Smalltooth Sawfish Abundance Survey :: June 2010

Monday June 28, 2010
I start this trip with renewed vigor. My vacation was amazing and not a day goes by that I don’t think about being pampered on that cruise ship at least once. New interns, also. Change is good.

Additionally, our colleagues at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission caught 4 YOY last week in the Caloosahatchee River. A good sign.

Lunch in Ocala at Chick-fil-A. Yes, it was open this time.

Quick trip down. Light traffic. Weather good until south of Tampa when we ran into the typical afternoon thundershowers.

Dinner at Sushi Thai Too in Naples. We were going to hit up Saffron for some Indian, but they are closed on Mondays. Must make note of that.

Counted the Bentleys, Mercedes, Porsches, BMWs, Aston Martins, Jaguars as we rode from the restaurant to the apartment. Final count? Too many. That place is loaded.

The hotel checked us in again automatically. We unpacked quickly. Mosquitoes were not too bad since it had just rained.

Watched South Carolina beat on UCLA in Game 1 of the College World Series.

Short trip this time as the July 4th holiday is approaching. Tomorrow we clean stations in ENP.


Tuesday June 29, 2010
The gas tank makes a sucking noise when I pump the ball. The ball does not stay firm when the engine is on. Engine super sluggish. As long as I keep pumping the ball in between sitting still and starting the engine, we should be fine. Made a note to inform the mechanic when we get back to the lab.

Cleaned the first station at 0800.

Saw an alligator at the Lopez River station. Saw another one at the Turner River station. A couple of the hard floats at the station looked like they had been chewed on. Wild.

Cleaned the last station at 1100. Off the water by 1200 (record time!) ahead of some nasty afternoon thunderstorms and lightning. Went to Naples for a few errands.

Bugs were pretty bad this morning before the sun got up and on a tip from a USGS field team at the dock bought a ThermaCELL. We plan to test it out tomorrow.

Feta tomatoes and penne pasta for dinner. Wipeout on TV. This crew works and plays well together.


Wednesday June 30, 2010
Leaving gear at the dock and apartment. It takes time and patience to get the noobs familiarized with all the crap we take out on the boat, which days we use which buckets, and what is actually in each bucket. Plus, I got to get by head back into it after 6 weeks off.

Nets in the water at Turner River on an outgoing tide by 0800. Hot, but not too buggy. Lots of clouds and thunder in the distance. Breezy. Took benthic samples.

Wildlife:
Alligator, 5 ft
2 Manatee
Osprey
YOY female bull shark <-- in the net, three times.

Chased off the water around 1230 by scary weather. Sat it out back at the apartment. Back on the water by 1600. Fished Mud Bay with incoming tide. Took benthic samples. Rain and more rain. Lots of mosquitoes. The ThermaCELL works well, too, but don’t get it wet. No sawfish. Off the water by 1800. Vegetable jambalaya. The crew at it all (hungry!) and then freaked when I told them it was tofu. Evil field party chief rubs hands together and laughs maniacally. Muahah.


Thursday July 1, 2010
WE CAUGHT ONE!!

Fished the NWR at Panther Key this morning on an outgoing tide and around 1200 we caught a female YOY smalltooth sawfish. It was a total National Geographic moment. You know the moment, where the audience is lead to believe that the field crew will never ... ever ... see their target species ... where you feel all hope is lost ... queue dramatic music ...

She was beautiful. TL=109. The perfect size for an acoustic tag. We were all smiles and giddy like children. This gives me great hope.

As soon as we released her back into the wild, we decided to haul ass back to the dock and fish the remainder of the day in ENP at the mouth of the Lopez River in hopes of catching another one. The weather turned bad, but we stayed out in it. Took benthic samples. Watched for rainbows.

Fished until 1700, but caught no more sawfish.

Nachos for dinner. Cold beer. Yum.


Friday July 2, 2010
Home again, home again. Jiggidy, jig.

Smalltooth Sawfish Abundance Survey :: May 2010

Wednesday May 12, 2010
Whippoorwill. Whippoorwill. Whippoorwill.

