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| CONTENTS |
| Overview |
| Table 1. NARWSS flight hours, number of NARWSS flights
conducted, survey type, and total number of right whales sighted on all
NARWSS flights during each month in 2007 |
| Figure 1. NARWSS survey track
lines and right whale sighting locations by season for 2007 |
| Table 2. The number of right whale sightings
reported to the RWSAS in 2007 by reporting source, and the number of
unconfirmed and late reports |
| Figure 2. Number, month and source of reported right whale sightings within the
Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Canadian water regions in 2007 |
| Figure 3. Locations of right
whale sightings reported within in the Northeast and Canada region in 2007 |
| Figure 4. Locations of right whale sightings reported within the Mid-Atlantic
region in 2007 |
Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document 08-06
North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS)
and Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (RWSAS)
2007 Results Summary
by Misty Niemeyer, Timothy VN Cole, Cynthia L Christman, Peter Duley, and Allison H Glass
National Marine Fisheries Serv, Woods Hole Lab, 166 Water St, Woods Hole MA 02543-1026
Print
publication date March 2008;
web version posted April 1, 2008
Citation: Niemeyer M, Cole TVN, Christman CL, Duley P, Glass AH. 2008. North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) and Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (RWSAS) 2007 results summary. US Dept Commer, Northeast Fish Sci Cent Ref Doc. 08-06; 6 p.
 Download complete PDF/print version
Overview
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. The Right
Whale Sighting Advisory System (RWSAS) is designed to reduce collisions between
ships and right whales by alerting mariners to the presence of the right whales
via fax, email, the Internet, Broadcast Notice to Mariners (BNM), NOAA Weather
Radio, and the Mandatory Ship Reporting system (MSR). These reports are obtained from a variety of
sources including the NARWSS, whale research organizations, automated acoustic
buoys, whale watch vessels, Coast Guard, fishing vessels, commercial ships, and
the general public. The results from
both the NARWSS and the RWSAS programs in 2007 are summarized in the following
tables and figures.
Table 1. Summarizes the NARWSS flight hours, the number of the NARWSS flights
conducted, survey type, and the total number of right whales sighted on all
the NARWSS flights during each month in 2007. There were four types of surveys flown: broadscale; sawtooth; focused
surveys in the Great South Channel (GSC) Critical Habitat; and focused
surveys over potential and realized Dynamic Area Management (DAM) closure
zones. Broadscale surveys were flown along systematic east-west track lines
that covered all Federal waters west of the Hague Line from south of Long
Island, New York, to Eastport, Maine. These surveys were flown to provide a synoptic view of the
distribution of right whales off the northeastern Atlantic coast; a completed
series indicates coverage of the entire area. Sawtooth surveys began in May 2007 and were flown along systematic
track lines within 9 survey blocks. These flights were conducted to obtain increased photographic capture
data of individual right whales to support vital rate modeling and monitoring
of right whale aggregations. Surveys focused in the GSC provided commercial
shipping traffic with the current locations of right whale aggregations. DAM confirmation flights included flights
made to investigate reported sightings of right whale aggregations outside
existing closures and monitor the duration of residence of aggregations
within established DAM zones. Additional focused flights not categorized in
the table were flights to relocate reported whale carcasses, entangled whales
or provide support for disentanglement efforts. |
Month
in 2007 |
Flight hours |
Systematic broadscale flights * |
Systematic broadscale series
completed |
Systematic sawtooth surveys |
Critical habitat surveys |
DAM surveys |
# Right whales sighted ** |
January |
29 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
47 |
February |
28 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
38 |
March |
49 |
5 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
39 |
April |
37 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
113 |
May |
63 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
7 |
1 |
205 |
June |
66 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
9 |
0 |
258 |
July |
17 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1 |
1 |
34 |
August |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
September |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
October |
30 |
0 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
2 |
21 |
November |
23 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
24 |
December |
32 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
0 |
62 |
Totals |
374 |
9 |
1 |
18 |
21 |
14 |
841 |
* Flights
that included both systematic broadscale or sawtooth and management survey
time were counted as broadscale or sawtooth flights.
** The
number of right whales sighted is a tally of estimated group sizes, not the
number of unique individuals identified from photographs. |
Figure 1. NARWSS survey track
lines and right whale sighting locations by season for 2007. Thin lines represent track lines and
bull’s-eyes represent right whale sighting locations. Seasonal right whale closure areas in effect
during each period are shown as bold lines. The closure area include: Cape
Cod Bay (Jan 1 - May 15); Great South Channel (April 1 - June 30); Seasonal
Area Management (SAM) West (March 1 - April 30); Seasonal Area Management (SAM)
East (May 1 - July 31). CLICK TO ENLARGE FIGURE.
Table 2. The number of right whale sightings
reported to the RWSAS in 2007 by reporting source, and the number of
unconfirmed and late reports. Unconfirmed reports and duplicate reports did not produce an
alert. Reports of 1-2 right whales
were not broadcast if the report was received more than one day after the
sighting. Late reports of greater than
2 whales did generate an alert since it was likely the location would
continue to be occupied by right whales. Multiple sightings received on the same day were typically combined
into a single alert. A total of 144
alerts were broadcast in 2007.
|
Platform |
# of Reports |
Unconfirmed |
Late |
Aerial Survey |
86 |
0 |
3 |
Shipboard Survey |
44 |
0 |
16 |
Acoustic |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Whale Watch |
54 |
1 |
5 |
Coast Guard |
21 |
1 |
5 |
Commercial Ship |
11 |
1 |
1 |
Fishing Vessel |
1 |
0 |
1 |
Opportunistic |
42 |
5 |
7 |
Totals |
260 |
8 |
39 |
Figure 2a. Number, month and source of reported right whale sightings within the
Northeast region (Maine through New York) in 2007.
Figure 2b. Number, month and source of reported right whale sightings within the
Mid-Atlantic region (New Jersey through North Carolina) in 2007.
Figure 2c. Number, month and source of reported right whale sightings within
Canadian waters in 2007.
Figure 3. Locations of right
whale sightings reported within in the Northeast and Canada region in 2007. Unconfirmed reports were excluded. Graduated symbols indicate reporting source
and number of whales for each sighting. CLICK TO ENLARGE FIGURE.
Figure
4. Locations of right whale sightings reported within the Mid-Atlantic
region in 2007. Unconfirmed reports were
excluded. Graduated symbols indicate
reporting source and number of whales for each sighting. CLICK TO ENLARGE FIGURE.
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