NOAA Oceanic Gulf of America Cetacean Survey 2000; Sightings

A spring cetacean survey in the northern U.S. Gulf of America was conducted in 2000 by NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center and Minerals Management Service to examine cetacean abundances in both oceanic and continental shelf waters. This survey was conducted in coordination with the spring Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (SEAMAP) ichthyoplankton survey. The dataset contains sightings of not only cetaceans but also other species including sea turtles, fish and shark observed during the ship survey. During the 35 survey days, at least 19 species were sighted, including Bryde's whale Sperm whale pygmy sperm whale Dwarf sperm whale Cuvier's beaked whale Striped dolphin Spinner dolphin Clymene dolphin Pantropical spotted dolphin Atlantic spotted dolphin Bottlenose dolphin Rough-toothed dolphin Fraser's dolphin Risso's dolphin False killer whale Pilot whale Pygmy killer whale Melon-headed whale The dataset is accompanied by transect data which is provided as a separate file.