NOAA commissions fisheries survey ship

PASCAGOULA — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Friday commissioned an advanced fisheries survey vessel and dedicated a new fisheries laboratory.

Locally, the VT Halter Marine-built Pisces will study commercially significant species such as shrimp, red snapper and grouper, said Bonnie Ponwith, director of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami.

"Seafood is a very big thing in the Gulf of Mexico," she said. "When families want to celebrate a special event on the Gulf Coast, they go out for seafood. We want to make sure that seafood is safe and harvested in a way that is sustainable."

Ponwith oversees coastal labs and facilities from Texas to North Carolina.

The Pascagoula lab's key mission, Ponwith said, is to gather fishery-independent data by sending research ships like Pisces out to study sea life in its natural environment.

To serve that mission, the Pisces is designed to function continuously on 40-day missions, and has quiet-hull technology that will not disturb marine life, helping researchers collect more accurate data.

The 208-foot vessel's homeport is Pascagoula.

The new Southeast Fisheries Science Center's Pascagoula laboratory replaces the lab destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

After the storm, research operations were scattered around Pascagoula, with several offices moved into temporary Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers.

The 53,000-square-foot lab, which employs 140 federal and contract workers, has 130 offices, labs, meeting rooms and a library, said Lisa Desfosse, lab director.

It houses NOAA's Pascagoula Laboratory, the National Seafood Inspection Laboratory and the Documentation, Approval and Supply Services office.

Once researchers move in Nov. 16, they will perform growth and reproduction studies and environmental impact studies, test commercial fish for contaminants, and complete stock assessments, among other tasks.

Both NOAA assets will help discover, use and share knowledge, restore oceans and coasts, and secure food and environmental safety, said Jane Lubchenco, NOAA administrator and undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere.