NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

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NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

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07/17/2024

Twenty scientists, in addition to crew members, are aboard Oscar Elton Sette, which departed its home port of Honolulu on July 1.

07/17/2024

Scientists began underwater surveys for the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program’s Hawai‘i mission around Maui. Divers, like the one pictured here, are collecting data on fish, corals, and ocean conditions, and gathering images to create a 3D model of the reef. Look for the big white ship and small orange boats around Maui Nui over the next week!

Follow our scientists along the way by checking out our photo gallery: https://bit.ly/3xRvkLf

Learn more about this survey effort: https://bit.ly/3VZysxV

Photo credit: NOAA Fisheries/Lori Luers
NOAA Ocean Acidification Program NOAA Fisheries Service NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

07/08/2024

And they’re off! Scientists and crew left for the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program’s Hawai‘i mission. Over the next 28 days, scientists will monitor coral reefs around the islands of Ni‘ihau, Kaua‘i, Maui, Moloka‘i, Lāna‘i, Kaho‘olawe, and Hawai‘i. A team of divers will record fish and habitat data, collect images of the ocean floor, and gather water samples. This data will help scientists and managers evaluate potential changes in coral reef health throughout the Pacific Islands region.

Check in on their journey, underwater reef surveys, and the many fish they will count along the way: https://bit.ly/3xRvkLf

NOAA Ocean Acidification Program NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations NOAA Fisheries Service NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette

Photo Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Raymond Boland

06/26/2024

Fair winds and following seas to Cmdr. Fionna Matheson as we welcome Cmdr. Faith Knighton aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette as the new Commanding Officer! June 12th, 2024 marks a new chapter in our journey of service and discovery.

05/13/2024

📣Exciting news!🌟 This week NOAA Fisheries Service recommended roughly $5.5 million for state and tribal projects through the Species Recovery Grants Program.
The recommendation includes a proposal aimed at reducing threats to the Main Hawaiian Islands insular false killer whales, among other Pacific Islands projects.
Learn more: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/recommended-2024-species-recovery-grants-projects

04/26/2024

03/21/2024

11/02/2023

11/01/2023

Drifting Acoustic Spar Buoy Recorders, (DASBR’s) are deployed in support of Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (HICEAS). While each bouy floats with the currents, it gathers passive acoustic data. This provides a snapshot of cetacean species in the area, ship traffic, and other environmental noise that can help to understand the distribution of cetacean species. This DASBR was deployed September 9th, recording nearly a month of acoustic data before we picked it up!

09/18/2023

08/25/2023

What is the pressure like 1,000 meters below the oceans surface? Senior Survey Tech Nich Sucher finds out. Nich sent a decorated styrofoam head to depth on the CTD (conductivity temperature depth) array, where it experienced 100 atmospheres. When the head came back from the journey, it was noticeably smaller.

08/09/2023

Congratulations to our next Teacher at Sea, Gail Tang! Last Friday, Gail set sail from Honolulu aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette for the Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Survey (HICEAS.) Gail is an associate professor of mathematics at University of La Verne in southern California. "When I return home, I will work to create some math lessons using research methods, data collection, and data analysis learned aboard the ship," she writes in her introductory post. "I will also create a lesson to highlight NOAA-related careers. I’m particularly excited about passing on career information to my students!"

We appreciate that Gail has truly embodied the *Flexibility* needed to be a Teacher at Sea - she is finally sailing after several weeks of delay to her originally scheduled survey leg. Follow her blog here: https://noaateacheratsea.blog/author/gailmtang/

Photo: TAS '23 Gail Tang at the "Big Eyes" binoculars aboard NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette.

07/28/2023

Check out this story map for updates on our latest project!
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/b3bbf0e90d0141f7bf47edc5339ccb7a

A large-scale survey to better understand the populations and habitats of whales, dolphins, and seabirds is kicking off! Join us for the 5-month journey by following along our story map and regular updates.

07/26/2023

During our first project of the season, Oscar Elton Sette’s crew recovered and replaced the WHOI Hawaii Ocean Timeseries Station (WHOTS) mooring, a buoy used to collect long-term data on air-sea fluxes. The goal of the Hawaii Ocean Time Series Project is to observe heat, momentum, fresh water and chemical fluxes at a site representative of the North Pacific Ocean. This data aids in our understanding of physical processes within Earth’s climate system.
Thank you to our deck department, and our scientists from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and University of Hawaii for their hard work during buoy recovery and deployment operations!

04/22/2023

01/24/2023

We are finally out of the water and up on blocks for our 5-year dry dock repair period!

Check out our timelapse of the whole dry docking process.

Video and Editing Credit: Lt. Cmdr. Damian Manda, Executive Officer

10/31/2022

Till next year, Hawaii!

We are on our way to the West Coast for our winter dry dock period but looking forward to returning next spring to begin our 2023 season.

10/22/2022

Learn more about the 2022 Bottomfish Fishery-Independent Survey in the main Hawaiian Islands

10/18/2022

How do you pass a line to a pier or ship that’s out of reach? That’s when a Pneumatic Line Thrower (PLT) comes in handy.

Never a bad day to test ours out on the pier!

Video Credit: 1AE Verne Murakami

10/12/2022

Modular Optical Underwater Survey System (MOUSS) deployment operations. The MOUSS is lowered to the bottom of the sea floor where it will collect some of the amazing images we have had the opportunity to share.

Photo Credit: Kyle Koyanagi

10/11/2022

A curious shark investigates the camera after it settles on the bottom of the sea floor. Another great close-up from our BFISH project!

Video Credit: Dr. Benjamin L. Richards, Chief Scientist

10/05/2022

This short video highlights NOAA’s mission and work in the Pacific Islands Region. It provides an overview of key programs and partners involved in achievin...

10/04/2022

You never know what you're going to find at 826 feet below the surface. Sometimes it's nothing, while other times it's a 14' Great White.

Special thanks to Dr. Benjamin L. Richards and the BFISH science team for sharing this amazing footage!

09/28/2022

Our scientists were fortunate enough to capture some amazing footage of the seafloor on our Bottomfish Fishery Independent Survey in Hawaii (BFISH) project. Check it out below!

Photo Credit: Dr. Benjamin L. Richards, Chief Scientist

09/26/2022

As we work towards the successful completion of the Bottomfish Fishery-Independent Survey in Hawaii (BFISH), our scientists continue to collect more images of the seafloor to aid in the research being conducted by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).

With the deployment of several Drop Camera Instrument Packages (DCIP) and Modular Optical Underwater Survey System (MOUSS) packages each day, they are able to capture incredible images of the marine life that lives along the seabed. Deployment of these scientific instruments requires a high level of coordination between the ship's personnel and scientists, making the data that we collect from them that much more fulfilling.

Its been a great pleasure supporting this research over the past few weeks and we look forward to many more successful operations throughout the remainder of this project!

09/17/2022

Yesterday NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette made its way along the Nāpali Coast of Kauai after kicking off our 2022 BFISH project (Bottomfish-Independent Survey in Hawaii). We were lucky enough to have some very welcomed guests for a portion of the transit!

Over the next few weeks we will be supporting the work being performed by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as we conduct research operations along the coasts of the Main Hawaiian Islands. This project aims to collect fishery-independent, species-specific, size-structured abundance data which is pivotal in assessing the bottomfish populations of the Main Hawaiian Islands.

Video Credit: Lt. Cmdr. Damian Manda, Executive Officer

09/11/2022

For the first time, NOAA researchers found pups in the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument who are the offspring of former Hawaiian monk seal patients from Ke Kai Ola, The Marine Mammal Center’s monk seal hospital. This is a significant milestone towards conservation efforts!

Learn more about this exciting find at The Marine Mammal Center: https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/news/milestone-moment-released-hawaiian-monk-seal-patients-spotted-with-pups-in-northwestern-hawaiian-islands

And stay tuned for more updates from NOAA scientists' 2022 field season in the monument coming soon! https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/turtle-and-seal-biologists-deploy-papahanaumokuakea-2022-field-season

09/08/2022

Another successful Field Camp Recovery Cruise! This trip our scientists were able to rescue four seal pups from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. These young seals were transported to the Ke Kai Ola ("Healing Sea") rehabilitation facility on the island of Kona, HI.

Interested in learning more about this seal rehabilitation center? How about monk seals or the islands they call home? Check out the links below for more information!

Ke Kai Ola ("Healing Sea") Seal Rehab Facility in Kona, HI:
https://www.mmc.gov/priority-topics/species-of-concern/hawaiian-monk-seal/monk-seal-health-care-facilities/

Monk Seal Patients (past and present):
https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/patients?page=1&rescue_location=NWHI

Virtual Tour:
https://hawaiitourism3.mmc.yourcultureconnect.com/bottom-nav-bar/e/click-here-to-explore

Marine Mammal Hotline for Hawaii strandings, entanglements, etc.:
https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/report-an-animal/hawaii-2

Monk Seal Conservation:
https://www.marinemammalcenter.org/science-conservation/conservation/hawaiian-monk-seal-conservation

Address

1897 Ranger Loop
Honolulu, HI
96818

Telephone

+18086909578

Website

https://www.omao.noaa.gov/mo/ships/oscar-elton-sette

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Videos

We are finally out of the water and up on blocks for our 5-year dry dock repair period! Check out our timelapse of the whole dry docking process. Video and Editing Credit: Lt. Cmdr. Damian Manda, Executive Officer

Till next year, Hawaii! We are on our way to the West Coast for our winter dry dock period but looking forward to returning next spring to begin our 2023 season.

How do you pass a line to a pier or ship that’s out of reach? That’s when a Pneumatic Line Thrower (PLT) comes in handy. Never a bad day to test ours out on the pier! Video Credit: 1AE Verne Murakami

A curious shark investigates the camera after it settles on the bottom of the sea floor. Another great close-up from our BFISH project! Video Credit: Dr. Benjamin L. Richards, Chief Scientist

You never know what you're going to find at 826 feet below the surface. Sometimes it's nothing, while other times it's a 14' Great White. Special thanks to Dr. Benjamin L. Richards and the BFISH science team for sharing this amazing footage!

Our scientists were fortunate enough to capture some amazing footage of the seafloor on our Bottomfish Fishery Independent Survey in Hawaii (BFISH) project. Check it out below! Photo Credit: Dr. Benjamin L. Richards, Chief Scientist

Yesterday NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette made its way along the Nāpali Coast of Kauai after kicking off our 2022 BFISH project (Bottomfish-Independent Survey in Hawaii). We were lucky enough to have some very welcomed guests for a portion of the transit! Over the next few weeks we will be supporting the work being performed by Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) as we conduct research operations along the coasts of the Main Hawaiian Islands. This project aims to collect fishery-independent, species-specific, size-structured abundance data which is pivotal in assessing the bottomfish populations of the Main Hawaiian Islands. Video Credit: Lt. Cmdr. Damian Manda, Executive Officer

The precarious, 900 foot cliffs of the the island of Nihoa are no longer home to any human inhabitants. However, the island still serves as a vital resource for countless species of birds and marine life. Today, our scientists from NOAA Fisheries, Pacific Island Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) successfully conducted Hawaiian monk seal surveys on the island before our departure from the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. A job well done!

So many samples to take, so little time... Check out how we deployed our various types of sample nets during our Bigeye Tuna Oceanography project! Video and editing credit: Lt. Cmdr. Damian Manda, Executive Officer

Less than one week until we set sail for our Hawaiian Monk Seal and Marine Turtle Field Camp Recovery Cruise! This project provides the rare opportunity to visit several islands within the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. These islands are extremely remote and serve as vital habitat and breeding grounds for many species including, you guessed it, the Hawaiian Monk Seal.

Inbound Maug Island

Throw back to earilier this field season when NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette sailed into the middle of a stratovolcano when operating in the Northern Mariana Islands. This is the Maug Islands, which is an archipelago that consists of three islands, which are the eroded exposed outer rim of a submerged volcano with a caldera with a diameter of approximately 1.4 mi. The floor of the caldera is around 738 ft below sea level, and in the middle is a mountain whose summit is only 72 ft below sea level. PC: NOAA

Sette back in the water

A few weeks ago, NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette and NOAA Ship Rainier were put back into the water after a couple of weeks in drydock at Vigor Industrial in Portland, OR. PC: Ensign Tim Holland and Ensign Daniel Jessurun, NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands #science #ocean #drydock #backinthewater #NOAA

Bottom Fish Camera NOAA PIFSC

NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette is in the middle of a project for the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Science Center (PIFSC), part of NOAA Fisheries Service. The focus of this mission is to conduct a survey of deep-7 bottom fish stock across the Main Hawaiian Islands using special cameras that are deployed from 100 to 300 meters below the surface of the water. These fish are the: Lehi, Ehu, Onaga, Opakapaka, Kalekale, Gindai, and Hapu'upu'u. For more information please visit: http://www.fpir.noaa.gov/SFD/SFD_regs_5.html This video is from the NOAA PIFSC science team aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette from one of their camera deployments. #ocean National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations #fish #deep7 #hawaii #science #fisheries

Creature from the deep

Our Photo of the Week is actually a video taken by First Assistant Engineer Verne Murakami. In our trawl net during SE-17-03 Leeward Oahu Pelagic Ecosystem Characterization (LOPEC) this little creature was found. First person to correctly identify this creature gets a shout out on our page. #ocean #science #noaa #deepsealife #fisheries

Here is a video of Sette's deck department deploying one of the deep underwater fish monitoring cameras for SE-17-02 Insular Bottomfish. Off the coast of the Big Island in Hawaii on March 9, 2017. PC: Ensign Holland, NOAA Corps

Pneumatic Line Thrower (PLT) Training

For our Photo of the Week we have a video for you this week. Safety is very important on a NOAA Ship. The crew undergoes training on the on-board safety equipment periodically throughout the year while inport and underway. Here the Assistant Safety Officer Ensign Holland demonstrates the proper firing of the pneumatic line thrower which is used for ship to ship line deployment, ship to shore line deployment, water rescue, high angle rescue. PC: Ensign Fredrick

Shortcuts

NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette the Pride of NOAA’s Pacific Island Fleet

This is the official page of the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette whose home port is Pearl Harbor, HI.

NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette is a multipurpose oceanographic research vessel that conducts fisheries assessments, physical and chemical oceanography research, marine mammal and marine debris surveys. The ship operates throughout the central and western Pacific Ocean.

A T-AGOS class vessel, Oscar Elton Sette was originally built for the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command, working as the U.S. Naval Ship Adventurous from 1988 to 1992. In 1992, the 224-ft. ship was transferred to NOAA, which converted it to a research vessel, replacing the 39-year-old NOAA Ship Townsend Cromwell in 2003. Because it acoustically quieted, it is particularly well suited to conduct fisheries research and marine mammal surveys.

For fisheries sureys, the vessel uses bottom trawls, longlines, and fish traps to collect fish and crustacean specimens; plankton nets, and surface and mid-water larval nets, are used to collect plankton, fish larvae and eggs.