SFWF Beam Trawl Survey

Purpose of work

This survey is designed to describe and quantify the important fisheries species selected by beam trawl gear in the windfarm lease area, as well as reference areas, for two years prior to, one year during, and three years after the construction of the South Fork Wind Farm (SFWF). Originally, this survey included two reference areas, however due to differences in species and habitat composition, it now includes one reference area to the west of the SFWF lease area. Sampling is conducted once monthly and consists of five 20-minute tows in each survey area.

Project Team

N. David Bethoney, PhD, Executive Director, CFRF
Hannah Verkamp, Research Biologist, CFRF
Jeremy, S. Collie, PhD, Graduate School of Oceanography, URI
Michael Marchetti, Owner/Operator, F/V Mister G, Point Judith, RI

Participant Vessels

F/V Mister G

Data Recorded

Station Information: Location (start and end), water depth, date, time, tow speed, mean tow speed

Environmental Data: Wind speed, and direction, sea state, air temp, and bottom temp with a logger attached to the beam trawl
Catch Data: Species diversity- number of individuals and biomass of each species per area; Length frequency of dominant species
Biological Sampling: Stomach content, sex and reproductive stage from select species; Scallop meat quality
Hydrographic Data: CTD cast to collect vertical profile of temp, and salinity

Survey Gear

The 3m beam trawl was designed to match the gear used for the ecosystem survey conducted in this area in 2015, and is outfitted with a 12-cm mesh cod-end with a 2.4 cm knotless nylon liner.