This
month, JOHN N. COBB
celebrates its fiftieth anniversary as a fisheries research vessel. Cobb is
NOAA's oldest research vessel and the only wooden ship in the NOAA fleet.
Commissioned February 18, 1950, Cobb began its service to the National Fisheries and Wildlife Service, the forerunner of today’s NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service. Cobb is designed after a West Coast purse-seiner, with certain modifications to improve its seagoing characteristics. In 1963 the ship was written up in the Encyclopedia Americana as the most advanced fisheries research vessel in the world. Even after one-half century of service, the ship is in excellent condition and still running on its original Fairbanks-Morse 1931-design engine.
COBB conducts fisheries and oceanographic research throughout the Northern Pacific Ocean, utilizing almost every type of fishing method including seining, trawling, and long-lining. In the past, the ship has conducted operations for the Navy, the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Atomic Energy Commission as well as every West Coast university’s fisheries or oceanographic programs.
| Length | 93 feet |
| Beam | 26 feet |
| Cruising Speed | 10 knots |
| Maximum Draft | 11 feet |
| Complement | 2 Officers, 2 Licensed Engineers, 3 Crew, 4 Scientists |
| Endurance | 13 days |
| Range | 2,850 nautical miles |
Today, COBB conducts its fisheries research in Southeast Alaska and the U.S. Pacific coastal waters in support of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Auke Bay (Alaska) Laboratory. The ship collects fish and crustacean specimens using trawls and benthic longlines. It also collects fish larvae, eggs, and plankton using plankton nets and both surface and midwater larval nets. Bottom trawls can also be conducted to depths of up to 600 meters. Additionally, the ship conducts marine mammal surveys of whales, porpoises, and seals. Cobb carries a full suite of electronic equipment, from a directional sonar to computers for navigation and data collection.
COBB bears the name of a distinguished leader in the field of fisheries research, John N. Cobb. He was the founder and first dean of the University of Washington’s Fisheries. In the early 1900's, Dean Cobb served in the Bureau of Fisheries for 17 years. He is regarded widely for his untiring efforts in the development of the School of Fisheries and for his data gathering on the fisheries of Alaska.
For the past 14 years
COBB has participated in Seattle's SEAFAIR Special People’s
Christmas Cruise. The ship hosts special needs adults and their companions
during a decorated-boat parade on Seattle’s waterways.
 |
 |
 |
Return
to the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations
Home Page 
Return
to the NOAA Fleet 
Visit
the Aircraft Operations Center
Visit
the Marine Operations Center 
Visit
the NOAA Corps