The vessels itinerary was as follows:
Dept. Panama 4 FebrDuring 9 days of work in Panama waters the vessel steamed abt. 1,700 nm and 58 trawl stations were made. During 6 days of work in Costa Rica waters the distance steamed was abt. 980 nm and 31 fishing stations were worked.
Call Panama 9/10 Febr
Call P. Golfito 14 Febr
Call San Juan 20 Febr
The course tracks and the fishing stations for the Panama shelf is shown in Figure 1. The denser course tracks in the south-western and eastern parts of the Panama Gulf reflects the higher densities of fish observed here. A day was spent testing different depths of the deep water ground for shrimp east of Punta Mala. A number of the fishing stations represent prelocated daylight hauls mostly in shallow water for swept area estimates and faunistic studies. The weather conditions were favourable except for a 24 hour spell of north, force 7-8 in the Panama Gulf.
The course tracks and fishing stations in Costa Rican waters is shown in Figure 2. After embarking participants in Golfito the Golfo Dulce was briefly covered before proceeding along the shelf towards Bahia Coronado. A relatively dense coverage of course tracks and fishing stations was made of the broader shelf further on and particular attention was paid to the inner part of the Golfo de Nicoya known as a rich fishing ground. Unexpectedly some problems arouse over the fishing permit for the vessel and no sampling could be made in the Golfo de Papagayo. Weather conditions were excellent to fair with north up to 5-6 in the northern parts.
