BLM CETAP SHIP Sightings

Original provider: University of Rhode Island Dataset credits: University of Rhode Island Bureau of Land Management US Dept of the Interior Abstract: The Cetacean and Turtle Assessment Program (CETAP) was sponsored by the Bureau of Land Management and conducted between October 1978 and January 1982 by the University of Rhode Island in outer continental shelf waters of the northeastern United States from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to the Gulf of Maine and from shore to 9.3 km (5 nautical miles) seaward of the 1829 m (1000 fathoms) isobath. Population surveys were conducted by CETAP to assess the distribution and abundance of whales, dolphins and sea turtles inhabiting the study area. Purpose: This dataset is a subset of CETAP sightings, extracting opportunistic sighting records, with the addition of taxonomic information of species sighted. The full dataset may be available upon request. Requests for more data, further details on the dataset, proper use of the dataset, and questions should be directed to the primary contact person. Supplemental information: [2020-09-30] The following invalid species names were corrected according to the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). Turtles: Testudines (173749) => Testudines (948936) Sighting points that are more than 2 km inland were eliminated. Sightings located from 1 km to 2 km inland can be considered as on-water sightings. Those points have TRUE in [Excluded] field to indicate that they seem to fall on land but may be correct sightings. Metadata are in progress.