NOAA COMMISSIONS NEW FISHERIES SURVEY VESSEL HENRY B. BIGELOW July 16, 2007 — NOAA commissioned its new fisheries survey vessel Henry B. Bigelow today at NOAA’s Marine Operations Center-Atlantic in Norfolk, Va. It is the second of four ships in its class designed and built by VT Halter Marine Inc. in Moss Point, Miss. The ship was named in honor of the founding director of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, a pioneering ocean researcher whose extensive investigations are recognized as the foundation of modern oceanography. (Click NOAA image for larger view of NOAA's newest acoustically quiet fishery research vessel, Henry B. Bigelow. Click here for high resolution version. Please credit “NOAA.”) “With her state-of-the-art technology and unique research attributes, Henry B. Bigelow will help manage living marine resources in more than 100,000 square miles of ocean including Georges Bank, one of the world’s most productive fishing grounds,” said retired Navy Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. The ship’s
sponsor is Kathleen Gregg, wife of Senator Judd Gregg of New Hampshire.
Mrs. Gregg’s signature is inscribed on a metal keel plate affixed
to the ship and, according to maritime tradition, Henry B. Bigelow will
carry her spirit throughout the ship’s service life. NOAA is evaluating
potential home ports for the Henry B. Bigelow, from which she will support
the Northeast Fisheries Science
Center in Woods Hole, Mass. Henry B. Bigelow will replace NOAA ship
Albatross IV once calibration
studies between the two vessels are complete. One of her primary missions
will be to conduct the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Multispecies
Bottom Trawl Survey Program. This program is recognized by the fisheries
scientific community as one of the most valuable time series of fisheries
data in the United States and among the most valuable in the world.
Data produced by this program are used to provide management advice
covering marine finfish and invertebrate stocks in the Northeast United
States.
The 208-foot ship was built to meet the requirements of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. Recent acoustic tests run by the U.S. Navy show Henry B. Bigelow exceeds standards for a low noise signature set by the International Council for Exploration of the Seas to optimize the effectiveness of fisheries research across the globe. Henry B. Bigelow and her sister ships are so quiet that they can study fish without significantly altering their behavior. Their hydroacoustic technology uses sound waves to “see” fish on a computer screen, which makes fisheries assessments more efficient and accurate. Also, the ships can 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. Henry B. Bigelow’s commanding officer is Commander Stephen Beckwith, a NOAA Corps officer. The NOAA Corps is one of the nation’s seven uniformed services. Officers, who are scientists or engineers, command the agency’s research and survey ships and aircraft, and serve in billets on shore, bringing their operational expertise to NOAA programs. The ship’s civilian crew includes highly skilled wage mariners. NOAA, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is celebrating 200 years of science and service to the nation. From the establishment of the Survey of the Coast in 1807 by Thomas Jefferson to the formation of the Weather Bureau and the Commission of Fish and Fisheries in the 1870s, much of America's scientific heritage is rooted in NOAA. NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 60 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects. Relevant Web Sites NOAA’s Office of Marine and Aviation Operations Final Acoustic Trial Results for the HENRY B. BIGELOW Media Contact:Jeanne G. Kouhestani, NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, 301-713-7693 (office) or 301-787-7269 (cellular)
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