The sun gets up earlier and earlier these days and the sky was light before we could cross the Hathaway Bridge into town. Crew of 4 this trip – intern, technician, graduate student, and me.

Super excited about having Chick-fil-A for lunch in Ocala. But, wait. Closed! Closed? On a Wednesday? Closed for renovations. Ugh. So we ate at Chili’s instead. A light lunch. We plan to stop at The Cheesecake Factory in Naples on the way in.

Barely any traffic. Made great time. I’m becoming more and more accustomed to the long car ride. The 7 hour trip to Monroe, LA, last weekend to help the sister pack up her apartment was nothing. Of course, I did sleep most of the way as the last two and a half weeks have been non-stop with HAZwhoper training sucking three days, finishing and submitting a new manuscript, SEDAR documents due, my birthday, recital coming up, teaching SPINNING, planning a vacation, my sister’s up-coming graduation, my best friend’s breakup, the house, kitties, and the boyfriend.

We arrived after dark. You know you are a regular when the hotel checks you in, leaves the door unlocked, the keys on the counter, and turns the AC on before you get there. Room 106 should have our name on it. Lots of mosquitoes so unpacking was hurried and involved a lot of slapping, clapping, and bouncing from one foot to the other.

Weather looks good for the entire week. East wind. Sunny.

Exhausted. Tomorrow we fish Faka Union Bay and Panther Key. I get through this trip and I get a vacation.


Thursday May 13, 2010
In the truck by 0700. On the water by 0745. It goes a little something like this – bug spray, sunscreen, bug spray. I shudder to think what those chemicals are doing to my skin.

Several dolphin and manatee in Faka Union Canal. Dolphin as well in the channel out to Panther Key.

Fishing Panther Key with the remaining outgoing tide by 0830. We are fishing out here first because we are waiting on the needles used to apply the acoustic tags to arrive via FedEx. They did not get packed and a note has been made to keep them with the other tagging gear and *not in a clever location.

Took benthic samples. No sawfish.

Moved nets to east-side of spoil island in Faka Union Bay with incoming tide. Took benthic samples. No sawfish, but more bycatch than any other trip so far – catfish, ladyfish, blue crab, crevalle jack.

Off the water by 1730. Back to the apartment to prep dinner. Chicken Tetrazinni. While dinner cooked in the oven, the graduate student napped (she is coming down with a sinus infection!), the intern and technician went to the pool, and I went for a short run. Dinner, TV, read for a bit, then sleep.

Tomorrow we clean the acoustic telemetry stations and fix the height of the poles as per our permit.


Friday May 14, 2010
On the water by 0720. Cleaning stations and pounding poles by 0800. Working on an outgoing tide. Off the water by 1100. We will go back this afternoon and get Lopez River Mouth, Cross Bays 3, and Mud Bay 2 and 3. We need a lot of water for those stations. We pulled 4 of the HOBOs and will get the other two this afternoon.

The AC in the apartment in the middle of the day feels nice. It is hot and buggy out there.

Stopped by a charter guy while we were cleaning the acoustic station at the Tuner River Mouth. Sweaty and muddy, we spoke for a bit about the project, the area, and sawfish. He said that he has not seen any this year, but admitted to not fishing the flats.

After we cleaned Mud Bay 1 this morning, we walked the flat on an almost low-high tide. Didn’t seen any sawfish, but the water was all turned up from the rushing tide. We did not stop to look at Turner River for the same reasons.

Back on the water by 1400. Two things to note – 1) an east wind blows water into Cross Bay 3 and 2) murky at Mud Bay on a high-high tide. Can barely see the bottom. Off the water by 1700.

Quick swim. Bean soup for dinner. Uploaded HOBOs and set them to start. TV. Bed.


Saturday May 15, 2010
Back to ENP to fish today. On the water by 0730. Fishing an outgoing tide at Turner River by 0830. Took benthic samples. No sawfish.

Gusty east wind. Partly cloudy. Quiet.

Moved nets to Mud Bay on incoming tide at 1230. Took benthic samples on both sides of mangrove island.

Lots of biting flies and bumble bees.

Watched an osprey bathe. Silly bird.

I always get turned out when the wind and tide/current are in opposite directions.

Pulled nets at 1600. No sawfish. Very murky over flat at high tide. Deployed the HOBOs. Off the water by 1700.


Sunday May 17, 2010
Truck 0700. Water 0730. Fishing Lopez River mouth with outgoing tide. Set all 4 nets and took benthic samples. No sawfish.

A couple local guys in the store suggested we try Rabbit Key, Little Creek, and the mouth of Lostman’s River. Those places are about a 45 minute steam from Chokoloskee on the outside. A little out of our range.

Set all four nets again in Sunday Bay with incoming tide. Showers all around us. Air feels cool. Rain and thunder in the distance.

A shark hit the 4”-100’ but got out before we could get to it. Probably a baby bull. Left a giant hole. Ugh.

Began pulling in the 4”-200’ and the graduate student got tagged pretty hard in the hand by a catfish. The whole spine went into the top of her hand. Blood everywhere. She was in a lot of pain. Washed with Hibiclens as best she would let me. Collected hot water from the engine in a bucket and submerged her hand to keep the swelling down. She was a big girl and tried not to cry. Took it like a champ. The intern and technician pulled in the rest of the gear and we headed back to the dock. No fishing Cross Bay 3 today. Weather starting to get crappy anyway.

ENP ranger with harmonica wanted to chat it up at the dock and I did as best I could with a storm bearing down and one of my crew in serious pain. We talked about the possibility of the sawfish being on a delay, but really, the more and more we fish and catch nothing the more and more I am convinced that the mothers pupped south of here.

Back at the apartment, the graduate student continues to run hot water from the tap over her hand. Even sits at dinner with her hand in a bowl of hot water. Says it feels better that way.

Chicken Cacciatori. Then movies – Hitman, Hell Boy, Beowolf.

Flip of the coin says we are fishing in ENP again tomorrow and skipping Goodland this trip. The hunt continues.

Caveat – If the graduate student’s hand looks bad in the morning, we’re going home a day early.


Monday May 17, 2010
Up with the sun and on the water again by 0730. South wind. Hand looks pretty good and she promised me to take it easy.

Added chain to Turner River station so the receiver stays under water through the entire tidal cycle.

Fished Mud Bay with outgoing high-low. Nothing.

Spoke with a local guide, Captain Ray. He said he was the one who took the scientists from Mote Marine Labs around back at the beginning of the project. Way back when they were just figuring things out. He said that he sees age-1 hanging out on the east-side of Chokoloskee Island on a high tide in the morning. He said to come back in June and July.

June Trip: Mon 28 – Fri 2
July Trip: Sun 25 – Sat 31

Fished Cross Bay 3 on incoming high-high. Catfish. Mackerel. Mangrove snapper. Mullet. No sawfish.

Weather held out today. Hot and sunny with clouds all around, but no rain. Flies everywhere.

Off the water by 1700.


Tuesday May 18, 2010
We come home from this trip licking our wounds and discouraged.

Recently Added :: July 2010

In the order added:

All to All - Broken Social Scene
House Of Jealous Lovers - The Rapture
Light of the Morning - Band Of Skulls
Little Lion Man - Mumford and Sons
Month Of May - Arcade Fire
O.N.E. - Yeasayer
Real Love - Delorean
Sunrise - Yeasayer
This Is The Life - Two Door Cinema Club
Velvet - The Big Pink
XXXO (Remix) (Feat. Jay-Z) - M.I.A.
Outta Your Mind [Explicit] - Lil Jon & LMFAO
Something Bigger, Something Better [Explicit] - Amanda Blank
Super Bad (Parts 1 & 2) - James Brown
Heartburn - Alicia Keys
Hot-n-Fun - N.E.R.D.
Stacked Actors - Foo Fighters
Shake Your Rump [Explicit] - Beastie Boys
Little Secrets - Passion Pit