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Day 8, August 8, 2005 TER daily cruise report
Blazing sun and light breezes; favorable for diving and the application of sun block. The primary task of the day was to complete a series of fish censuses for a National Marine Fisheries Service survey of commercially important fishes.
Like our National Ocean Service survey, these are done in the deep water at the margin of the Banks however are focused on the impact of the reserves on exploited fishes. At each station four 30 meter transects; two along the bank edge, and two up the bank slope are swum and all commercially important species are counted.
These commercially important reef fish include; groupers, snappers, a prized wrasse the hog fish, and the large jacks and mackerels. Like many of our operations, this requires efficiency as our bottom time is limited; for example at a depth of 90-100 feet we have a maximum time of 30 minutes to complete our work.