US Navy marine mammal and sea turtle sightings from aerial surveys, Vieques, Puerto Rico 2000

Original provider:
Andrew DiMatteo, US Navy

Dataset credits:
U.S. Department of the Navy

Abstract:
Geo-Marine, Inc. (GMI), under contract with the U.S. Deptartment of the Navy, conducted aerial surveys for manatees, other marine mammals, and sea turtles over the surrounding waters, and for sea turtle nests along the beaches of Vieques Island, Puerto Rico. The intent of these aerial surveys was to determine the presence of sea turtles, sea turtle nests, or marine mammals in the areas surrounding the Live Impact Area (LIA), Yellow Beach within the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Training Facility (AFWTF), or other identified exercise locations around Vieques, Naval Station Roosevelt Roads (NSRR), and Offshore areas. These surveys were conducted to comply with the Biological Opinions issued by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in 2000 and 2001, respectively.