OAI employee, Anne Freire, served as a member of the scientific crew aboard the research vessel the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker for the 2021 California Current Ecosystem Survey for Coastal Pelagic Species this past April. The Southwest Fisheries Science Center’s primary objectives of this survey are to estimate the distributions and abundances of Coastal Pelagic Species, particularly the northern and central sub-populations of Northern Anchovy, the northern subpopulation of Pacific Sardine, Jack Mackerel, Pacific Mackerel, Pacific Herring, their prey, and their environments in the California Current Ecosystem.

Anne’s work duties consisted of processing adult fish collected during trawls with SWFSC Fisheries Resources Division protocols, including identification of target coastal pelagic species, measurements of length and weight, collection of otoliths for aging, ovaries, and tissues for genetic analysis. She also participated in the CUFES (Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler) shift where they identify and count fish eggs and fish larva, and then preserve the samples.

(Photos and content provided by Anne Freire)