An exciting Sunday afternoon

We caught a barrel full of fish!

Jeff spotted a large plastic barrel floating off the port side of the boat. Initially the crew thought they’d just reel it in, but after seeing how big it is-the size of an oil drum-they decided Bonnie and I had better get in and take photos/video before they lugged it on board.

I’ve gotten used to jumping in with my clothes on, so I dove in, underwater camera in hand.

It was pretty incredible to see this barrel floating underwater, especially since one end was open. Inside were about nine fish and they stayed put as Captain Moore and Jeff tied a rope around the barrel and got Bill to heave it on board.

Jeff and Bill hauling a plastic barrel full of fish on board, a first for the crew. Photo by Lindsey Hoshaw

Captain Moore was pretty excited; the crew has never hauled a 55 gallon drum full of fish on board before. The outside of the barrel is covered in green algae and hundreds of barnacles.

Gwen took out five of the fish and put them in a smaller bucket without water before wrapping them in tinfoil, labeling them and sticking them in the freezer. Back at the Long Beach lab she’ll see if they have any chemicals in their tissues.

Some of the fish that were in the floating barrel. Gwen transported them to this empty bucket and one of them was still flipping around. Photo by Lindsey Hoshaw

Well, it’s nearing the end of the day. I’m off to sit on the bow for a few minutes and watch the sunset, before getting back to work.