Russ Vetter, Leg II SHARK CRUISE. Today, we are off the south side of the northern Channel Islands -- the four northern islands plus tiny Santa Barbara Island form the Channel Islands National Park and their coast and surrounding waters form the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary, another part of NOAA's mission. Most folks think that the word Sanctuary implies limited fishing and greater protection of marine resources, but this is generally not the legal mandate of the Sanctuaries. However, recent overharvesting of abalone, urchin, and nearshore fishes have created enough of a crisis that the state of California and NOAA have formed a partnership to create a network of no-take Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) that designate a portion of each of the 5 islands as fully protected sanctuaries. The idea of the MPAs is to provide for viewing and study areas where scientists and the general public can see southern California marine habitat in a pristine state. It's expected that large adult fishes protected within the reserves will produce a steady rain of juvenile fish that will reseed adjacent fished areas and provide a steady source of fishing opportunities. In general, this area produces catches that contain no juveniles and a few large sharks. Today is no exception. The largest shark was a seven-foot (220 centimeter) male blue shark that put up quite a struggle before acquiescing to being tagged.

Shipboard life is not all fishing. The ship is a small village composed of roughly 26 individuals, half scientists and half crew. Computers crash, CTDs break (today especially), air conditioning stops, hydraulics leak fluid, and the preparation of food never ends. Everyone seems to have a half dozen job titles. Safety is number one, and drills are a necessary but sometimes inconvenient part of ship life. Once a week the alarms sound and a scenario is created for the crew that involves a chemical spill or fire in a particular portion of the ship. Everyone musters to their appointed stations for fire or abandon ship practice. Today’s photo shows volunteer Jenifer Hoey, a budding marine biologist at UC Berkeley, practicing putting on her “survival suit”. This is a large and cumbersome full body suit that allows someone to withstand the harsh conditions of abandoning ship without a life raft. ABOARD THE DAVID STARR JORDAN, in the Channel Islands Marine National Sanctuary.