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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

North pacific right whale surveys conducted in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean by Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Mammal Laboratory from 2007-08-01 to 2011-09-10 (NCEI Accession 0133935)

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The North Pacific right whale (NPRW) was heavily hunted between the 17th and the 20th centuries. Protection was supposedly afforded by international treaties in the 1930s and 1940s, but the illegal capture of hundreds of individuals by the Soviet Union, primarily in the 1960s drastically impacted the recovery of the species. Currently, only a small remnant of this population (estimated at approximately 30 individuals) inhabits the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS). There is an increasing body of evidence suggesting that the middle shelf domain constitutes the primary habitat of NPRWs in the SEBS during the summer. Despite substantial observation effort from various sources in some other areas, the only region in the Bering Sea where NPRWs have been consistently seen is the middle shelf. Vessel surveys were conducted in the summers of 2007 - 2011 in the EBS mostly within the NPRW critical habitat boundary (located on the middle shelf of the SEBS). A total of eight NPRW individuals were identified from photographs taken during the survey.
  • Cite as: Clapham, Phillip; Kennedy, Amy; Zerbini, Alex; Rone, Brenda; Crance, Jessica; Berchok, Catherine (2015). North pacific right whale surveys conducted in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean by Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Mammal Laboratory from 2007-08-01 to 2011-09-10 (NCEI Accession 0133935). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0133935. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:0133935
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Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
NCEI.Info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 2007-08-01 to 2011-09-10
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -171.327
East: -161.496
South: 52.827
North: 64.418
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2015-10-06
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Supplemental Information
Submission Package ID: ANE4NY
Purpose This work was prompted by the need for better data to assess the potential impact of oil and gas development in the North Aleutian Basin (NAB) area. The inter-agency (IA) study was a multi-year project which featured multi-disciplinary investigations of right whale occurrence, movements and feeding ecology. The overall goal of the IA study was to facilitate any development of future oil and gas-related mitigation by assessing the distribution, occurrence and habitat use of NPRW in the SEBS (NAB lease sale area and adjacent waters). The general objectives of the visual line-transect portion of the study were as follows: 1) To assess distribution of NPRWs in the SEBS, with emphasis on the NPRW Critical Habitat and NAB area in the Bering Sea, 2) To study the habitat-use and site fidelity of NPRW using ship-based visual surveys, and 3) To collect photo-identification data and biopsy samples from individual whales to investigate population structure, improve estimates of abundance, determine sex, pollutant loads, and diet.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: Clapham, Phillip; Kennedy, Amy; Zerbini, Alex; Rone, Brenda; Crance, Jessica; Berchok, Catherine (2015). North pacific right whale surveys conducted in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean by Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Mammal Laboratory from 2007-08-01 to 2011-09-10 (NCEI Accession 0133935). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0133935. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Principal Investigators
Contributors
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Points of Contact
Publishers
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Platform keywords NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords ICES/SeaDataNet Ship Codes
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: Clapham, Phillip; Kennedy, Amy; Zerbini, Alex; Rone, Brenda; Crance, Jessica; Berchok, Catherine (2015). North pacific right whale surveys conducted in the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean by Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Mammal Laboratory from 2007-08-01 to 2011-09-10 (NCEI Accession 0133935). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0133935. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
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Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • 2015-10-06T19:06:10Z - NCEI Accession 0133935 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets
Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps
  • Data Type: LAT (measured); Units: decimal degrees; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: GPS.
  • Data Type: LONGITUDE (measured); Units: decimal degrees; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: GPS.
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • binoculars
  • GPS
Platform
  • NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson
Last Modified: 2023-07-15T03:25:32Z
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