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Cetacean visual observations using line-transect survey methods onboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter (GU) in the Gulf of Mexico (survey GU0402) from 2004-04-15 to 2004-06-10. (NCEI Accession 0284773)

Published by Southeast Fisheries Science Center | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: May 05, 2026 at 05:02 PM | Dataset Last Updated: January 01, 2023 at 12:00 AM
The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is required to prepare an annual Stock Assessment Report (SAR) for each marine mammal stock to update abundance, stock structure, maximum net productivity, human-caused mortality, potential biological removal (PBR), and status. In the summer of 2004, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) conducted a marine mammal survey in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GMx). Operations occurred in the waters from 200 m deep seaward to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from Brownsville, Texas east into the Straits of Florida. The survey was designed using ship-based, line-transect methods in which experienced marine mammal observers visually located marine mammals, identified the species (to the lowest taxonomic level possible) and counted the number of whales and dolphins sighted along predetermined tracklines. A sighting constitutes a group of marine mammals (whales and dolphins) seen at the same location and time. This dataset includes marine mammal visual observation data and effort points with surveying conditions that can be used in abundance and density modeling per visual line-transect survey protocols. This dataset also includes opportunistic marine mammal photographs and information on biopsy samples collected during the survey.

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EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS > CETACEANS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS > CETACEANS > BALEEN WHALES EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS > CETACEANS > TOOTHED WHALES EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > INDICATOR SPECIES EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS > ENDANGERED SPECIES

Complete Metadata
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description The U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is required to prepare an annual Stock Assessment Report (SAR) for each marine mammal stock to update abundance, stock structure, maximum net productivity, human-caused mortality, potential biological removal (PBR), and status. In the summer of 2004, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) conducted a marine mammal survey in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GMx). Operations occurred in the waters from 200 m deep seaward to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from Brownsville, Texas east into the Straits of Florida. The survey was designed using ship-based, line-transect methods in which experienced marine mammal observers visually located marine mammals, identified the species (to the lowest taxonomic level possible) and counted the number of whales and dolphins sighted along predetermined tracklines. A sighting constitutes a group of marine mammals (whales and dolphins) seen at the same location and time. This dataset includes marine mammal visual observation data and effort points with surveying conditions that can be used in abundance and density modeling per visual line-transect survey protocols. This dataset also includes opportunistic marine mammal photographs and information on biopsy samples collected during the survey.
distribution 
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/nmfs/sefsc/iso/xml/26498.xml
issued 2023-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
                                            [
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS > CETACEANS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS > CETACEANS > BALEEN WHALES",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > MAMMALS > CETACEANS > TOOTHED WHALES",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > COMMUNITY DYNAMICS > INDICATOR SPECIES",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOLOGICAL DYNAMICS > SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS > ENDANGERED SPECIES",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > CLIMATE INDICATORS > ATMOSPHERIC/OCEAN INDICATORS",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > CLIMATE INDICATORS > PALEOCLIMATE INDICATORS > BIOLOGICAL RECORDS > POPULATION ABUNDANCE",
  "EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY > WATER DEPTH",
  "OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > GULF OF AMERICA",
  "BAROMETERS > BAROMETERS",
  "BINOCULAR > BINOCULAR",
  "CAMERAS",
  "VISUAL OBSERVATIONS > VISUAL OBSERVATIONS",
  "Ships",
  "10.25921/haac-g960",
  "779-1633",
  "0284773",
  "284773",
  "US DOC, NOAA, NMFS; Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Miami Lab",
  "US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Southeast Fisheries Science Center;Pascagoula/Stennis, MS Laboratory",
  "University of Miami",
  "BIOLOGICAL DATA",
  "CONDUCTIVITY",
  "FLUORESCENCE",
  "MARINE MAMMALS",
  "SPECIES IDENTIFICATION",
  "cetacean",
  "species abundance",
  "biological",
  "in situ",
  "marine mammal observation",
  "survey - biological",
  "visual estimate",
  "visual observation",
  "US DOC; NOAA; NMFS; Southeast Fisheries Science Center; Miami, FL Laboratory",
  "GU-04-02",
  "oceanography",
  "Gulf of Mexico",
  "photograph",
  "GORDON GUNTER (ICES code: 33GG)",
  "NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter",
  "CETACEANS",
  "DOLPHIN",
  "FLOURESCENCE",
  "PHOTOGRAPHS",
  "SIGHTING",
  "VISUAL OBSERVATIONS",
  "2004",
  "BIG EYE BINOCULAR",
  "DISTANCE SAMPLING",
  "In Situ/Laboratory Instruments",
  "LINE-TRANSECT",
  "SURVEY SHIPS",
  "DOC/NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC > Southeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce",
  "Gulf of Mexico Marine Mammal Assessment Vessel Surveys"
]
landingPage https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/26498
language 
                                            []
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2023-01-01T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
                                            {
  "name": "Southeast Fisheries Science Center",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
references 
                                            [
  "https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/sefsc/dmp/pdf/26498.pdf"
]
rights otherRestrictions, unclassified
spatial -81.2005,23.859,-96.4453,29.4995
temporal 2004-04-15T00:00:00+00:00/2004-06-10T00:00:00+00:00
title Cetacean visual observations using line-transect survey methods onboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter (GU) in the Gulf of Mexico (survey GU0402) from 2004-04-15 to 2004-06-10. (NCEI Accession 0284773)

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