EK60 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During GU1203

Assess the occurrence, abundance and distribution of the early life stages of fall spawning fishes, especially king and Spanish mackerel, red drum, and snappers during the Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) fall plankton survey of U.S. continental shelf waters in the Gulf of Mexico. b. Describe the pelagic habitat of fish larvae through measurements of various physical and biological parameters: i. Record profiles through the water column of temperature, salinity, fluorescence, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity using a Conductivity/Temperature/Depth (CTD) unit at SEAMAP stations. ii. Measure chlorophyll a in replicate water samples taken at surface, maximum chlorophyll layer and near bottom (to a maximum of 200 m) depths using bench top fluorometry. iii. Detect and measure frontal features along the survey cruise track using data from the ship’s Fluoro-thermosalinograph flow-through system (TSG). c. Map the distribution of fish eggs and invertebrate zooplankton along the cruise track using a Continuous Underway Fish Egg Sampler (CUFES). d. Collect detailed observations of net-caught jellyfish and ctenophores. e. Measure the vertical distribution of fish larvae by sampling at discrete depths in the water column at selected locations along the SEAMAP plankton survey grid using a 1 m Multiple Opening/Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (MOCNESS) during both legs of the survey.