Saturday: April 1st,2023

Sunny, light wind 5-7 mph with 10mph gusts, 67 degrees and small white caps to the horizon.

NOAA Research Vessel Ship Bell M. Shimada was seen just off the coast of Malibu at the Point Dume State Marine Reserve and Point Dume State Marine Conservation Area. The geographic locations for the Reserve and Conservation areas extends 3 nautical miles off shore and along the coast from north of Paradise Cove to the south end of La Piedra State Beach.

The 208.6 ft ship is commissioned to serve the entire west coast of the United States.

The ship hosts a team of scientists, crew and officers to conduct a research study or survey called : The California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations (CalCOFI). The survey began in 1949 after a drastic reduction to the sardine numbers in the state. Seasonal surveys are done to assess the production and abundance of marine life and coastal conditions in the Marine Protected Areas (MPA’s) along the California Current. There are 124 Marine Protected Areas. (MPA)  The ship’s home port is Newport, Oregon.

According to NOAA the ship is “monitoring Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs), environmental DNA (eDNA), Imaging Flow CytoBot (IFCB), vertical zooplankton net collections, and Acoustic Properties of Plankton (APOP)“. The ship is equipped to do oceanographic and fishery research using specialized acoustic equipment to monitor fish populations without disturbing or changing the marine life behaviors.

On board there is a “wet” laboratory and Chemistry laboratory to study the freshly collected fish and plankton samples. The ship is monitoring and investigating National Marine Sanctuaries. According to NOAA “The 2023 CalCOFI Spring cruise sailed aboard NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada from March 25 through April 26 to survey the distributions and abundances of pelagic fish stocks, their prey, and their biotic and abiotic environments in the California Current.“. The ship can be followed on the NOAA website and the ships social media channels. Twitter and on instagram

The waxing gibbous moonrise, late afternoon with bright blue skies and seen over head towards sunset with a golden sky as two gray whales migrated past Point Dume 2+miles off shore. The blows glow in the late sunlight known as the golden hour making it easier to spot the whales.

A trio of whales came in just after sunset with the Belt of Venus, an atmospheric phenomenon was visible to the south as the last rays of the sun reflect on the horizon. The whales spyhopped, rolled, and interacted in Pirates Cove until it was too dark to see them.