Virginia Sea Grant:
Ryan and Lauren look for good sites to drop their net and trawl for flounder. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
The team uses otter trawling, a method of dragging a net and two wooden planks behind a boat, to catch flounder. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
While trawling, Ryan documents the boat's location, and Lauren adjusts the speed. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
When the trawl is complete, Ryan pulls in one of the heavy wooden planks that keeps the net open while trawling. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
After pulling the net aboard, all of the fish get transferred to a container for sorting. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
While trawling for flounder, many different types of fish come up with the net. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
The crew takes a quick break from sampling when Ryan spots Lauren's lost buoy in the marsh and jumps in to retrieve it. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
GPS and sample sheets help Ryan keep track of where he caught his fish. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
You never know what you'll pull up in the net, like this 6-foot stingray! ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
Back at the lab, Ryan takes measurements of a flounder's fat content using the fatmeter. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
Ryan removes a healthy-looking liver from a young flounder. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
Ryan removes a bit of muscle tissue from a flounder. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
Back at the lab, Ryan documents fatmeter readings and weights of the flounders' muscle tissue and the liver. ©Janet Krenn/VASG
Virginia Sea Grant:
How well will the fatmeter approximate the health of young fish, such as flounder? ©Janet Krenn/VASG