8
July 20, 2018
T he C olumbia P ress
What’s that out on the water? A drone?
Drones don’t always fly.
Two wind- and solar-pow-
ered sailing drones are
prowling West Coast ocean
waters in hopes of improving
the accuracy of fish surveys.
It’s a joint project of the
National Oceanic and At-
mospheric Administration,
Fisheries and Oceans Cana-
da, and Saildrone Inc., a pri-
vate company based in Ala-
meda, Calif.
The entities launched two
Saildrones from Neah Bay,
Wash., at the end of June
They headed to the north-
ern end of Vancouver Island,
turned south and are follow-
ing a series of transects along
the coast south to San Fran-
cisco.
Two
additional
Sail-
drones joined the project
fleet in early July going from
Alameda to the Southern Cal-
ifornia.
They will gather acoustic
data on Pacific hake (whiting)
and pelagic species such as
sardines, anchovy and mack-
erel, which make up many of
the West Coast’s most im-
portant commercial fisheries.
The hake fishery is jointly
To learn more
Progress of the West
Coast sail drones can
be found on a blog at the
NOAA website (do a Goo-
gle search for NOAA Sail-
drone).
Courtesy NOAA Fisheries
A sailing drone is launched from
Neah Bay, Wash., on June 26.
managed by Canada and the
United States.
Fishermen unloaded 558
million pounds of hake worth
about $47 million in Astoria,
Westport, Wash., and a few
other ports in 2016.
The NOAA ship “Reuben
Lasker” also is in the region
gathering similar acoustic
data for comparison.
The Lasker is equipped
with advanced echosounders
for accurately surveying fish
populations.
“This partnership is putting
Mayor leads citywide volksmarch
Those wanting to walk the
many trails and stairways
connecting Astoria’s streets
will find the perfect outing
Saturday, July 21.
Angora Hiking Club has or-
ganized a group walk during
the citywide volksmarch, a
noncompetitive organized
walk of several miles.
The walk takes participants
from Astor Street to Niagara
Street and back again using
several trails and stairways
between the streets.
Register at Pier 11. It’s free
for those not walking for
credit, but donations are ac-
cepted.
Angora club member Ar-
line LaMear, who also is
Astoria’s mayor, will lead
those ready to walk at 9 a.m.
Those wanting to walk on
their own can register and
pick up directions anytime
between 9 a.m. and noon.
The club also will hike the
Fort to Sea/South Slough
Loop on Wednesday, July
25.
All interested hikers should
meet at 1 p.m. at Sixth Street
and Marine Drive in Astoria
as parking is extremely lim-
ited at the site.
The hike is more than 2
miles through lush forest
with plenty of ripe blackber-
ries. For more information,
call hike leader Marlene Co-
lendich at 503-325-8208.
some of the most import-
ant new marine technology
to work for the West Coast,”
said Toby Garfield, acting
deputy director of NOAA’s
Southwest Fisheries Science
Center in La Jolla, Calif., and
part of the team directing the
fifth Saildrone.
“The more complete and
accurate data we have, the
better decisions our fisheries
managers can make in real
terms of catch levels and sea-
sons,” Garfield said.
Sailing drones have been
used in Alaska to compile
data on endangered whales,
information on walleye pol-
lock and surveys of declining
populations of northern fur
seals.
This year, the focus in Alas-
ka is on studying abundance
and distribution of Arctic cod
in the Chukchi Sea.
St. Francis has
annual picnic
St. Francis de Sales Mis-
sion Catholic Church has
its annual picnic Sunday,
July 29, after 11 a.m. Mass.
Knights of Columbus
is providing hamburgers
and hotdogs. Participants
are asked to bring their
favorite dish to share plus
drinks.
Games are planned after
the potluck. All families
are welcome.
The usual Vigil Mass
scheduled for 4 p.m. Sat-
urday, July 28, has been
cancelled.
The church is at 867 Fifth
St., Hammond.