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AFSC/MML: Distribution and abundance of Southeast Alaska harbor porpoise, 2019

Metadata Updated: April 1, 2024

As currently defined, the Southeast Alaska (SEAK) harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) stock ranges from Dixon entrance to Cape Suckling, including inland waterways. Since the early 1990s, the Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML) has conducted ship and aerial surveys to assess abundance and status of harbor porpoise in this region (Dahlheim et al., 2009; Hobbs and Waite, 2010). In recent years, analysis of ship survey sighting data from inland waters has indicated the potential for substructure within this stock. Trends in abundance between 1991 and 2012 suggested that numbers of harbor porpoise in the northern portion of the study area (Glacier Bay/Icy Strait) were stable. However, in the southern portion of the range (Wrangell and Zarembo), numbers declined significantly in the mid-2000s and subsequently increased again in early 2010 (Dahlheim et al., 2015). The decline was observed only in a region where gillnet fisheries operate. Such contrasting trends in abundance between the northern and southern portions of the range suggest the possible existence of multiple populations within the currently recognized SEAK stock. There is evidence that incidental mortality of harbor porpoise in the salmon driftnet fishery in SEAK may exceed the maximum allowable level under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (Muto et al., 2018). The most recent estimate of abundance for the whole stock is more than 8 years old and cannot be used to estimate PBR. In addition, estimates of abundance from inland waters from 2011 are now outdated and are no longer applicable for management. Therefore, a new estimate was needed to update estimates of the maximum allowable bycatch levels.

Access & Use Information

License: No license information was provided. If this work was prepared by an officer or employee of the United States government as part of that person's official duties it is considered a U.S. Government Work.

Downloads & Resources

Dates

Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2019 (creation), 2023 (publication)
Frequency Of Update notPlanned

Metadata Source

Harvested from NMFS AFSC

Additional Metadata

Resource Type Dataset
Metadata Date February 29, 2024
Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
Metadata Updated Date April 1, 2024
Reference Date(s) 2019 (creation), 2023 (publication)
Responsible Party (Point of Contact, Custodian)
Contact Email
Guid gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:69383
Access Constraints Cite As: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: AFSC/MML: Distribution and abundance of Southeast Alaska harbor porpoise, 2019 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/69383., Access Constraints: There are no legal restrictions on access to the data. They reside in public domain and can be freely distributed., Use Constraints: User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. Acknowledgement of NOAA/NMFS/AFSC, as the source from which these data were obtained in any publications and/or other representations of these, data is suggested.
Bbox East Long -131
Bbox North Lat 59.5
Bbox South Lat 54.5
Bbox West Long -137.16666666667
Coupled Resource
Frequency Of Update notPlanned
Harvest Object Id 922026d8-08bf-4637-8ffb-e76c13f190d4
Harvest Source Id 26a29bb9-50b0-47fd-920b-edc74aa6ec76
Harvest Source Title NMFS AFSC
Licence NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose.
Lineage Methods are described in publication: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.966489/full
Metadata Language eng
Metadata Type geospatial
Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-137.16666666667, 54.5], [-131.0, 54.5], [-131.0, 59.5], [-137.16666666667, 59.5], [-137.16666666667, 54.5]]]}
Progress completed
Spatial Data Service Type
Spatial Reference System
Spatial Harvester True
Temporal Extent Begin 2019-07-19
Temporal Extent End 2019-08-12

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