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    • Cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observations using line-transect survey methods from ships and aircraft during the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GOMMAPPS) surveys from 2017 to 2020

    Metadata Updated: August 1, 2025

    As part of the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GOMMAPPS), the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) conducted seasonal shipboard surveys of the U.S. oceanic waters of the Gulf of Mexico out to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and aerial surveys of U.S. continental shelf waters (up to the 200-m isobath) from 2017 to 2020. During all cetacean and sea turtle surveys and for the seabird data collected from the plane, a two-team independent visual observer approach with distance sampling was used to estimate the detection probabilities, abundance, and characterize spatial distribution of the species or groups of species. For seabird data collected from the ship, a single team using standard, transect-based methodology was utilized. This collection of datasets includes cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observation data and effort points with surveying conditions that can be used in abundance and density modeling per visual line-transect survey protocols. These datasets may also include opportunistic data and photographs of cetaceans and other taxa such as manatees, billfish, sharks, sea rays, sunfish, and other marine fishes, sargassum, and algal blooms. Raw and processed files from conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) casts, and expendable bathythermographs (XBT), performed during ship surveys may also be available for some surveys. This collection (GOMMAPPS) includes a total of 6 SEFSC surveys, including 3 ship-based and 3 aerial surveys. FWS surveys onboard NOAA vessels of opportunity (14) and the (4) aerial surveys were combined and archived under 2 separate accession numbers. All data can be individually accessed through the Granule Search below.

    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 2025-07-27T14:23:15Z
    Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date August 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) October 4, 2021 (publication), August 1, 2022 (revision)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Series
    Metadata Date 2025-07-27T14:23:15Z
    Metadata Created Date March 17, 2023
    Metadata Updated Date August 1, 2025
    Reference Date(s) October 4, 2021 (publication), August 1, 2022 (revision)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:GOMMAPPS
    Access Constraints Cite as: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; National Marine Fisheries Service; NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center; United States Fish and Wildlife Service; United States Geological Survey (2021). Cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observations using line-transect survey methods from ships and aircraft during the Gulf of Mexico Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (GOMMAPPS) surveys from 2017 to 2020. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/GOMMAPPS. Accessed [date]., Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose., All marine mammal data and photographs were collected under the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) permit number: NMFS ESA/MMPA Permit No. 14450. If a photo displaying a marine mammal is used, please include the permit number in the captions and acknowledge NOAA Fisheries.
    Bbox East Long -81.1479
    Bbox North Lat 30.6468
    Bbox South Lat 23.8231
    Bbox West Long -97.5153
    Coupled Resource
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded
    Graphic Preview Description Preview graphic
    Graphic Preview File https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:GOMMAPPS
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 656354e7-ff14-4107-a56b-78580923e4ef
    Harvest Source Id c084a438-6f6b-470d-93e0-16aeddb9f513
    Harvest Source Title NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions
    Licence accessLevel: Public
    Lineage
    Metadata Language eng
    Metadata Type geospatial
    Old Spatial {"type": "Polygon", "coordinates": [[[-97.5153, 23.8231], [-81.1479, 23.8231], [-81.1479, 30.6468], [-97.5153, 30.6468], [-97.5153, 23.8231]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 2003-06-12
    Temporal Extent End 2020-02-12

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