Bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) are one of the most important subsistence resources for the indigenous people of coastal northern and western Alaska, as well as key components of Arctic marine ecosystems, yet relatively little about their abundance, seasonal distribution, migrations, or foraging behaviors has been documented scientifically. Ice-associated seal populations may be negatively impacted by offshore oil and gas development as well as by climate change. During a cooperative effort between scientists and subsistence hunters in October 2004, 2005, and 2006, 13 female and 13 male juvenile (i.e., age <2) bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) were tagged with satellite-linked dive recorders (SDRs) in Kotzebue Sound, Alaska. While the focus of this study was on young bearded seals, an additional three female spotted seal (Phoca largha) pups and two adult spotted seal males were captured and deployed with satellite telemetry devices. The data files within this dataset represent the 'raw' data obtained from the Wildlife Computers data portal. Each deployment (unique tag id + animal id combination) is provided as a zipped archive. The root folder also includes additional documentation. The various files and detailed column descriptions are described in the 'Spreadsheet-File-Descriptions.pdf' which was downloaded from Wildlife Computers (https://wildlifecomputers.com/support/downloads/). The '00_kotzeb04_get_data.Rmd' file is an RMarkdown file that provides code and documentation of the data retrieval process. The corresponding '00_kotzeb04_get_data.hml' file is generated from the RMarkdown file.

Bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus) are one of the most important subsistence resources for the indigenous people of coastal northern and western Alaska, as well as key components of Arctic marine ecosystems. Yet, relatively little about their abundance, seasonal distribution, migrations, or foraging behaviors has been documented scientifically. Ice-associated seal populations may be negatively impacted by offshore oil and gas development as well as by climate change. Our ability to predict impacts, however, is limited by inadequate knowledge of seal population structure and foraging ecology. By working cooperatively with Alaska Native subsistence hunters we developed methods for live- capturing bearded seals in the Chukchi Sea using nets set in the shallow coastal waters where bearded seals were foraging. Capture efforts were based out of Kotzebue and various locations in the North Slope Borough from Wainwright to Barrow in June and July from 2009 to 2012. In all, 7 seals were caught (2 adults and 5 sub-adults; 4 males and three females; ranging in length and weight from 159 cm and 116 kg to 216 cm and 253 kg), all from Kotzebue Sound. Each seal was released with two different types of bio-logging devices: the SPOT5, attached to a rear flipper, provided information on the timing of hauling out and on the seal’s location for up to three years. The MK10, glued to the top of a seal’s head, provided the same information as well as data on the timing and depths of dives. MK10 deployments remained active up to ten months and were shed from the seal during the annual molt. The data files within this dataset represent the 'raw' data obtained from the Wildlife Computers data portal. Each deployment (unique tag id + animal id combination) is provided as a zipped archive. The root folder also includes additional documentation. The various files and detailed column descriptions are described in the 'Spreadsheet-File-Descriptions.pdf' which was downloaded from Wildlife Computers (https://wildlifecomputers.com/support/downloads/). The '00_kotzeb0912_get_data.Rmd' file is an RMarkdown file that provides code and documentation of the data retrieval process. The corresponding '00_kotzeb0912_get_data.hml' file is autogenerated from the RMarkdown file.

Aerial surveys were conducted during 1983–2006 in the Ketchikan, Sitka, Kodiak, and Bristol Bay areas of Alaska to estimate trends in abundance of harbor seals.

These data were used by Kuhn et al. (2015) to investigate how conclusions about predator-prey relationships change with increasing temporal disparity between predator tracking periods and prey surveys. Northern fur seals (n = 20) from St. Paul Island (Alaska, USA) were equipped with satellite tracking transmitters and time-depth recorders from July to October 2006. Fur seal dive and movement metrics were examined in relation to the relative abundance of the fur seals’ primary prey, walleye pollock (Gadus chalcogrammus), reported from the annual eastern Bering Sea groundfish survey. Relationships between foraging behavior metrics and prey abundance were examined within the Bering shelf survey grid cells at three time scales: within 2 weeks of the prey survey, within 1 month, and over the northern fur seal reproductive season (>4 months).

