Mid-Atlantic Nearshore and Mid-shelf Baleen Whale Monitoring

The U.S. Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program

The data in this dataset represent animal sightings and vessel tracks that occurred during nearshore and mid-shelf baleen whale surveys off the coast of Virginia Beach, VA in the VACAPES OPAREA beginning in November 2020. This project is ongoing and data will be updated annually. Work is being performed by HDR under contract to Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command as part of the U.S. Navy’s Marine Species Monitoring
Program sponsored by U.S. Fleet Forces Command.

N/A

2025-11-07: 62 sightings in Nov 2024 - Mar 2025 were appended.
2024-10-31: Sightings in Nov 2023 ~ Mar 2024 were appended.
2023-11-07: Sightings in Nov 2022 ~ Mar 2023 were appended.

Sightings and effort data were entered and organized in this geodatabase by HDR. Source data was provided by HDR under the MSM IDIQ contract. Sighting locations represent actual animal locations. Sightings and effort data for this project were collected using a prototype collection application. Because this application used a different database structure, there are no environmentals associated with the effort tracks.

Survey tracklines (aggregated over time) are available online and included in a downloadable zip file (shapefile format).

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

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
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
observationtype
behavior	Behavior
behaviorevent	Behavior event
countcalves	The number of calves in the sighting
countjuveniles	Number of juveniles
counttotbest	The best estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotmax	The highest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotmin	The lowest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
cue	Sighing cue
depthsounding	Depth as determined in situ via sounding in meters
distsight	The radial distance to the animal
headingplatmagnetic	Heading magnetic (deg)
headingplattrue	Heading true (deg)
latanimal	Latitude of animals in decimal degrees
latplatform	The latitude of the platform in decimal degrees
longanimal	Longitude of animals in decimal degrees
longplatform	Longitude of the platform in decimal degrees
sightingnotes	Notes field to capture information not covered by existing attributes or other information of interest
opticstype	Method of distance calculation (big eye, clinometer, estimate, 7x50 handheld, laser rangefinder, theodolite)
datetime_utc	Date and time of the sighting at UTC
globalid
spcsnmsci	Scientific name
spcsnmcom	Common name of the sighted species. Output should be singular (e.g. bottlenose dolphin)
sp_tsn	ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
distsighttype	Type of distance estimation (estimated, range-finder, reticle calculation, declination calculation)
datetime	Date and time of the sighting at local time zone
sightingnumber	The sighting number for the particular survey day
objectid_org
bearing	Bearing (relative to bow)
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP