North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) and Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (RWSAS) 2016 results summary

This annual report details the 2016 results of the North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) and the Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (RWSAS), both NOAA Fisheries programs conducted at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. NARWSS locates and records the seasonal distribution of North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) off the northeastern coast of the United States by conducting aerial surveys from New Jersey to Canada. Images of individual whales are collected for mark-recapture models to monitor the population. The RWSAS was designed to reduce collisions between ships and the endangered North Atlantic right whale by alerting mariners to the presence of the right whales. Right whale sighting reports are obtained from a variety of sources including the United States Coast Guard, aerial surveys, shipboard surveys, whale watch vessels, and other sources (commercial ships, fishing vessels, and the general public). by Christin Khan, Allison Henry, Peter Duley, Jennifer Gatzke, Leah Crowe, Timothy Cole. "February 2018." Includes bibliographical references.