html#teach

Hmmm...what fun!  Anyone for some reef research?  Marine biology covers so much!!!

Anyway, I must get going.  Have a great week (end of week) Sea Fans and chat soon!

Abby

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PS. All NOAA images credited to NOAA Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary