Kiyi-Updated

Kiyi, a research vessel for the Great Lakes Science Center just headed down river at noon on 7/29. The work of the Kiyi is described as research in Lake Superior. The vessel and crew conduct fish research including stock assessment, fisheries research and habitat monitoring especially on the lake trout population. Click on either Kiyi for additional information of the work of the Kiyi.

I just received the following note from the captain of the Kiyi, Joe Walters. He explains that the Kiyi is on her way to Cleveland for some work. She will return to Lake Superior in late August so we'll be seeing her again.

Hello Brenda!

I'm Joe Walters, the Captain of Research Vessel KIYI. Mike McCann forwarded your email to me.

Let's see if I can put things in a nutshell for you.

KIYI was built in 1999 at Patti Shipyard in Pensacola, Fl to replace the aging 57 ft SISCOWET, which had been in service for over 50 years.

KIYI is 107 ft long, 27 ft wide and draws 9 ft. She is the largest of the five research vessels operated by the US Geological Survey Great Lakes Science Center in Ann Arbor, MI. We do fish assessments in Lake Superior. That means we essentially do population checks of fish by trawling and hydroacoustic survey. That's a fancy name for a very high end fishfinder that can actually count individual specimens.

We are on our way to Cleveland to get some work done in a shipyard. Namely, we're getting a new anchor system installed. We should be headed back to Lake Superior sometime in late August.

I guess that's a start. If you have any more questions please don't hesitate to email me. I'd be happy to tell you all I can!

Joe Walters
Marine Operations Specialist
Captain, R/V KIYI
U. S. Geological Survey
Lake Superior Biological Station
2800 Lakeshore Drive East
Ashland, Wisconsin 54806
715-682-6163 office
715-492-8676 cell
jwalters@usgs.gov