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 the final cruise report for visual whale survey from research vessel Yushin-Maru No. 2. in the North Pacific from 2023-07-28 to 2023-10-05 during the 2023 International Whaling Commission - Pacific Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research Programme (IWC-POWER). IWC-POWER cruises in the North Pacific follow the series of IWC/IDCR-SOWER (Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research) cruises that were conducted in the Antarctic since 1978. The 14th annual IWC-POWER cruise was conducted between 28 July and 5 October 2023 in the eastern North Pacific (between 40°00’N and US EEZ boundary, 180°00’W and 155°00’W, comprised entirely of the high seas). This area was surveyed in 2010 and 2011, but the survey was conducted from mid-July to mid-August while the 2023 survey will be conducted from mid-August to mid-September. The survey was conducted aboard the Japanese research vessel Yushin-Maru No. 2. The cruise was organized as a joint project between the IWC and Japan. The cruise plan was endorsed at the 69A IWC/Scientific Committee (IWC/SC) meeting. Researchers from the IWC, the U.S., and Japan participated in the survey. The cruise had four main objectives: (a) obtain information for the in-depth assessments of sei, humpback, gray and sperm whales in terms of abundance, distribution and stock structure; (b) obtain information on the critically endangered North Pacific right whale population in the Pacific; (c) obtain baseline information on distribution, stock structure and abundance for a poorly known area for several large whale species/populations, including those that were known to have been depleted in the past but whose status is unclear (e.g., blue and fin whales); (d) obtain essential information for the development of the medium-long term international programme in the North Pacific in order to meet the Commission’s long-term objectives.. At the pre-cruise meetings in Shiogama and Dutch Harbor, the crew of the vessel and international researchers agreed on the procedures and objectives of this survey. The survey was conducted using methods based on the guidelines of the IWC/SC. Survey trackline coverage in the research area was 84.6 % (1,476.57 n.miles of a planned distance of 1,745.00 n.miles), with a total of 742.29 n.miles in Passing with abeam closing mode (NSP) and 734.18 n.miles in Independent Observer passing mode (IO). Additionally, 172.80 n.miles were surveyed during transit between Japan to and from Dutch Harbor, and Dutch Harbor to and from the research area. During the entire the cruise, sightings of: North Pacific right (4 schools / 5 individual), blue (9/9), fin (116/193), sei (66/85), common minke (2/2), humpback (1/1), sperm (25/26) and killer (7/16) whales. Blue, fin and sei whales were mainly distributed in the northern part of the research area. Fin whales were the most frequently sighted large whale species. Photo-identification data were collected for: 4 right, 7 blue, 30 fin and 9 sei whales. These data are preliminary, pending further processing and photo-identification confirmation. A total of 19 biopsy (skin and sometimes blubber) samples were collected from 4 blue, 8 fin and 7 sei whales. The Estimated Angle and Distance Training Exercise and Experiment were completed. The acoustic survey was included for the 5th time to acoustically monitor for the presence of marine mammals, with particular importance for detecting and locating North Pacific right whales. A total of 146 sonobuoys were deployed, of which 143 were successful, for a total of over 538.28 monitoring hours. Species detected include sperm whales (107 buoys, 74.8%), fin whales (81, 56.6%), killer whales (53, 37.1%), blue whales (33, 23.1%), common dolphins (10, 6.9%), humpback whales (8, 5.6%), North Pacific right whales (7, 4.9%), Pacific white-sided dolphins (6, 4.2%), and sei whales (4, 2.8%). Other signals detected include northern right whale dolphins (2, 1.4%), Baird’s beaked whales (1, 0.7%), unidentified

