Measuring the catch

This picture shows a catch of cod and haddock on the deck of the Albatross IV in the early days of the bottom trawl survey.

After the catch was sorted by species and weighed, at-sea biologists measured individual fish and took scale samples and otoliths (ear bones) that could be used later in the lab to determine the ages of the fish.

Biologists today follow much the same procedure, but instead of using paper logs they use touch screens to enter information directly into computer databases.