As the workhorse of toxic pollution research, the

research vessel Harold W. Streeter routinely spends over

100 days a year collecting sediment and fish samples

from embayments of Puget Sound and beyond. The

deck of the Streeter, with its round-bottom hull,

provides a rolling research platform that requires

onboard scientists to have good sea legs.

to recreational powerboats, the Streeter was built in

1962 to conduct water quality sampling on the Colum-bia

and Willamette Rivers in Portland, Oregon for the

U.S. Office of Public Health. The Northwest Fisheries

Science Center acquired the vessel in 1973 to study the

impacts of toxic pollutants on local fishery resources,

protected species, and marine habitat.

Originally powered by an engine designed and built in

1942 as a World War II landing craft engine, the Streeter

had a governor that allowed two maximum operating

speeds: one for normal and one for battle operation.

After 33 years of reliable operation (albeit not at battle

speed), the Streeter was re-powered in 1995.

The Streeter has undergone several environmental

upgrades over the decades. It is equipped with a

system which filters out oily waste that may have

accumulated in the bilge prior to pumping the bilge

water overboard, and a vapor-trap system which

captures and recycles oil vapors created while the

engine is running. The vessel also has a 50-gallon

holding tank and disposes or recycles much of the

jetsam collected from fish trawls.

A holding tank and coolers can receive live fish

specimens, which are typically transported to the

Center’s field station at Mukilteo. A wet lab in the

cabin is used to weigh, measure, and dissect specimens

needed for tissue samples. Tissue and sediment

samples are preserved and returned with the Streeter to

dock at the Center’s Montlake Facility along Portage

Bay. Scientists at the Montlake laboratories conduct a

variety of biological and chemical analyses to deter-mine

the presence of toxic contaminants and the status

of the specimens’ health.

Sporting port and starboard aluminum booms

equipped with blocks, tackle, and two winches, the

Streeter can operate a sediment grab (a claw-like shovel)

to collect contaminants in bottom sediment. The grab

scoops up sediment a foot deep while leaving the thin,

top layer undisturbed for accurate contaminant

sampling. The boom also is used to tow small experi-mental

trawls (nets) to collect bottom fish such as English sole and rock sole.

But the trawls have caught more than fish. Over the

years, the Streeter has hauled up logs, tires, 50-gallon

drums, plastic chairs, abandoned gillnets and crabpots,

and a rickshaw bicycle. More interesting items hauled

onboard have included an Ernie puppet with barnacles,

a high-heel shoe (which the crew fondly named "True

sole"), and a dental bridge with four teeth.

Aside from amusing trawl captures, the Harold W.

Streeter has been a cornerstone in the Northwest

Fisheries Science Center’s evaluations of impacts and

remediation efforts needed in urban embayments on

both U.S. coasts.

The Streeter has been the backbone of our ability to

conduct environmental assessments, allowing the

Center to become a national leader in expertise on the

impact of toxic pollutants on marine fish and their

habitats.