Dedicated boat-based surveys for marine megafauna in Suriname

Original provider:
Green Heritage Fund of Suriname

Dataset credits:
Monique Pool, Green Heritage Fund of Suriname

Abstract:
The Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) project in Suriname was initiated in 2017. Part of this EU-funded project focussed on collecting all the information regarding marine megafauna within the region (Suriname and Guyana). As part of the MSP project we searched for potential marine mammal data holders and different data-sets were found:
(1) research data: published and unpublished data collected during dedicated (effort-related) marine fauna surveys (where a GPS track was available);
(2) data collected by Marine Fauna Observers during geophysical seismic surveys (without an available GPS track);
(3) Opportunistic data collected without keeping track of effort (e.g. website, social media and other sighting records collected by university students or citizens); and
(4) Systematic land-based observations carried out during sea turtle surveys on Braamspunt. Here you can find all effort-related data regarding research data collected during boat-based
surveys in Suriname.

There are two types of boat-based data:
(1) Small boat-based surveys by Green Heritage Fund Suriname in order to study the Guiana dolphin (Sotalia guianensis) in the Suriname River; and
(2) Dedicated marine megafauna boat-based surveys at-sea carried out by
M.N. de Boer and colleagues as part of a PhD study for the University of Wageningen.