NOAA's NEW FISHERIES SURVEY VESSEL TO EMBARK ON MAIDEN VOYAGE

Feb. 17, 2005 � NOAA's newest ship, Oscar Dyson, is on its maiden voyage and is scheduled to transit the Panama Canal on Feb. 19. Oscar Dyson is NOAA's first newly constructed fisheries survey vessel in more than 25 years. The transit is a significant milestone for NOAA and its fleet modernization program. (Click NOAA image for larger view of FSV (Fisheries Survey Vessel) Oscar Dyson being launched Oct. 17, 2003, at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Moss Point, Miss. Click here for high resolution version, which is a large file. Please credit “NOAA.” Click here to view video of launch.)

"Oscar Dyson is the first critical link in our vision to provide state-of-the-art fishery research capabilities along all the U.S. coasts," said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. "NOAA's fleet modernization is a key element in meeting the agency's mission of managing marine resources and efforts to sustain healthy fish populations and a prosperous fishing industry."

Oscar Dyson is the first of four planned 208-foot fisheries survey ships to be delivered by VT Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Miss. This series of ships will greatly expand the capabilities of the existing NOAA fleet by meeting specific data collection requirements of NOAA Fisheries and providing a cutting-edge, low acoustic signature that enables scientists aboard to study fish without affecting their behavior. Oscar Dyson and its sister ships will have the ability to perform hydro-acoustic surveys of fish. They also will be able to conduct bottom and mid-water trawls while running physical and biological-oceanographic sampling during a single deployment—a combined capability unavailable in the private sector.

"Oscar Dyson is one of the most technologically advanced fisheries survey ships in the world," said Rear Admiral Samuel P. De Bow Jr., director of the NOAA Corps and NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, which operates and manages the NOAA fleet. "It meets tough standards set by the International Council on Exploration of the Seas to improve accuracy and consistency of fishery data collection." Nations adhering to these standards will be able to more effectively share their data with other countries.

Brief stopovers are planned for San Diego, Calif., and Newport, Ore., as the ship sails up the West Coast. A several-week stop in Seattle, Wash., is scheduled for post-delivery shakedown cruises and outfitting. The ship will then sail for its homeport of Kodiak, Alaska, in May to begin operations. Its primary mission will be to monitor the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska fisheries, particularly Alaskan pollock, the nation's largest single fishery and the fourth largest in value. Current plans call for Oscar Dyson to be commissioned in Kodiak on May 28.

The new ship's commanding officer is Cmdr. Frank Wood, a NOAA Corps officer. The NOAA Corps is one of the nation's seven uniformed services. Officers command the agency's research and survey ships and aircraft, and serve in billets on shore, bringing their operational expertise to NOAA programs.

NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of the nation�s coastal and marine resources. NOAA is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Relevant Web Sites
NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson

NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations

Media Contact:
Jeanne Kouhestani, NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations, (301) 713-3431 ext. 220