Visual surveys for cetaceans were conducted on the eastern Bering Sea shelf along transect lines, in association with the AFSC’s echo integration trawl surveys for walleye pollock. Surveys in 2000 and 2004 were from early June to early July, the survey in 2002 was from early June to late July, and the survey in 1999 was from early July to early August. Searches for cetaceans were conducted from the flying bridge of NOAA Ship Miller Freeman at a platform height of 12 m above the sea surface and survey speed of 18.5 22.0 km/h (10 12 kts). North south transect lines were spaced 37 km apart and defined by the historical acoustic survey for walleye pollock. Insufficient funding precluded including cetacean observers on all legs except in 2002. See Friday et al. 2012. Cetacean distribution and abundance in relation to oceanographic domains on the eastern Bering Sea shelf: 1999-2004 (http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967064512000100).

Individual Animal and other data were collected using visual observation and other instruments from AIRCRAFT in the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, and Arctic Ocean. Data were collected from 02 September 1990 to 07 November 1991 by US DOI; Minerals Management Service in Anchorage (MMS). Data has been processed by NODC to the NODC standard Marine Mammal Sighting and Census (F127) format. The F127 format is used for data from field observations of marine animals. Data may be reported either for individual, random sightings or for sightings made as part of systematic ship or aircraft surveys along specified tracks. These data provide information on animal population densities and distributions, activities, migratory routes and breeding locales. Cruise or survey information, start and end positions, start and end times, and platform speed, direction, and altitude are reported for each observation or series of observations. Position, date and time are reported for each sighting location, along with a code indicating presence or absence of animals and, if present, their distance to the observer, shoreline, and ice edge and heading direction. For each sighting location, animal sighting data are reported by species for all observed species. Species identification, total number of individuals, and counts by age group (adults, subadults, juveniles, unknown) may be reported in summary for all animals sighted or by subgroups distinguished by sex, behavior, markings, or other characteristics. A text record is available for comments.

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.

As part of an inter-agency agreement between the National Marine Mammal Laboratory and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, aerial surveys of the North Aleutian Basin and southeastern Bering Sea were conducted from 24 July to 28 August 2008 and 14 July to 25 August 2009. Both surveys were conducted from an Aerocommander 690A. In 2008, the survey design consisted of broadscale transects covering the waters from Bristol Bay west to the Pribilof Islands. The survey covered a total of 5,821 nmi (10,782 km) on-effort, 471 nmi (872 km) transit and crosslegs, and off-effort accounted for 837 nmi (1551 km). There were a total of 263 sightings (755 individuals) of 11 confirmed marine mammals species; these included right, humpback, fin and sei whales as well as killer whales, Dall's and harbor porpoises, Pacific white-sided dolphins, fur seals, sea lions, walrus and sea otters. There were 10 sightings (12 individuals) of right whales recorded on 3 separate days. Six unique individuals were photo-identified and 4 matches were made between the aerial and vessel surveys. In 2009, the survey consisted of finescale transects over the critical habitat and an acoustic component was added to complement the visual survey. The survey covered a total of 2,590 nmi (4,800 km) on effort. There were a total of 124 sightings (213 individuals) of 3 confirmed marine mammal species, right, humpback and fin whales. There were 23 sightings (28 individuals) of right whales documented on 9 separate days. Seven unique individuals were photo-identified. Three matches were made to the 2008 survey. In all, the 2 year survey documented 10 unique North Pacific right whales.