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Moorings, Buoys and Fish Bites

Cody Meissner of the WHOI Mooring Lab terminates a length of wire rope for a deep-ocean mooring.  Moored buoys are one tool researchers use to collect information about the oceans over long periods, often in harsh environments. Years ago, it was unclear what was causing damage to synthetic mooring lines near the surface, but after studies of the damage it was determined that fish bites were to blame. Today, many moorings use plastic-jacketed wire rope in the upper 2000 meters to both prevent failure due to fish bites and to help withstand severe weather and strong ocean currents for extended periods.(Photo by Jayne Doucette, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)