The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has conducted shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) 26 years from 1967 to 2008 at Granite Canyon (or nearby at Yankee Point), 13 km south of Carmel, in central California. Convenient access to the Granite Canyon research station (owned by NOAA but operated by the State of California Department of Fish and Game) and the narrowness of the whales' migratory corridor in this area permitted an efficient counting process at this site. All counts were conducted during the 2-month southbound migration (mid-December to late February) rather than the protracted 3-month northbound migration. The routine nature of these counts and the consistency in research protocol lend themselves to inter-annual trend analyses. Research protocol has been based on single observers independently searching for whales and recording data on environmental conditions and the time, location, count, and direction of travel for each sighting. The counting system and observer performance has been tested through paired, independent observational effort; aerial surveys; thermal imagery; radio-tagging of whales; systematic observations through high-powered (25x) binoculars; and teams of observers tracking specific whale pods through the viewing area.

Gray whale calf production is estimated from data collected during the northbound migration as whales return to their feeding grounds in the Arctic. Counts of adult female whales with calves are made by observers and used to make the estimates. Gray whale abundance is estimated from data collected during the southbound migration from feeding grounds in the Arctic to breeding grounds in the lagoons of Mexico. Observers record counts of whales as they pass the long-term study site at Granite Canyon, California. Gray whale abundance is estimated from data collected during the southbound migration from feeding grounds in the Arctic to breeding grounds in the lagoons of Mexico. Counts of whales made from thermal imagery recorded during the migration are used to estimate abundance.

This dataset contains visual assessments and passive observations of North Pacific sei, humpback, and gray whales collected from the research vessel Yushin-Maru No. 2 in the North Pacific Ocean and Gulf of Alaska. The cruise had four main objectives: (a) information for the ongoing assessments of North Pacific sei, humpback and gray whales in terms of abundance, distribution and stock structure; (b) information on the critically endangered North Pacific right whale (NPRW) population in the eastern North Pacific; (c) baseline information on distribution, stock structure and abundance for a poorly known area for other cetacean species/populations, including those that were known to have been depleted in the past but whose status is unclear; (d) essential information for the development of the medium-long term international program in the North Pacific to meet the Commission’s long-term conservation and management objectives. This US State Department MSR cruise U2019-002. Data submitted to the World Data Service for Oceanography. Data are in PDF.

This dataset contains vessel- and aircraft-based mammal sightings data and associated environmental data collected in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas during the open water season 2006-2010. The aerial data are derived from marine mammal observers aboard aircrafts flown at 1000 ft to 1500 ft. The data contains marine mammal sightings data and associated environmental data collected during the open water season 2006-2010 (excluding 2009) in Chukchi Sea and Beaufort Sea. In addition, this metadata describes aerial navigational GPS data recorded during observations. Data collection methods changed slightly between years. The metadata for each attribute should be studied carefully before these data are used for analyses.

During the years 1992-1995 and 1999-2000, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration provided funds for the Alaska Beluga Whale Committee (ABWC) to conduct studies of belugas in Alaska. Part of the ABWC research program consisted of aerial surveys of western Alaska beluga stocks, including the Eastern Bering Sea (EBS) stock. In 1992, several aerial surveys were conducted during three periods: 27-29 May, 17-21 June, and 18-22 September to assess the distribution of belugas during those periods. The surveys found relatively few belugas in May and September, but a large number of belugas in June. Based on those results, surveys in subsequent years were conducted only in June: 14-18 June 1993, 11-16 June 1994, 5-8 and 20-22 June 1995, 15-17 June 1999, and 17-20 June 2000. This dataset contains aerial survey data from the surveys described above.

The Minerals Management Service (MMS), previously Bureau of Land Management, has funded fall bowhead whale aerial surveys in this area each year since 1978, using a repeatable protocol from 1982 to the present. Bowhead monitoring by MMS Environmental Studies Section, Alaska Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) Region, normally overlaps the September-October "open-water" season when offshore drilling and geophysical exploration are feasible and when the fall subsistence hunt for bowhead whales takes place near Kaktovik, Nuiqsut, and Barrow, Alaska. The primary survey aircraft was a de Havilland Twin Otter Series 300. The aircraft was equipped with three medium-size bubble windows that afforded complete viewing of the track-line. Geographic positions of the aircraft were logged onto a laptop computer from a Global Navigation System (1982-1991) or a Global Positioning System (1992-2000). Prior to 1992, many surveys in Block 12 (See Browse Graphic) were conducted from a Grumman Turbo Goose Model G21G. All bowhead (and beluga) whales observed were recorded, along with incidental sightings of other marine mammals. Particular emphasis was placed on regional surveys to assess large-area shifts in the migration pathway of bowhead whales and on the coordination of effort and management of data necessary to support seasonal offshore-drilling and seismic-exploration regulations. The selection of survey blocks to be flown on a given day was nonrandom, based primarily on criteria such as observed and predicted weather conditions over the study area and offshore oil-industry activities. Otherwise, the project attempted to distribute effort fairly evenly east-to-west across the entire study area. Aerial coverage favored inshore survey blocks (See Browse Graphic), since bowheads were rarely sighted north of these blocks in previous surveys (1979-1986). Surveys were flown at a target altitude of 458 m in order to maximize visibility and to minimize potential disturbance to marine mammals. Flights were normally aborted when cloud ceilings were consistently less than 305 m or the wind force was consistently above Beaufort 4. Daily flight patterns were based on sets of non-repeating transect grids computer-generated for each survey block. Transect grids were derived by dividing each survey block into sections 30 minutes of longitude across. One of the minute marks along the northern edge of each section was selected at random then connected by a straight line to a similarly selected endpoint along the southern edge of that same section. This procedure was followed for all sections of that survey block. These transect legs were then connected alternately at their northernmost or southernmost ends to produce one continuous flight grid within each survey block. Gridlines were occasionally lengthened to cover both an inshore block and the block north of it. Lines were occasionally truncated due to extended poor visibility or to avoid potential interference with subsistence whaling activities. For bowheads encountered "on transect", the aircraft sometimes circled for a brief (< 10 min) period to observe behavior, obtain better estimates of their numbers, and/or determine whether calves were present. Any new groups sighted when circling were recorded as "on search".

This dataset contains visual sighting whale survey from research vessels Yushin-Maru and Yushin-Maru No.2 in the North Pacific Ocean. A systematic large-scale vessel-based sighting survey was conducted in 2014 by Japan to examine the distribution and abundance of large whales in the western North Pacific. This is MSR RATS cruise U2014-021. These data are part of the World Data Services for Oceanography. Cruise report is in PDF.