The vastness. The poster hall at Ocean Sciences 2014.
At the end of February I had the opportunity to travel to Honolulu for Ocean Sciences 2014, a massive international conference covering all topics related to oceanography and marine science. In addition to presenting a poster on work that I did as part of the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe's climate change assessment, I also participated in a fantastic workshop on teaching ocean sciences at a 2-year college, attended special sessions by the authors of the most recent IPCC Assessment, and attended numerous talks on the latest and greatest science related to my work: Sea level rise, storm impacts, tsunami and coastal processes in particular.
I want that. The thriving marketplace for oceanography gizmos at the Ocean Sciences conference.
As it turns out, though, the most mind-blowing marine education I received on the trip happened after the conference ended. Very early on Saturday morning McHenry and I slipped out of our hotel and made our way down to Pier 38 where, every day except Sunday, the Honolulu fish auction is held. One of only two fish auctions in the United States, many of the fish landed in Honolulu pass through a refrigerated warehouse and are individually sold to the highest bidder. That's right - each individual fish is auctioned off one by one. Its not totally clear that it is open to the public, but we ended up wandering around without any issues to watch boats off-loading, fish being moved, tagged and sorted, buyers and auctioneers haggling over price, and the buyers taking their fish away to restaurants or wholesalers. We even had the chance to talk to a couple of the folks working the floor. It was an eye-opening experience...check out the photos:
The fleet
Tuna coming off the boat
A few weeks work
Ready for the transfer to the warehouse
A peak inside the auction house
McHenry and a multi thousand dollar tuna
Tracking the landings
The auction line
Its not ALL about tuna...but mostly
On the way to the grill
Other views:
