Influence of the Azores high on sea level pressure and wind, and on precipitation, in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

ENGLISH: Intensification of the Azores high pressure cell in mid-year, with concomitant air flow from the Caribbean into the Pacific, is shown to be responsible for a secondary minimum of precipitation observed along the tropical Pacific coast of the Americas, and to have a measurable effect on wind and precipitation several hundred kilometers offshore. SPANISH: La intensificación de la célula de alta presión de las Azores a mediados del año, y la corriente de aire concomitante que entra al Pacífico procedente del Caribe, se demuestra que es la causante de un mínimo secundario de precipitación observado a lo largo de la costa tropical de las Américas en el Pacífico y que tiene un efecto mensurable sobre el viento y la precipitación varios cientos de kilómetros mar afuera. (PDF contains 23 pages.)

Injury Rates of Red King Crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, Passing Under Bottom-trawl Footropes

The rate of injuries sustained by red king crab, Paralithodes camtschaticus, during passage under several types of bottom trawl footropes was examined using a modified bottom trawl in Bristol Bay, Alaska. Crabs were recaptured and examined for injuries after passing under each of three trawl footropes representing those commonly used in the bottom trawl fisheries of the eastern Bering Sea. Using the injury rate from tows with a floated footrope which minimized crab contact to account for handling injuries, injury rates of 5, 7, and 10% were estimated for crabs passing under the three commercial trawl footropes.

Subsurface Fish Handling to Limit Decompression Effects on Deepwater Species

A method of handling hooked fish at intermediate depth was developed for species which occur deeper than conventional scuba depths. Juvenile pink snappers, Pristipomoides filamentosus, were hauled from 65-100 m to a depth of only 30 m, where the ambient pressure change was a fraction of that produced by hauling fish to the sea surface. This method afforded a unique opportunity to acoustically tag deepwater, physoclistous fish without the need to alter the fish's original swim bladder volume and without the high risk of further injury associated with surface handling. Tagged P. filamentosus survived and behaved well and were tracked successfully. This basic method could be applied to a variety of deepwater species in a number of research approaches, including tagging and dietary studies.