TO REGISTER: Send an email to SILHSeducation@gmail.com, subject Kittiwake
$40 / person (This trip is limited to 12 people. Minimum age is 18.)
R/V Kittiwake Expedition
We will gather in the parking lot at the Ellis Preserve and then walk down together to the dock to board the R/V Kittiwake and head out.
You’ll be out on the water for approximately two hours, helping characterize the biodiversity of potential ratfish sites with two net deployments. Each haul will bring up fish, invertebrates, and kelps that we’ll identify — and you’ll help contribute to groundbreaking research.
This expedition is led by Karly Cohen, PhD. Karly is a research scientist at Friday Harbor Labs and is excited to have Shaw community members aboard the R/V Kittiwake for an exciting expedition in search of the lost nursery sites of the Pacific spotted ratfish! Known for their distinctive rat-like beak, these fascinating creatures are abundant throughout Pacific Northwest waters.
Over the past five years, Karly and her team have discovered that these fish migrate through the San Juan Channel, leaving eggs along the way. This is our third year sponsoring a Kittiwake research trip. Dr. Karly Cohen published a paper that included data from our expeditions.
She wrote this: “The project that would not have been possible without the collections and time in the field that your support makes possible. Every trip and every specimen adds up, and I’m deeply grateful for how your generosity helps turn these ideas into real discoveries.” Be part of science!
Here is what some past participants have said:
“I haven’t enjoyed myself so much in ages.”
“It was fascinating and uplifting to experience the variety of animals and plants scooped from the sea floor.”
“A great adventure for this landlubber from the interior Southeast.”
“Karly’s enthusiasm for marine life was contagious.”
