YAQUINA BAY — NOAA’s 2019 Ship of the Year is anchored at Newport, awaiting its next mission once the coronavirus crisis passes.

The NOAA research vessel Bell M. Shimada is a 208-foot craft with a cruising speed of 11 knots. Its mission is primarily to conduct fisheries research and monitor the ecosystem of pelagic fish species — those that inhabit water neither close to the bottom nor close to the top of the ocean — off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts. It also journeys to Alaska once every two or three years, as it did last year, when it completed the Alaskan Pollock Survey one day early in the rough winter waters of the Shelikof Strait.

In 2019, the Shimada was away from homeport for a total of 212 days, completing 5188.3 linear miles of fisheries surveys. It was the only NOAA ship that operated during last year’s government shutdown. It deployed 465 CTD sensor packages; completed 388 side-station tows; deployed 188 vertical nets; conducted 163 surface mid-water trawls; deployed 98 acoustic receivers; undertook five dives with remotely operated vehicles; and completed one mooring deployment and recovery. The Shimada has sailed more than any other ship in NOAA’s fleet during the past two years, and it was awarded 2019 Ship of the Year for its operational excellence.

The ship’s chief steward, Arnold Dones, was also recognized as one of NOAA’s Professional Mariners of the Year for “preparing the best food in the fleet.” He and another steward were responsible for serving more than 800 meals to the ship’s crew throughout the year.

Another highlight of the Shimada’s award-winning year was its completion of the Pacific Hake Acoustic Trawl Survey while fishing only one net, the first time that’s been done in 10 years of surveys.

The ship’s commander, Capt. Jesse Stark, answered some of the New-Times’ questions via email. Answers have been edited for space and clarity.

How many are aboard the ship while at sea?

The ship’s crew consists of six bridge officers, seven engineers, seven deckhands, one electronics technician, two survey technicians and two cooks when fully staffed. The scientific complement is led by a chief scientist and up to 16 support scientists who gather, preserve and analyze all data collected.

What is a CTD?

A CTD is a water sensor package that is deployed over the side of the ship that measures water conductivity and temperature by depth to detect changes relative to water depth. This information, combined with the results of our trawl and acoustic surveys, help us understand how seawater properties affect sea life. When deployed, a vertical cast from a winch on the ship’s starboard side is sent to a depth within 1 meter of the bottom, or in water depth greater than 500 meters, to a depth of 500 meters. On rare occasions, the CTD cast off the Shimada will go to 1,000 meters, and we have done them as deep as 2,000.

What is day-to-day life like aboard the ship?

We typically conduct operations around the clock, so there are always people up and about keeping things running. Things don’t slow down at 2 a.m. We maximize efficiency of each day at sea to collect as much data as possible while away from the dock. At all hours, crew and scientists on board could be deploying or retrieving fishing gear and sensors, sorting catch and analyzing or preserving samples, in addition to navigating the ship safely and ensuring equipment is maintained and operating properly. Scientists, deckhands, survey technicians and stewards routinely work 12 hours a day, and bridge officers and engineers work 10-12 hours per day.

What is the significance of completing a survey one day early, and likewise, the significance of completing a survey using only one net?

A lot of scientific researchers request time on board, so days at sea are valuable and are maximized by the groups that get ship time. If all mission objectives are completed to the satisfaction of the chief scientist for the project, a day early arrival is sometimes allowed. When this happens, it means that there have been very little or no gear malfunctions, or the crew and scientists were able to correct any problems quickly.

Trawling is particularly stressful on gear, especially in some of the weather conditions and tidal and current fronts we deploy nets in. The ship draws 20 feet, is 2,300 gross tons, and the vessel size puts a tremendous amount of strain on the trawl and associated gear. The Hake Survey lasted 65 days, and getting through that amount of time with one net was pretty remarkable and a testament to the teamwork and unified effort of the crew and scientists, and the skill displayed by the bridge officers.

Can you describe the mechanics of a survey in a little more detail?

Onboard the Shimada, we have trawl nets like commercial fisheries use. The science party onboard directs where we deploy these nets to catch the target species for our surveys, as well as the other scientific equipment to gather information about the ocean environment. We deploy and retrieve the nets and other scientific equipment at survey stations, collect and sort the catch and analyze or preserve samples on board.

Can you share some anecdotes or narrative stories about work away from homeport?

It is hard to articulate just one unique experience. What we see every day, from the unobstructed sunrises each morning to the views of the Milky Way galaxy at night, all of the unique experiences start to feel routine. In hindsight, the moments we have come together to solve problems are the most memorable because it emphasizes how alone we are when out at sea. Our teamwork and resourcefulness is always a common theme to getting the mission done. It’s like when Apollo 13 astronauts had to create a carbon dioxide filter on the fly with what they had. While less dramatic than the movie, every voyage has its own set of unique challenges that we always find a way to overcome.

On one survey in a National Marine Sanctuary off California, we were deploying an autonomous underwater vehicle during the day and a remotely operated vehicle at night to investigate some coral reef structure. The autonomous vehicle got tangled in some derelict fishing gear on the bottom and would not surface. We sent for the remotely operated vehicle operators, who were asleep at the time since they operated at night. Once awake and alert, they sent their vehicle down to free the autonomous vehicle. It was a low probability operation, and it took several hours, but we were able to free the vehicle. Once it floated to the surface, we were able to successfully recover it. Many teams working together made the difference.

After completing its long mission at sea, the Shimada underwent extensive repairs in dry dock at Vallejo, Calif., before returning to its homeport in February. Given the current pandemic, it’s not clear when it will next embark.

Jonathan Shannon, NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations public affairs specialist, said, “In support of federal guidance to slow the spread of COVID-19, NOAA has implemented a risk-based approach to aircraft and vessel deployment to keep our teams and those they work with as healthy and safe as we can. NOAA ships have been directed to return to NOAA facilities and to remain there until further notice. We will continue to evaluate our ability to conduct surveys while respecting the health and safety guidance from federal, state, and local authorities, including reprioritizing our planned surveys as needed through Sept. 30.”