This dataset contains visual observations of whales taken from research vessel Yushin Maru No.3 in the North Pacific for the International Whaling Commission Pacific Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research (IWC-POWER) Program from 2016-07-02 to 2016-08-30. IWC-POWER cruises in the North Pacific follow the series of IWC/IDCR-SOWER (Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research) cruises that were conducted in the Antarctic since 1978. The 7th annual IWC-POWER cruise was successfully conducted between 02 July to 30 August, 2016 in the central North Pacific (with the dedicated research area located between 20°N-30°N and 135°W - 160°W). Areas of the US EEZ were included within this research area. The cruise was organized as a joint project between the IWC and Japan. The cruise plan was endorsed at the 66a IWC/Scientific Committee (IWC/SC) meeting. Researchers from Japan, US, and Republic of Korea participated in the survey. The cruise had five main objectives: (a) provide information for the proposed future in-depth assessment of sei whales in terms of both abundance and stock structure; (b) provide information relevant to the Implementation Reviews of whales in terms of both abundance and stock structure (e.g., Bryde’s whales); (c) provide baseline information on distribution and abundance for an area of the North Pacific not recently and systematically surveyed for several large whale species/populations, including those that were known to have been depleted in the past, but whose status is unclear; (d) provide biopsy samples and photo-identification data to contribute to discussions of stock structure for several large whale species/populations, including those that were known to have been depleted in the past but whose status is unclear, and (e) provide essential information for the inter-sessional workshop to plan for a medium to long-term international program in the North Pacific. At the pre-cruise meeting, the Captain and crew of the vessel and international researchers agreed on the procedures and objectives of the survey. The survey was conducted using methods based on the IWC/SC guidelines. The predetermined transect lines were completed within the anticipated time schedule. Survey track line coverage was 97.2% within the designated survey area and a total of 2,237.5 n.miles was surveyed in the Passing with abeam closing mode (NSP) and the Independent Observer passing mode (IO). Additionally, 626.2 and 580.1 n.miles were surveyed during transit to and from the research area respectively. Sightings of: Blue (1 school / 1 individual), sei (1/1), Bryde’s (28/32), sperm (32/125), Cuvier’s beaked (2/5), Mesoplodon spp. (2/3), Ziphiidae (7/11), short finned pilot (2/31), pygmy killer (1/16) whales; Risso’s (2/19), bottlenose (1/37), common (8/217), striped (5/378) and spotted (1/133) dolphins were observed during the cruise. Bryde’s and sperm whales were the most frequently sighted large whale species. The Estimated Angle and Distance Training Exercises and Experiments were completed with improvements following SC suggestions. Photo identification data for 12 Bryde’s whales, 2 sperm whales were collected. A total of 23 biopsy (skin and blubber)samples was collected from 1 blue, 1 sei, 16 Bryde’s whales and 5 sperm whales using the Larsen biopsy rifle/darts system. In the case of Bryde’s whale, 3 samples (individuals) were collected from Sub-area 1 (west of 180°E) and 13 samples from Sub-area 2 (east of 180°E). These biopsy samples will enable genetic studies on stock structure to be conducted in contribution to the North Pacific Bryde’s whale Implementation Review to be held at the 2017 SC meeting. A total of 153 objects of marine debris were observed. All survey procedures were in accordance with the guidelines set forth and agreed upon by the SC. The 7th annual cruise of the IWC-POWER program was completed and provided important information on cetacean distribution in an area where no survey had been

This dataset contains results of visual assessment of different whales, including sperm, sei, blue, and others. Along with whale survey, the observations also included dolphin survey. They were taken from R/V Yushin Maru No. 3 during 2014 IWC-Pacific Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research cruise (5-th annual IWC-POWER cruise). This cruise is U.S. State Department MSR U2014-001 as part of the World Data Service for Oceanography. Data are included in the cruise report in PDF format.

