17th October
Good morning, good morning this is the 13th day of the survey, and it is Friday, so what could possibly go wrong. To start one of the VSAS observers while standing up trying to put his socks on stumbled and stubbed his toe on is steel toecap boots.

We were now at the southern end of Transect 27 ready to head north towards the UK. The search for a trawl the previous evening was unsuccessful so by now there was a real desperation to get the net in the water. The first couple of miles of the transect had some long-line fishing vessels so it was touch and go whether they would get a trawl in.

Touch and go has sailing origins. If a ship accidentally ran aground but was lucky enough to lift off the bottom at once without any serious damage she had literally been in a touch and go situation.

So, we set off on the transect. Back to normal, with Gannet were the first bird spotted, there were also four Great Skua seen, two of them having a short mid-air tussle. As expected, 40 minutes into the transect we pulled off for a trawl. When the deck crew were informed the rye comment came back, “Is this a pretend trawl or the real thing.”

We had a bit of a double dip on the trawl. Due to another fishing boat in the area, we had to change course to avoid it after putting the net in and after that manoeuvre we had missed the fish we were aiming at, so it was decided to haul the net back in and try again. “I’ll get this done with a little help from my friends” the Chief Scientist was heard to say. On the second attempt even though it did not look hopeful on the monitors a reasonable catch was landed of mainly Sardine and a few Anchovy and Mackerel. When I’m sixty four I might understand this trawling lark – oh dear I’m already passed that so there is no hope.

At 11:30 we were back on line. As before there were Gannet in ones and twos, the variety was not getting better. One of the Chiffchaff onboard ventured forward to the front deck and a Song Thrush passed through. A couple of hours in we saw a group of Cory’s Shearwater off on the port side, these were the first we had seen for a while and a contrast with last year when we saw 100’s of them. Towards the end of the transect a Long-tailed Skua was seen by the VSAS team out on the starboard bridge wing, unfortunately not seen by us.

After completing the transect we set sail for Transect 26. Two Arctic Skua passed near the ship while transiting. We started the transect at about 16:00 and steamed south for a couple of hours until 18:00 when it was starting to get too dark and the only birds being seen were Gannet. In the whole two hours it was pretty much all we saw apart from a few auks and a handful of Kittiwake.

We left the bridge while the ship went off looking for something to trawl.
So, what have we learnt today:
• If at first you don’t succeed, try again
• Double dipping is just part of a day in the life of CEFAS fisher folk
• Put your socks on sitting down

18th October
Another particularly dark morning though there was a lovely sunrise and we were back at where we’d finished the previous evening. Some fish had been found the previous evening, but the net wasn’t hauled until 20:30 – a late night for the CEFAS fish crew.

Before we started there were a dozen or more Gannet and gulls around the ship, some stayed with us to the bitter end of the transect at 10:30. We can’t count birds associating with the ship on survey so birds hanging around like this give us a real headache when counting. One of the Great Black-backed Gulls, which was recognisable by its partial moult was still there at the end so for the valiant effort of staying with us we added it to the count.

To the bitter end is another sailing phrase. On sailing ships it is vital that important cables, such as those attached to anchors do not run out and disappear overboard. Therefore, the inboard end was attached to a wooden post known as the bitt. Hence if the cable was let out to its maximum extent it was said to be at the ‘bitter end.’

The rest of the transect was similar to previous days. Out of 82 separate sightings 73 were of Gannet, notable other sightings were a few of Great Shearwater and also a Sooty Shearwater. Variety was desperately lacking

On the cetacean front we had six encounters with pods of Common Dolphin totalling 35 animals, most of these were seen as they raced in towards the bow.
There was only a few minutes between this transect and the next, Transect 46 but luckily for us observers it was decided to do a trawl which meant we could have a relaxed lunch. Not so lucky for the deck crew though, as this meant they had to work through lunch, one of the downsides of being deck crew on a research vessel.

There was a little bit of rain as the trawl was undertaken, the first we had seen in days. A reasonable number of birds were around when it was hauled in, and this included a Great Skua trying to pinch the other bird’s lunch. There was a good size haul brought onto the deck.

We started Transect 46 around 12:30, as usual there were a number of Gannet but also a few Great Skua sighted. Not long into the transect a group of Gannets were seen circling ahead of the ship. Beneath them there was splashing in the water and then a whale blow was sighted, most likely a Minke, and the splashing was being caused by a pod of 10 Risso’s Dolphin feeding. Not joining in but sitting nearby was a raft of about 50 Great Shearwater watching the melee, presumably having already had their fill. That was a particularly good start to a transect.

The rest of the transect had long periods of nothing and then short interludes with various sightings. Quite a few Great Shearwater were seen, single Arctic Skua passed through the recording box heading east. A later burst of sightings featured a flock of about 25 Manx Shearwater sitting on the water that took off and passed through the box and a single Sooty Shearwater darted across in front of the ship.

In addition to the Minke and Risso’s Dolphin a few Common Dolphin were also sighted, one small pod of three include an adult, juvenile, and a calf.

The ship then headed for one of the plankton stations with the intension of trawling on the way. “Don’t let me down” was heard from the Chief Scientist as he left the bridge to keep his eye on the fish monitor. After an hour he returned “I should have known better” as he conceded defeat and we would not be trawling tonight. We know what Chief Scientists do if they don’t get their trawl, scuffing his old brown shoes, he left the bridge.
So, what have we learnt today:
• The deck crew must have done something wrong or us observers must have done something right
• Some gulls have staying power.