Taking the Pulse of a Ravaged Ocean

摘要

The engine cuts to an idle as the fishing boat reaches its target coordinates. After an "OK!" from the crew chief, the deck explodes with activity. Off the starboard rail, crew members drop 10-liter plastic bottles attached to ropes and reel them in by hand to collect samples from the surface, then from 10, 20, and 30 meters down. At the port side, the crew chief casts a 3-meter-long fine mesh plankton net. After a few minutes, he gathers it in by hand and funnels the catch into small jars. To measure turbidity, he sinks a tethered white acrylic disk, the size of a dinner plate, and notes the depth at which it disappears from sight.