Virtually cruise aboard a NOAA ship for a fish trawl survey

Trawling a net behind a boat is a long-standing way of catching fish at sea. NOAA research vessels use trawling for many of the agency's fisheries surveys every year, providing important data that have helped the U.S. become a model of sustainable fisheries. This series of photos shows how a trawl operation collects those data for scientists and fisheries managers. The information plays key roles in fishery stock assessments and ecosystem science studies. To learn more and see photos of a NOAA Fisheries Survey Vessel in action, check out this web story. (Source: NOAA Communications)