SEFSC GoMex Oceanic 2001
Southeast Fisheries Science Center, Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA

Hubard, C. W. & Mullin, K. D., NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center

A spring cetacean survey in the northern U.S. Gulf of Mexico was conducted in 2001 by NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center and Minerals Management Service to examine cetacean abundances in both oceanic and continental shelf waters. This survey was conducted in coordination with the spring Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) ichthyoplankton survey. The dataset contains sightings of not only cetaceans but also other species including sea turtles, fish and shark observed during the ship survey. During the 40 survey days, at least 17 species were sighted, including Bryde's whale Sperm whale Kogia spp. Cuvier's beaked whale Striped dolphin Spinner dolphin Clymene dolphin Pantropical spotted dolphin Atlantic spotted dolphin Bottlenose dolphin Rough-toothed dolphin Risso's dolphin False killer whale Killer whale Pilot whale Pygmy killer whale Melon-headed whale The dataset is accompanied by transect data which is provided as a separate file.

The purpose of this survey is to examine the distribution and estimate abundance of cetaceans in U.S. waters. Specific objectives of this survey are: 1. Collect ichthyoplankton samples for estimates of the abundance and distribution of Atlantic bluefin tuna larvae. 2. Collect data to estimate the abundance and distribution of cetaceans in the oceanic northern Gulf of Mexico. 3. collect associated environmental data at all designated ichthyoplankton stations and marine mammal sightings. 4. Collect data on the distribution of sea turtles, seabirds and other marine life. 5. Obtain biopsy samples of skin and blubber from selected cetacean species for genetic stock structure and contaminant analyses. 6. Obtain photographs of selected cetacean species for photo-identification studies. 7. Collect data on distribution and type of marine debris encountered during the survey.

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NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center. 2001. Report of a Cetacean Survey of Oceanic Waters of the Northern Gulf of Mexico during NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter Cruise GU-01-02 (012)

Overview

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
Only minimum required attributes are visible and downlodable online. Other attributes may be obtained upon provider's permission unless otherwise noteded below.

The dataset contains information necessary to locate the species sightings observed in the survey. The structure of the dataset was defined by NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Note that the dataset is a subset of the larger, complete dataset collected in the survey which includes environmental information. The columns before LineNo are applied to the shapefile only. The following information is not included in the dataset but will be found in the master data. For details, please contact NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Track; Speed; GPS Status; Observers; Wind direction; Weather; Sea state; Swell; Visibility; Turbidity; Sunlight; Water depth; Water color; Water temperature; Sighting angle; Effort status.

Attributes in dataset provided

Attribute (table column)	Description
lineno
card
cruiseno
date
time
latitude
longitude
track
speed
gpswarning
leftobs
rightobs
datarcdr
wind
weather
seastate
swell
visibility
versunpos
radsunpos
watercolor
sightingno
shipid
oneffort
watertemp
waterdepth
spcode
species_tsn
species
scientific	Species scientific name.
herdsize
calves
ontransect
cookiecttr
remora
glare
gpclass
behavior
cuetime
cuelat
cuelon
obspos
obscode
source
reticle
distance
bearing
wdepthm
oid