Dataset: Florida Straights 2015 MOC1 Larval Fish Counts
Deployment: WS15161

Larval fishes were collected at each station using a Multiple Opening Closing Net and Environmental Sensing System (MOCNESS, http://www.whoi.edu/instruments/viewInstrument.do?id=10008) with a 1m2 opening and 150um mesh nets (MOC1). To capture larval fishes and mesozooplankton on a fine horizontal spatial scale, we sequentially fired each MOCNESS net every ~120-150m. Traveling at a speed of 2 m s-1 each MOC1 net sampled ~120-150 m3. We fired a total of nine nets per tow. One net was open from the surface to depth (net zero), and eight nets sampled discrete depths. Net 0 was not enumerated for larval fish. Net 4 (or Net 5 in a few instances) did not have larval fish enumerated, as sample was collected for a collaborator. At every station, this fine-scale net sampling was repeated at 15m and 30m depth (randomized order). Once onboard, the nets were rinsed with seawater and the contents of each cod end immediately preserved in 95% ethanol. All larval fishes were separated out of the samples, enumerated, and stored for later SL measurements.