The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) on Friday is set to commission its newest research vessel, the Reuben Lasker, at the Navy Pier in San Diego.
The 208-foot ship, which will operate out of San Diego, will support fish, marine mammal and turtle surveys off the West Coast and in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Data collected by the ship will be used for science-based conservation and management of living marine resources.
The $75 million vessel is designed to produce less noise than other survey vessels, allowing scientists to study fish populations and collect oceanographic data with fewer effects on fish and marine mammal behavior.
“Reuben Lasker represents a significant milestone in the agency’s efforts to provide world-class marine science platforms,” said Rear Adm. Michael S. Devany, director of the NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations and the NOAA Corps.
The ship is named after Reuben Lasker (1929-1988), who served as Director of SWFSC's Coastal Fisheries Division and professor at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.
