West Coast Groundfish Observer Program Manual, Part2 - NOAA

CHAPTER 6
Measure fish using the following procedure:
1. Lay the fish flat on the plastic measuring strip
parallel to the center-line.
2. Close the jaws.
3. Nudge the fish snout against the end of the
aluminum board.
4. Stretch out the tail to find the middle rays.
5. Make a mark on the plastic measuring strip in the
space where the fork length falls (above the center
line for males and below the center line for
females). If the fork length falls on a printed line
on the strip, try re-measuring the fish first, then if
the length still falls directly on the line, use the
lower centimeter measurement.
6. When collecting only sex/length data transfer the
number of pencil marks (frequency) made at each
centimeter measurement (size group) from the
plastic length strip to the Length Frequency Form.
7. When collecting individual weight information or
taking scales, otoliths, snouts, or viabilities in
addition to sex/length information be sure to keep
all data from each individual fish together and
record it on the Biospecimen Form.
8. Clean the length strip with scouring powder to
remove the marks and ready it for the next haul’s
lengths. Do not scrub too hard because the
centimeter lines will be scoured off.
1/30/2004 6-15