By Madison Churchill
The Molly B skims the water as divers prepare for a day of field work in the Salish Sea. SeaDoc Society’s research assistant Cat Lo gets ready to don her heavy dive gear and take a plunge. One by one, the divers back roll off the boat and splash into the water with their slates and survey equipment. They descend and begin their objective; to survey young-of-year rockfish.
Pictured: Madison Churchill
Cat’s job entails a lot of time spent on or under the water, whether she’s surveying baby rockfish, assisting with killer whale health assessments, or the many other projects SeaDoc has in motion. Time spent in the field comes with its highs, its challenges, and its unexpected outcomes. While all components of science are important, much of the work we do puts us out in the field, interacting with the ecosystem first hand.
As marine scientists, the ocean is our laboratory.
I’m Madison, and I’m a social media and communications editor with SeaDoc Society as well as a recent graduate from Scripps Institution of Oceanography, and an avid Pacific Northwest diver. Most of my field work experience has involved diving in kelp forests and surveying benthic ecosystems. Like much of the work SeaDoc is doing, this type of conservation science relies on having eyes on the ground, or underwater, to collect data and study the ecosystem firsthand. Interacting with the ecosystems we study often gives us clues that can help answer valuable questions.
“You never know what you're gonna find when you go diving,” Cat said. “And I think that's the really exciting thing about it.”
Whether it’s finding a rare baby rockfish in an unexpected place, seeing a derelict ghost net, or finding a kelp bed with a suspicious number of urchins, we often witness the unexpected while underwater. More often than not, this sparks a new host of scientific questions.
Cat Lo and Joe Gaydos prepare for a research dive in the Salish Sea.
I was fortunate to interview Cat last month and we talked about how the public often views marine biology field work as glamorous–we’re scuba diving, riding around on boats, and observing charismatic marine life. In reality, it often means waking up before sunrise to lug heavy tanks and scuba gear, prepping our boats, and reviewing safety plans. And then after a long day on the water, we are cleaning our gear, rinsing the boat, inputting data, and often returning home after dark.
The Salish Sea’s cold water comes with its own added challenges. We are donning cumbersome drysuits, heated vests, heavy lead weights, and enough slates and tools to decorate a christmas tree. All of this while balancing on a rocking, bumping, boat. The safety demands of this work require a keen attention to detail, often in unsavory conditions. Surely I’m not the only one who has forgotten to zip my drysuit before rolling off a boat; an ice cold mistake that will forever leave me paranoid.
Alongside all of this prep work, we are also contending with weather, currents, waves, and any number of other factors. Areas of the San Juans where SeaDoc and partners at Paua Marine Research do much of their young-of-year rockfish counts tend to encounter high-speed currents that leave tight windows for safe diving. All of this while striving to meet deadlines and collect quality data. Despite the many challenges at play, there is so much we stand to miss if we don’t get in the water. Cat and I agree that the excitement this work entails is worth it, and certainly beats the days we spend at our desks. The time we spend on or under the water inspires us through the other facets of our work.
Cat believes her work can be used to inspire others to protect the Salish Sea. She aims to bring these incredible ocean ecosystems to the surface and show her community what lies just beyond their shores: “If you don't know that there's something out there, how would you seek it out?”
SeaDoc Science Director Joe Gaydos agrees.
“Rather than taking things from the ocean and putting them into a laboratory,” he said. “We're going out into the ocean to observe and to see what's happening out there.”
SeaDoc Science Director Joe Gaydos examining a lost fishing net during a dive off San Juan Island. Removal of the net would later be featured in an episode of Salish Sea Wild.
Joe believes all of the components are necessary for quality science. The modeling, data analysis, molecular study, and lab work all fit together to further our mission. Many of these important practices stem from quality data collection, which brings us back to the field. “And it's the junction of all of those things together that help us in science to understand what's going on out there.”
Joe is currently leading a project on killer whale health and medical records. This project relies on a variety of technology, and involves extreme flexibility with field work. Studying highly mobile marine mammals like killer whales can require the team to be ready at the drop of a hat. While he recognizes the importance of all facets of science, he says that the time he spends outside on the water is what inspires him most. “That's the part that reminds us why we're doing all this other stuff.”
Whether we are counting baby rockfish, surveying killer whale health, or collecting derelict nets, we aren’t working alone. One of the best parts of ocean research is the opportunity to collaborate with other organization partners.
“We’re not only getting our boots on the ground to do the work, but we are also expanding our collaboration,” said Cat. “None of this work is possible without forming these connections and working with others, because at the end of the day, we're all trying to work towards the same goal.”
Adam Obaza and Olivia Carmack of Paua Marine Research Group.
Collaboration requires additional coordination and moving parts on a project, but our science is always improved by diverse perspectives and expertise. I had the opportunity to speak with Adam Obaza of Paua Marine Research Group who leads SeaDoc in many young-of-year rockfish surveys. His vast expertise in rockfish ecology, paired with Team SeaDoc’s knowledge of diving in Salish Sea ecosystems has led to a very effective partnership. On a recent dive day together, the team spotted a juvenile yellow eye rockfish in an unexpected place. It was a rare and exciting find that further sparked the team’s curiosity. That same day, they were even greeted on the boat by a pod of passing orcas.
Adam spoke about the importance of data collection for rockfish conservation. Many species of groundfish are endangered or recovering, and the population models rely on solid data. Scuba diving and counting the juvenile rockfish is a non-invasive way to gauge their population, and allows scientists the opportunity to learn from other ecosystem clues. This data all feeds into the Endangered Species Act’s review, to better conserve these important species.
No matter the project, our conservation work is almost always strengthened by our time spent in the field. I think it’s safe to say that even on the roughest of our field days, there’s nothing else we would rather be doing.
The ocean is our laboratory, and the time spent there inspires everything we do.