The Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Survey, conducted by the Conservation Ecology Branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, develops abundance and distribution models that incorporate environmental factors to better understand how protected species such as whales, dolphins, and sea turtles use our waters. The program coordinates the data collection and analysis efforts of NOAA Fisheries Northeast and Southeast Science Centers and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Division of Migratory Birds. Through these efforts, we are providing enhanced data to managers and supporting conservation initiatives.

Species identification, morphometrics, tagging information, hooking locations, and gear and interaction characteristics are recorded by fisheries observers and NMFS researchers during incidental encounters with sea turtles. Pelagic longline, shark bottom longline, and driftnet observer data relating to the incidental capture of sea turtles during fishing activity are used in bycatch reports, sea turtle life history research, bycatch mitigation research, and for management purposes.

Preliminary Report on the Analysis of Sea Turtle Monitoring Data 1986 - 1999.

Large vessel surveys were conducted during the summers of 2012 and 2014 in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico north of the Dry Tortugas. Data were collected on the abundance and spatial distribution of sperm whales and other marine mammals in this region. Satellite telemetry tags were deployed on sperm whales occupying these waters to examine residency and movement patterns. This aggregation of sperm whales may be distinct from those occupying the rest of the northern Gulf of Mexico and are associated with unique physical oceanographic features in this area. These data were used to evaluate the residency and habitat use patterns of this aggregation of sperm whales.

To survey immature sea turtles that inhabit the Ten Thousand Islands. Program funding came from South Florida Ecosystem Restoration. This project provided base-line data on the distribution and abundance of threatened and endangered sea turtles prior to the proposed redirection of Everglades fresh water flow. Tagging data are located on hard copy and electronic versions on CD. They are not posted on the host server. A condensed version of these data was also submitted to the Cooperative Marine Turtle Tagging Data Base (CMTTP) administered by the University of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

Unique specimen "IDNumber" for over 750 specimens of Hawaiian grouper (hapu'upu'u, Hyporthodus quernus; family Epinephelidae) are included in this dataset. Each specimen has the following information associated with it: standard body length, body weight, and gonad weight metrics, date of collection, and both macroscopic & microscopic sexual identities and sexual maturation states (the latter based on E. DeMartini's examination of histological slides prepared by several outside contractors (Pathology Labs of Queen's Hospital & John Burns Medical School). All specimens were collected by hydraulic handlines from either NOAA research vessels or commercial bottomfish boats.

Methods for reproductive sterilization are broadly needed in marine aquaculture due to biosafety concerns associated with escapement of farmed fish and potential genetic contamination of wild stocks. Current methods for sterilization have been primarily tested in freshwater fishes and are often ineffective, particularly in males. The proposed activity builds upon our recent success in producing the first-ever monosex female stocks of sablefish for aquaculture and seeks to develop eco-friendly, non-GMO methods for reproductive sterilization. We will use sablefish as our model marine species for sterilization and continue to collaborate with University of Maryland faculty with expertise in cutting-edge techniques for sterilization. Development of sustainable marine aquaculture is a high priority at the local (NWFSC), regional (WCR), and national levels (NOAA, DOC, Congress). Our sablefish sex control/sterilization project was also highlighted as a critical priority and outstanding area of research in the NOAA Aquaculture Science Review published 28 Feb 2019. We ultimately aim to transfer a sterilization technology to the US sablefish aquaculture industry and expand our methodology to other important species, with the goal of improving sustainability of marine aquaculture and mitigating impacts on the environment. Raw data on rearing densities, tanks, water temperature, mortalities, ration and feed size may be available.

Data provide presence/absence of gross abnormalities on individual fish, identified to species, to allow calculation of the proportion of fish caught that had externally visible abnormalities. Accounting kept track of type of abnormality. Sampling was conducted weekly in the middle estuary and the outer estuary (inlet) and data were summarized by month.

This is a database of a variety of biological, reproductive, and energetic data collected from fish on the continental shelf in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Species sampled in this database thus far include winter flounder, yellowtail flounder, summer flounder, haddock, cusk, Atlantic wolffish, and Atlantic herring. Data are collected from fish provided principally from fishermen participating in the NECRP Study Fleet. Some fish are taken from other NECRP research studies, and a small number from NEFSC surveys and surveys by MADMF and URI GSO. The catch location data is provided in views from the relevant FVTR, SVDBS, or other tables for a few cooperative research or external programs. The biological data includes general physical data (weights, lengths, organ weights, macroscopic maturity stage), age data, and other reproductive data. Measures collected from preserved gonad samples includes data for estimation of fish fecundity (oocyte counts and diameters) and from grading gonad histology for determination of maturity and seasonal reproductive status. In addition, relative measures of energetic condition are collected (including tissue wet weight and dry weights and bioimpedance data), and for some fish food habits data were collected in the first 18 months of data collection.