Katlyn: Week 3 on the Flatfish populations project

Immersion Suit Training

This week at Hatfield, Ella and I were able to do some ocean safety training. This will allow us to be prepared when we go out on a research vessel in the weeks to come. Our training included watching safety videos on what to do in case of an emergency at sea. We were also able to be trained on how to use, don, and take care of an immersion suit. These suits are used to protect people from the frigid ocean water if they must abandon ship. In order to complete our training we had to be able to don a immersion suit in less than 60 seconds. I was nervous that we were not going to be able to do that because it seemed like such a short time. However, it was much easier than I had originally thought because after we practiced a couple times we were able to get suited up in 45 seconds!

Juvenile Dungeness Crab

We were also able to continue helping Morgan Bancroft (Mo) with his project in the lab by feeding his juvenile Dungeness crab. It is so much fun to be able to feed them because they are so cute! It is a great way to end our day. I am so glad that we have been able to help him, and that is it actually beneficial to him as well because it cuts his feeding time in half.





Our data entry has also continued this week. It is nice to see the progress that we have been able to make on these binders full of historical data! This work has allowed me to increase my problem solving skills because the handwritten notes are sometimes hard to read or understand, so I have been able to make decisions on how to interpret and store the information. At times I have to ask Waldo or Matt for their opinion, but other times I am able to make my own judgement calls on the best way to go about entering the data. Ella and I have also been able to make some suggestions on possible improvements for the online database. It is exciting to be a part of this large, ongoing project, and I am excited to see other aspects of it in the weeks to come!