Aerial Survey Baseline Monitoring in the Continental Shelf Region of the VACAPES OPAREA: January 2016 - December 2016 (left side)

Original provider:
Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Foundation and University of North Carolina Wilmington

Dataset credits:
Mallette, S.D., R.J. McAlarney, G.G. Lockhart, E.W. Cummings, D.A. Pabst, W.A. McLellan, and S.G. Barco. 2017. Aerial Survey Baseline Monitoring in the Continental Shelf Region of the VACAPES OPAREA: January 2016 - December 2016. Draft Report. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006, Task Order 05, issued to HDR, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia. 1 February 2016.

Abstract:
The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation, Inc. (VAQF) is tasked to conduct aerial surveys for the continental shelf region off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay within the Virginia Capes Operating Area (VACAPES OPAREA) to provide marine species monitoring services. In 2007, a multi-institutional project utilizing multiple platforms (i.e., aerial, vessel, and passive acoustic monitoring) aimed at protected species monitoring off the East Coast of the United States commenced. The current survey will complement existing United States (U.S.) Navy marine species monitoring efforts (Aerial Survey Baseline Monitoring- Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing) and supports environmental planning and regulatory compliance along the East Coast of the United States.

This project represents the first year of U.S. Department of the Navy-funded aerial survey efforts off Virginia Beach, Virginia. These surveys build upon previous survey efforts funded by Virginia Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program to document large whale occurrence in the vicinity of the Virginia Wind Energy Area (VA WEA) and contribute to regional mid-Atlantic ocean planning efforts. VAQF in collaboration with University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) conducted line-transect aerial surveys from 2012 through 2016, although surveys were not flown every month or with consistent effort between years (Mallette et al. 2014, 2016). The goal of the current aerial survey project is to complement existing monitoring projects and contribute baseline protected species occurrence data, including species distribution; abundance; density estimates; and seasonal habitat usage.

The survey site includes an approximately 6,500-square-kilometer area off the coast of Virginia extending from the southern portion of the eastern shore of Virginia to the North Carolina/Virginia state border. The aerial survey design was established based upon advisements from the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modeling (CREEM) at the University of St. Andrews and objectives identified by the U.S. Navy. VAQF conducted fixed-wing aerial line-transect surveys, using previously established distance-sampling protocols, to document the occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles. VAQF worked closely with the UNCW to maintain consistency among the safety, flight, and data-reporting protocols for Hatteras/Onslow/JAX baseline monitoring projects (McAlarney et al. 2013, 2015). The current report describes monitoring activities that occurred between January 2016 and December 2016.

原始提供方：
弗吉尼亚水族馆与海洋科学基金会、北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校

数据集 credits：
Mallette, S.D., R.J. McAlarney, G.G. Lockhart, E.W. Cummings, D.A. Pabst, W.A. McLellan, 和 S.G. Barco. 2017. VACAPES作业区大陆架区域航空调查基线监测：2016年1月-2016年12月. 草案报告. 为美国舰队部队司令部编制. 根据合同号N62470-15-D-8006（任务订单05）提交至弗吉尼亚州诺福克市大西洋海军设施工程司令部，由弗吉尼亚州弗吉尼亚海滩市HDR公司执行. 2016年2月1日.

摘要：
弗吉尼亚水族馆与海洋科学中心基金会（VAQF）承担了在弗吉尼亚海角作业区（VACAPES OPAREA）内切萨皮克湾口外大陆架区域开展航空调查的任务，以提供海洋物种监测服务. 2007年，一项采用多平台（如航空、船舶及被动声学监测）、旨在监测美国东海岸受保护物种的多机构合作项目正式启动. 当前调查将补充美国海军现有的海洋物种监测工作（大西洋舰队训练与测试航空调查基线监测），并为美国东海岸的环境规划及法规遵从提供支持.

本项目是美国海军部资助的弗吉尼亚州弗吉尼亚海滩附近航空调查工作的首个年度项目. 这些调查基于弗吉尼亚海岸带管理计划（CZM Program）资助的前期工作，旨在记录弗吉尼亚风能区（VA WEA）附近大型鲸鱼的出现情况，并为大西洋中部区域海洋规划贡献力量. VAQF与北卡罗来纳大学威尔明顿分校（UNCW）于2012-2016年开展了线样带航空调查，但并非每月执行，且各年份的调查力度存在差异（Mallette等，2014、2016）. 当前航空调查项目的目标是补充现有监测项目，提供受保护物种出现的基线数据，包括物种分布、丰度、密度估算及季节性栖息地利用情况.

调查区域涵盖弗吉尼亚海岸外约6500平方公里的海域，范围从弗吉尼亚州东海岸南部延伸至北卡罗来纳州与弗吉尼亚州的州界. 航空调查设计基于圣安德鲁斯大学生态与环境建模研究中心（CREEM）的建议及美国海军确定的目标制定. VAQF采用固定翼飞机开展线样带航空调查，遵循已建立的距离抽样协议，以记录海洋哺乳动物和海龟的出现情况. VAQF与UNCW密切合作，确保哈特拉斯/昂斯洛/JAX基线监测项目在安全、飞行及数据报告协议方面的一致性（McAlarney等，2013、2015）. 本报告描述了2016年1月至12月期间开展的监测活动.