This dataset contains visual and sonobuoy observations of whales taken from research vessel Yushin Maru No.2 in the Bering Sea for the International Whaling Commission Pacific Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research, IWC-POWER, Program from 2017-07-03 to 2017-09-25. IWC-POWER cruises in the North Pacific follow the series of IWC/IDCR-SOWER (Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research) cruises that were conducted in the Antarctic since 1978. The 8th annual IWC-POWER cruise was conducted between 03 July and 25 September, 2017 in the eastern part of the Bering Sea. The entire research area was within the US EEZ. The survey was conducted aboard the Japanese R/V Yushin-Maru No.2. The cruise was organized as a joint project between the IWC and Japan. The cruise plan was endorsed at the 67a IWC/Scientific Committee (IWC/SC) meeting (IWC, 2017a). Researchers from Japan, the US and IWC participated in the survey. The cruise had five main objectives: (a) information for the in-depth 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 population in the eastern Pacific; (c) completion of coverage of the northern range of fin whales following on from the IWC-POWER cruises in 2010-12; (d) baseline information on distribution, stock structure and abundance for a poorly known area for several large whale species/populations, including those that were known to have been depleted in the past but whose status is unclear; (e) essential information for the development of the medium-long term international programme in the North Pacific in order to meet the Commission’s long-term objectives. At the pre-cruise meeting, the Captain and crew of the vessel and international researchers agreed on the procedures and objectives of the survey. The survey was conducted using methods based on the guidelines of the IWC/SC. The acoustic survey was introduced for the first time to acoustically monitor for the presence of marine mammals, with particular importance for detecting and locating North Pacific right whales. Survey trackline coverage was 71.9 % (planned distance of 2,183.7 n.miles) of the original trackline with a total of 1,571.0 n.miles in the Passing with abeam closing mode (NSP) and the Independent Observer passing mode (IO). Additionally, 228.3 n.miles were surveyed during transit between Japan and the research area. Sightings of: fin (145 schools / 198 individuals), humpback (136/165), common minke (17/20), gray (15/22), North Pacific right (9 /18, including 2/3 duplicates), and sperm (25/33) whales were observed during the cruise. Fin and humpback whales were the most frequently sighted large whale species. Gray whales were sighted early in the survey, north of 64oN. There were no sightings of blue or sei whales during the cruise. The Estimated Angle and Distance Training Exercises and Experiments were completed. Photoidentification data were collected for: 15 North Pacific right (12 unique individuals, 3 duplicates), 14 gray (all unique), 55 fin, 34 humpback (32 unique individuals), 1 minke and 56 killer whales. These data are preliminary, pending further processing and photo-identification confirmation. The majority of North Pacific right whales were sighted at the western edge of Bristol Bay and in the middle of the critical habitat. Five of the nine right whale sighting were detected and localized using acoustics. A total of 60 biopsy (skin and blubber) samples was collected from 28 fin, 18 humpback, 9 gray, 3 North Pacific right and 2 killer whales using the Larsen sampling system. A total of 240 sonobuoys were deployed, for a total of 841 monitoring hours. Species detected include fin whales, detected on 46.7% of sonobuoys (112 buoys), killer whales (49 buoys, 20.4%), sperm whales (44 buoys, 18.3%), and right whales (38 buoys 15.8%), followed by humpback whales (23 buoys, 9.6%) and gray whales (4 buoys,

This dataset contains visual sightings of blue, sei, fin whales from the research vessel Yushin-Maru No.3 in the North Pacific Ocean. It provides information for the proposed future in-depth assessment of sei and other whales in terms of both abundance and stock structure. This is MSR RATS cruise U2012-001. These data are part of the World Data Services for Oceanography. Cruise report is in PDF.

This dataset contains whale observation data and cruise report of whale survey in the North Pacific conducted in the US EEZ under the guidance of the International Whale Committee (IWC). IWC-POWER cruises in the North Pacific follow the series of IWC/IDCR-SOWER (Southern Ocean Whale and Ecosystem Research) cruises that were conducted in the Antarctic since 1978. The 13th annual IWC-POWER cruise was conducted between 02 August, 2022 and 30 September, 2022 south of the western Aleutian Islands, within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. This area was also surveyed in 2010 on the first POWER cruise. The survey was conducted aboard the Japanese R/V Yushin-Maru No. 2. The cruise was organized as a joint project between the IWC and Japan. The cruise plan was endorsed at the 68D IWC/Scientific Committee (IWC/SC) meeting. Researchers from the IWC, the U.S., and Japan participated in the survey. Whale observation data are in CSV format. Cruise report is in PDF. This cruise is U.S. State Department MSR U2022-004 as part of the World Data Service for Oceanography.

This dataset contains visual observations of sei and other whale abundance from research vessel Yushin-Maru No.3 in the North Pacific Ocean. It provides information for the proposed future in-depth assessment of sei and other whales in terms of both abundance and stock structure. This MSR RATS cruise U2011-005. These data are part of the World Data Services for Oceanography. Cruise report is in PDF.

This dataset contains visual observations of sei whale abundance from research vessel Yushin-Maru No.3 in the North Pacific Ocean. It provides information for the proposed future in-depth assessment of sei whales in terms of both abundance and stock structure. This is US State Department MSR cruise U2014-038. These data are part of the World Data Services for Oceanography. Data report is in PDF.

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.