West Coast Groundfish Observer Program Manual, Part2 - NOAA

Chopper - Machine used to grind frozen herring or squid for bait or the person assigned this duty.
Cleat - a heavy piece of wood or metal having two horns around which ropes may be made fast or belayed,
usually secured to a fixed object such as the dock or deck
Coded wire tag - small tag (3mm) etched with binary code that are inserted into the snout of fishes for later
identification
Codend - the end “bag” of a trawl net where the majority of the fish are collected and held
Coiler - Person or machine that is designated to coil line as it is retrieved by the block.
Combing - a low partition that separates the trawl deck from the side pockets
Companionway - entrance/stairway from deck to fo’c’sle and engine room
Compliance - being in accordance with the fishing regulations
Composition - In the groundfish Observer Program, this refers to the makeup of harvested species in a catch,
and the sample you collect.
Cookie (disc) - a flat, round piece of rubber with a hole in the center strung on a wire rope or chain to protect
it from abrasion and to stir up a mud cloud. Used on non-pelagic trawl gear.
Crucifier - A pair of rollers or steel pegs which stand vertically with only enough room for the groundline to
pass between. During gear retrieval the groundline passes between the rollers and the hooks are pulled out of
the fish.
D - E
Demersal - dwelling at or near the bottom
Discard – Everything that is not retained.
Disembark - to get off a vessel
Diver/Trailer buoys - A small buoy attached to the main buoy with a length of line. The diver buoy “trails”
behind the main buoy and allows a larger target for grappling.
Dogs - Metal hooks that are hydraulically controlled to secure a pot to a launcher.
Door - a large steel or alloy structure attached to each main wire (in front of the net) to spread the net
horizontally by means of hydrodynamic and friction forces
Draft - vertical distance from keel to waterline of a ship
Drop-off - Those organisms that fall or are knocked off of a hook prior to their being landed.
Drum - a metal spool or cylinder around which cable, etc. is wound
Drumhead - the top of a capstan, into which bars are inserted for leverage in turning it
Ebb tide - outgoing tide
EEZ - “Exclusive Economic Zone” - the term for the 200 mile jurisdiction zone, in which a nation has
exclusive fishing rights, formerly called the FCZ
Embarkation - to board a vessel
EPIRB - “Emergency Position Indicator Radio Beacon”
Expansion straps (container lines) - a series of lines running around the circumference of a codend to provide
strength and help maintain the shape of the bag
F
Fathom - a measure of length or depth equal to six feet
Fingers/Triggers - Small plastic strips located in the tunnel of a pot which allow fish to enter a pot but not
exit.
Fishfinder - an electronic device for locating schools of fish under a vessel
Fishing line - a length of chain or wire in the bottom, front end of a net between the footrope and the bolsh
line
Fishing mortality - Removal (deaths) of fish from a population due to fishing activity.
A-74
1/30/2004