Preliminary Report Eastern Area Cruise No. 17 Eastern Grid Survey No. 10 prepared by Richard D. Chandler Cruise Itinerary: 10 July 0815 Chandler, Hoff depart Honolulu 19 July 1226 Arrive Eastern Grid area 21 July 0514 Begin nominate Grid Cruise Track 23 July 0900 Depart Grid area for helicopter rendezvous 23 July 1700 DeLong arrives via helicopter 24 July 0515 Resume regular Grid observations 29 July 0830 Depart Grid area 30 July 1000 Arrive Long Beach Personnel : Robert DeLong (Biologist-in-Charge 23-31 July) Richard Chandler (Biologist-in-Charge 10-23 July) David Hoff Methods : Diurnal observations were made from the helicopter deck when weather conditions permitted. During high seas the watch was held from the lee wing of the bridge. Nocturnal watches were held on the lee side of the quarterdeck. Other methods and procedures followed those established on previous cruises on this type of vessel. Birds were collected from the skiff on 28 July. No BT casts were made. NON-GRID SECTIONS: The non-Grid areas have been broken down into four sections as follows: Section "A" Hawaiian Area 10-11 July The observations during the first two days out of Honolulu (10-11 July) were strongly influenced by land-based populations from the main Hawaiian islands. Area "A" (see Figure #1) is best discussed separately from the next section. Section "B" Deep Pelagic Area 12-19 July Beyond 300 miles from the main Hawaiians the number of birds dropped sharply to a very low level and remained low to the western side of the Grid area (126°30' W, see Figure #1). Section "C" Pt. Arguello 23 July During the rendezvous with the helicopter, observations were taken from 11 to 20 miles off the California coast near Pt. Arguello/Pt. Con- ception (see Figure #2).