The last phase of the survey up
at the Fladen Grounds has been focussed on collecting evidence for Scottish
Government to better understand feature condition across a surface abrasion
pressure gradient, particularly looking at seapen and burrowing megafaunal
communities. One element of this
burrowing megafaunal community is the Norway Lobster (Nephrops norvegicus) or langoustine as you may be more familiar
with. Nephrops are typically
nocturnal, so the night shift have had more luck spotting them then the day
shift, as they emerge from the burrows to hunt and scavenge.
They feed on other crustaceans, worms or even fish. Their main predator is the
cod (Gadus morhua).
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| A Nephrops caught in the 'headlights' of the camera sledge (JNCC/Cefas) |
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| A Nephrops emerging from its burrow (JNCC/Cefas) |
At this time, it is too early to report any findings from the surface abrasion study. Once off the ship, the data will be analysed intensively before the findings are captured within a final report….typically this process can take from 6 months up to a year. Keep an eye on the JNCC website for the final report.
Despite the bad weather experienced throughout this phase of
the survey, we've made some good progress during the more favourable weather
experienced this past week. When there’s
a spare minute, we've had time to appreciate beautiful sunrises from the deck
and oil rigs lit up at night.
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| Sunrise over the Fladen Grounds (Hugh Wright, JNCC) |
Throughout a number of stations at the Fladen Grounds, we've
spotted what may be a cup coral living on the surface of the
sediment. On our last grab of the
survey, we were lucky enough to get two of these in our sample. They do indeed look like a species of cup coral, but appeared to just be sitting on the
surface of the muddy sediment (see the images below).
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| Cup corals seen on the muddy sediment surface from the camera sledge (JNCC/Cefas) |
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| Two cup coral specimens recovered on the very last sample of the survey (Neil Golding, JNCC) |
As I write this, we’re completing the last few camera
transects before setting back to Lowestoft. It’s a long journey home – nearly
36 hours! But it gives the survey team
an opportunity to take stock of the data collected, and complete the ship-side
QA checks.
