Unalaska, AK – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will be kicking off its bottom trawl survey today. Researchers from NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center will be trawling for groundfish, crab, and other species in the Gulf of Alaska to collect data for future stock assessments.

The vessels Ocean Explorer and Sea Storm have been chartered for the trip, and they're scheduled to leave Captains Bay on Friday.

Chris Rooper is one of the NOAA scientists going out on the trip, and he says that the surveys are good for getting a snapshot of the Gulf's health.

"We've put a lot of effort into not only doing the regular groundfish trawl survey, but we measure invertebrates like sponges and coral that come up in the net," says Rooper. "We're trying to get a more holistic picture of these ecosystems in Alaska."

Researchers will begin their survey work about 180 miles southwest of Unalaska near the Island of Four Mountains. They'll then move east along the continental shelf and then offload in Ketchikan in August.

These surveys are conducted every two years and typically last about 90 days.