• Saturday 25th June 2022 SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, KIAMA, NSW, AUSTRALIA

     
    Published on 25-06-2022 12:08 PM
    25th June 2022, SOSSA PELAGIC TRIP, KIAMA, NSW, AUSTRALIA.

    Vessel: M.V Kato
    Departed: 07:40 returned at 15:00.
    Seas: Flat on the way out then E 1.0 to 1.5m during the day.
    Weather: Clear, with high scattered cloud all day.
    Temperature range: 12 to 20 degrees.
    Wind: calm on the way out, then 15 to 20 knot westerly at the shelf.
    Sea surface temperature: 16 degrees in shore, 20.5 degrees at the shelf.

    Report
    A number of no-shows delayed our departure, but we set off into glassy seas, with no wind to speak off. A small pod of Common Dolphins was encountered about 1km offshore, but the only birds sighted for the first hour were Australasian Gannets and Silver Gulls. We sighted a few Fluttering Shearwaters and identified a distant Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross, but otherwise bird sightings were scarce. We did see a number of pods of Humpbacks making their way north, including a great display of fluke slapping by a large male, which was a highlight of the trip.

    We reached the shelf, stopped the boat in 130 fathoms and started to chum. Birds were few and far between and didn't approach the boat. A few Black-browed's, Indian Yellow-nosed and a Buller's Albatross were seen, plus we had a number of Solander's Petrel's, but they were mostly distant views.

    With the westerly wind, we drifted a few kilometres east, into 180 fathoms, but it didn't make any difference, with only a few Shy Albatrosses being added to the list. We did see a fur seal at this point.

    At about 12.30pm we started to move back towards the coast, as the wind had picked up, giving an uncomfortable ride. We had one more stop at about 100 fathoms, but didn't see anything new. We decided enough was enough and headed home early, arriving back at 3pm.

    Birds sighted (number in brackets was the greatest number seen together)

    Australian Gannets 20 (10) had a raft on the way out, otherwise single birds seen throughout the day.
    Silver Gull: 10 (3) seen intermittently all day.
    Fluttering Shearwater: 5 (3) a few on the way out and 3 together did a pass on the way in.
    Crested Tern: 6 (2) seen on and off all day.
    Indian Yellow-nosed Albatross: 12 (3) most common albatross of the day.
    Black-browed Albatross: 4 (1) seen at both stopping points.
    Solander's Petrel: 15 (3) only petrel sighted all day. Only observed at the shelf.
    Buller's Albatross: 2 (1) one sighted at each stopping point.
    Shy Albatross: 5 (1) one late at the first stopping point, then a few seen at the second.

    Mammals
    Common Dolphin: 12+ a single pod seen on the way out.
    Humpback Whale: 10+ several pairs. Small groups seen on the way out and on the way back.
    Fur Seal (sp?): 1 out wide at the shelf.

    Report by Brook Whylie