Survey effort, baleen whale sightings, and biopsy samples collected from Rice's whale (Balaenoptera ricei) by NOAA SEFSC from 2004-05-05 to 2019-07-31 (NCEI Accession 0306474)

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) conducted 16 shipboard surveys in the Gulf of America (formerly U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico) between 2004 and 2019. This dataset includes data on survey effort, baleen whale sightings, photographs, and biopsy samples that were collected during these surveys and used to develop a photo-identification catalog for Rice’s whales (Balaenoptera ricei). This dataset also includes three opportunistically collected photos of whales. One photo each was provided by a member of the public, researchers from Oregon State University (O.S.U.) Marine Mammal Institute, and stranding responders from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s Marine Mammal Pathobiology Laboratory (FWC-MMPL).