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), formerly the Minerals Management Service (MMS), and its precursor, the Bureau of Land Management, funded aerial surveys in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering seas from 1979 to 2019. In 2008, through an Interagency Agreement between MMS and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]), the Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML, a division of AFSC), formerly the National Marine Mammal Laboratory assumed co-management responsibilities for these surveys. Throughout the history of the surveys, they were referred to as the Bowhead Whale Aerial Survey Project (BWASP) and the Chukchi Offshore Monitoring in Drilling Area (COMIDA) marine mammal aerial surveys, both of which are described in more detail below. In 2011, a new Interagency Agreement between BOEM and NMML was established to authorize NMML to continue the BWASP and COMIDA studies under the auspices of a single study, Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals (ASAMM). In 2020 and 2021, aerial line-transect surveys for bowhead whales and other marine mammals were funded and co-managed by the North Slope Borough (NSB) through contract 2021-069 with the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies (CICOES), a part of the University of Washington, with collaboration from AFSC, NOAA Fisheries. Consistent survey protocol has been in effect on surveys conducted since 1982. Data collected from 1979 to 1981 were not vetted as carefully as data from 1982 to 2021, and should generally not be used for most analyses. WESTERN BEAUFORT SEA Aerial surveys in the western Beaufort Sea (south of 72 degrees N, 140-157 degrees W) have been conducted each year since 1979. MMS personnel and contractors conducted the surveys from 1979 to 2007. From 2008 to 2019, the surveys were conducted by MML. In 2020 and 2021, surveys were conducted by NSB. The primary goal of the project, also known as BWASP through 2010, ASAMM from 2011 to 2019, and NSB Autumn Aerial Surveys in 2020 and 2021, was to document bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) during their fall migration through the western Beaufort Sea, although data were also collected for all other marine mammals that were sighted during the surveys. The surveys were typically conducted during the months of September and October, when offshore drilling and geophysical exploration were feasible and when the fall subsistence hunt for bowhead whales takes place near Kaktovik, Cross Island (village of Nuiqsut), and Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Additional surveys were conducted in the western Beaufort Sea during spring and summer 1979-1986, during summer 2011-2019, and from approximately 15 September to 15 October in 2020 and 2021. The emphasis of surveys in the Beaufort Sea was to conduct broad-scale surveys to assess shifts in the migration pathway of bowhead whales, and to coordinate effort and manage 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. From 2016 to 2019, to incorporate the area near Liberty prospect, all transects in survey block 1 were extended inshore of the barrier islands to the shoreline. From 19 July through 20 August 2016, transects extended north beyond the usual BWASP study area into study blocks 8, 9, and 10, and north of blocks 11 and 12 (beyond 72 degrees N) to survey Eastern Chukchi Sea (ECS) beluga habitat. In 2017, a coastal transect 1 km offshore between Point Barrow and Demarcation Bay in the Beaufort Sea was added. Otherwise, the project attempted to distribute effort evenly east-to-west across the entire study area. Aerial coverage favored inshore survey blocks because bowhead whales were rarely sighted north of blocks 2, 6, and 7

This dataset supports efforts to estimate the abundance and trends in population size of Alaska harbor seals. Annual surveys of harbor seal populations are fundamental to estimation of seal abundance, distribution, and trends, which in turn are essential for stock assessment, conservation, and management. The most feasible approach to determining harbor seal distribution and abundance is to use aircraft to count seals when they haul out of the water and are visible. Harbor seals in Alaska occupy a geographically extensive range from approximately long. 172ºE to 130ºW (over 3,500 km east to west) and from lat. 51ºN to 61.5ºN (over 1,000 km north to south). Estimation of the abundance of harbor seals statewide requires broad-scale aerial surveys and these surveys have been conducted by NOAA Fisheries, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, and other collaborators since the early 1980s. This dataset reflects counts of harbor seals from surveys conducted between 2003 and 2011. This dataset differs from earlier datasets in a few key areas: 1) records generally correspond to a count of the number of harbor seals within a single, geo-referenced digital photo, 2) photographs were not taken when no seals were present so additional analysis of survey effort and flight tracks was required to determine 0 counts.

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.

