Cruise Results NOAA Research Vessel HENRY BIGELOW Cruise No. HB22-04 Spring Northeast Ecosystem Monitoring Survey

The NOAA research vessel <em>HENRY BIGELOW</em> sampled a total of 150 stations on the Spring Ecosystem Monitoring Survey (EcoMon). The vessel sailed from Newport RI on 31 May and returned on 17 June 2022, having sampled as far south as a line of stations south of Delaware Bay, so that the southernmost part of the Mid-Atlantic Bight was not covered. The truncation of the southern survey area was necessary after the ship was forced to return to port briefly due to illness, losing two days at sea. However, the modified sampling strategy enabled the survey to reach almost every station in the Southern New England, Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine areas during the 16 sea days ultimately available for sampling. Being the last area to be sampled, the Gulf of Maine had not received complete coverage during the past several Ecosystem Monitoring cruises due to time running out at the end of the allotted cruise period, but that was rectified on this survey.