Leg 2: Division 3O Coral Closure

Leg 2 Science Crew (l-r): Esther Marcayata, Martin Dahl, Meghan Donovan, Robyn Whelan, and Jack Sullivan.

Crew Change

Aug 16-29, 2025.

With a planned 5 hour crew change and supply restock in St. John's on August 16, the team departed for the 3O Coral Closure at 4:30pm to arrive in time for first stations in the early morning hours of August 18.

Stowaway

August 17, 2025.

This little visitor was first spotted on deck while we were alongside in St. John’s Harbour. After a quick search of the vessel, the team assumed he had flown off, but early this morning, he was discovered once again, resting quietly on deck before finally taking flight. (No worries, he never ventured far from shore!)

Atlantic puffins are a familiar sight off Newfoundland, where the largest colony in North America nests at Witless Bay. Known for their bright bills and quick wingbeats, they spend most of their lives at sea, only coming ashore to breed during the summer months. Encounters like this are a reminder of the rich seabird life that shares these waters.

While at sea, the team opportunistically collects seabird and mammal observation data.

Salps observed after bongo deployment.

"3O is Officially the Best and Weirdest MCA"

August 19, 2025.

Arriving at station 13 yesterday, the plan was to complete a full sampling regime at as many stations as possible, given the weather uncertainty. The team managed to complete 3 stations as well as EK80 acoustic lines overnight. Swells limited activities on August 19, with many of the science crew hunkered down in their bunks.

3O Coral Closure did make a great first impression though, with Meghan commenting the above title.

Storm's a Brewing

Aug 19 - 20, 2025.

A decision was made to head towards the South Coast Fjords well in advance of Hurricane Erin, which is expected to skirt past our region near 3O stations on Friday. Though Erin will remain offshore, its expansive wind field and energy will churn up unpredictable waves, and swell, unsafe conditions for any at-sea operations.

Safety is paramount while at-sea.

Shark Week

August 25, 2025.

The MCA team had quite the "shark week" while conducting monitoring activities along the south coast of Newfoundland, encountering four shark species in a single day.

The first sighting was what the team believes to be a Basking Shark (Cetorhinus maximus), observed swimming just below the surface. This species, the second-largest fish in the world, is known to frequent Newfoundland waters during the summer months as it filter-feeds on plankton. Within 20 minutes, three small Blue Sharks (Prionace glauca) were seen approaching the vessel. This highly migratory species is common in offshore waters of the northwest Atlantic and is often associated with surface activities.

Underwater observations were made using the Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) system, deployed at approximately 300 meters in Hermitage Bay. The recordings captured Dogfish species, as well as a Porbeagle (Lamna nasus), through video observations identified as a male due to the presence of claspers. Porbeagle sharks are an endangered species in the northwest Atlantic, making this sighting noteworthy for conservation monitoring.

Encounters like these highlight the diversity of shark species present in Newfoundland waters and the value of combining surface observations with deep-water monitoring tools such as BRUV systems to better understand distribution and habitat use.

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