Aerial surveys were flown during the spring of 2012 and 2013 as part of the Bering Okhotsk Seal Surveys (BOSS) project to gather data on distribution and abundance of ice-associated seals in the eastern Bering Sea. The distributions of these seals are broad and patchy, resulting in surveys that cover large areas and encounter rapidly changing environmental conditions. Surveys were flown using a fixed-wing aircraft with a paired system of digital cameras and thermal imagers operated by observers and mounted in the belly port. Flight tracks were recorded with an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) that also recorded location information at one second intervals. A secondary flight track was recorded with a GPS which was used to supplement location information when there was a glitch with the AHRS. BOSS on-effort flight tracks were used to calculate total distance and area flown for estimating seal abundance, in addition to georeferencing digital and thermal imagery collected in flight. On-effort flight tracks (survey effort) were initially determined by the observer based on environmental conditions and later refined based on aircraft attitude and imagery review. The spatial data are provided in the geographic (epsg:4326) coordinate reference system.

This dataset contains aerial survey data from the surveys described below. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), formerly the Minerals Management Service (MMS), and its precursor, the Bureau of Land Management, funded aerial surveys in the Beaufort, Chukchi, and Bering seas from 1979 to 2019. In 2008, through an Interagency Agreement between MMS and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC, National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA]), the Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML, a division of AFSC), formerly the National Marine Mammal Laboratory, assumed co-management responsibilities for these surveys. Throughout the history of the surveys, they were referred to as the Bowhead Whale Aerial Survey Project (BWASP) and the Chukchi Offshore Monitoring in Drilling Area (COMIDA) marine mammal aerial surveys, both of which are described in more detail below. The surveys were conducted under the auspices of a single study, Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals (ASAMM). In 2020 and 2021, aerial line-transect surveys for bowhead whales and other marine mammals were funded and co-managed by the North Slope Borough (NSB) through contract 2021-069 with the Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, a part of the University of Washington, with collaboration from AFSC, NOAA Fisheries. Consistent survey protocol has been in effect on surveys conducted since 1982. WESTERN BEAUFORT SEA Aerial surveys in the western Beaufort Sea (south of 72 degrees N, 140-157 degrees W) have been conducted each year since 1979. MMS personnel and contractors conducted the surveys from 1979 to 2007. From 2008 to 2019, the surveys were conducted by MML. In 2020 and 2021, surveys were conducted by NSB. The primary goal of the project, also known as BWASP through 2010, ASAMM from 2011 to 2019, and NSB Autumn Aerial Surveys in 2020 and 2021, was to document bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) during their fall migration through the western Beaufort Sea, although data were also collected for all other marine mammals that were sighted during the surveys. The surveys were typically conducted during the months of September and October, when offshore drilling and geophysical exploration are feasible and when the fall subsistence hunt for bowhead whales takes place near Kaktovik, Cross Island (village of Nuiqsut), and Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow), Alaska. Additional surveys were conducted in the Beaufort Sea during spring and summer 1979-1986, and during summer 2011 to 2019, and from approximately 15 September to 15 October 2020 to 2021. EASTERN CHUKCHI SEA Aerial surveys in the eastern Chukchi Sea (68-73 degrees N, 157-169 degrees W) were conducted by MMS (now BOEM) contractors from 1982 to 1991. From 2008 to 2019, the surveys were conducted by MML. In 2020 and 2021, the surveys were conducted by NSB in collaboration with CICOES and MML and used a similar methodology to the surveys conducted in previous years. Starting in 2014, surveys were expanded south to 67 degrees N. The goal of the surveys, also known as the Chukchi Offshore Monitoring in Drilling Area (COMIDA) through 2010, ASAMM from 2011 to 2019, and NSB surveys in 2020 and 2021, was to investigate the distribution and relative abundance of marine mammals in the Chukchi Sea Planning Area (CSPA) during the open water (i.e., ice-free) months of June to October, when various species are undertaking seasonal migrations through the area. However, from 1979 to 1984, surveys were also conducted during spring. In 2020 and 2021, NSB Autumn Aerial Surveys in the Chukchi Sea from approximately 15 September to 15 October, were prioritized only when weather conditions were not conducive to surveying the western Beaufort Sea. NORTHERN BERING AND SOUTHERN CHUKCHI SEAS Aerial surveys in the northern Bering and southern Chukchi seas (63-68 degrees N, east of the International Date Line) were conducted by MMS (now BOEM) contractors from 1979 to 1985. The goal

In 1992-95 and 1999-2000, the U.S. Government 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.