NEFSC Right Whale Aerial Survey in 2025

Whale Ecology Branch, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/NMFS

The North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) is a NOAA Fisheries program which locates and records the seasonal distribution of right whales off the northeastern United States.

N/A

The data from NEFSC Right Whale Aerial Surveys were previously put together in a single dataset (https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/513). In 2026, the dataset was split into yearly datasets to increase the portability. This dataset includes sightings in 2025. The datasets in years from 1998 to 2024 are available at https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/10yyyy where yyyy is the 4-digit year.

The dataset has been updated over time as outlined below. Each entry includes the version number, release date, type of change, and a short description.

Overview

This section explains attributes included in the original dataset. The availability of the attributes depends on the share policy. When "Minimum attributes" is selected, only date/time, lat/lon, species identification and group size are available. Should you need other attributes described here, you are encouraged to contact the data provider. When "All attributes" is selected, all attributes are available in download.

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
All attributes are included in the downloadable file (CSV or ESRI File Geodatabase) for "Complete Set of Dataset".

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)	Description
dataset_id	Dataset ID within Catalog (different from OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset ID)
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
source	NEFSC
plane	Type of plane
event_number	Event number
latitude	Latitude in decimal degrees
longitude	Longitude in decimal degrees
flight_type	Survey type code. Code descriptions available upon request.
legtype	Survey line type code. Code descriptions available upon request.
legstage	Survey watch stage code. Code descriptions available upon request.
psb_legstage	Survey watch stage code. Code descriptions available upon request.
altitude	Altitude in feet
heading	Platform heading (degrees)
speed	Platform speed (knots)
sst_c	Sea surface temperature in celsius
visibilty_code	Visibility code
visibilty_nm	Visibility in nautical miles
beaufort	Beaufort sea state
cloud_code	Cloud code
cloud_percent	Cloud cover as a percentage.
glare_l	Glare at the left side
glare_r	Glare at the right side
quality_l	Quality at the left side
quality_r	Quality at the right side
sighting_number	Sighting number
spcode	Species code
id_reliability	Reliability of species identification
group_size	Group size
calves	Thenumber of calves
bearing	Bearing
distance	Distance
relative_heading	Relative heading
actual_heading	Actual heading in degrees
observer	Observer initials
obs_position	Observer
angle	Declination angle (0-90 degrees) of sighting available upon provider persmission
cue	Sighting cue
b1_final_code	definition not provided
b2_final_code	definition not provided
b3_final_code	definition not provided
b4_final_code	definition not provided
b5_final_code	definition not provided
photos	Is a photo taken: yes=2 no=1
effort_comments	Comments on effort
sighting_comments	Comments on sighting
edit1	Changes made by the 1st editor
edit2	Changes made by the 2nd editor
edit3	Changes made by the 3rd editor
misc_edit1	definition not provided
misc_edit2	definition not provided
misc_edit3	definition not provided
misc_edit4	Changes made by an editor
rid	RID
event_t
datetime_et
sp_code	Species code
sp_scientific	Scientific name
sp_tsn	ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
sp_rank	Taxon rank
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP