Bigelow Breakdown – Fish Survey at Risk of Skewed Data?

Even before mechanics found deeply pitted bearings near crankshafts in its generators, problems that could have led to catastrophic engine failure, the Henry B. Bigelow was running more than a month behind. Now, the government research vessel is embarking on its annual spring voyage later than ever before, a delay that could have serious consequences for scientists’ ability to assess the health of some of the 52 fish stocks they survey, from the waters off North Carolina to the eastern reaches of the Gulf of Maine. The Bigelow typically leaves Newport in March for the spring survey, but this year was delayed by routine maintenance for more than a month. When it finally left its shipyard in Brooklyn, N.Y., last month, it had to return to port to ride out a nor’easter. Then the mechanics discovered the problem in its generators, and the ship didn’t depart until last Friday. Read the rest here   11:28

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