Cetacean Abundance in the U.S. Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, Summer 2021

From June 27-September 15, 2021, as part of the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) project, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service conducted non-overlapping, line transect, aerial and shipboard abundance surveys. The goal was to estimate abundance of as many marine mammals and sea turtles in the northwestern Atlantic Ocean as the data allowed. This document focuses on abundance estimates of cetaceans detected only during the NEFSC surveys that covered waters from North Carolina to Maine, from the shore to the Gulf Stream, which is about 370 km (200 nm) offshore. In a study area of 464,492 km2 , the NEFSC’s ship and plane surveyed 17,332 km of oneffort tracklines.