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    • Shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific gray whale stock from central California conducted from 1967-12-18 to 2007-02-22 (NCEI Accession 0138007)

    Metadata Updated: November 1, 2023

    The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has conducted shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus) 26 years from 1967 to 2008 at Granite Canyon (or nearby at Yankee Point), 13 km south of Carmel, in central California. Convenient access to the Granite Canyon research station (owned by NOAA but operated by the State of California Department of Fish and Game) and the narrowness of the whales' migratory corridor in this area permitted an efficient counting process at this site. All counts were conducted during the 2-month southbound migration (mid-December to late February) rather than the protracted 3-month northbound migration. The routine nature of these counts and the consistency in research protocol lend themselves to inter-annual trend analyses. Research protocol has been based on single observers independently searching for whales and recording data on environmental conditions and the time, location, count, and direction of travel for each sighting. The counting system and observer performance has been tested through paired, independent observational effort; aerial surveys; thermal imagery; radio-tagging of whales; systematic observations through high-powered (25x) binoculars; and teams of observers tracking specific whale pods through the viewing area.

    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.

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    Dates

    Metadata Date 2023-03-15T01:24:38Z
    Metadata Created Date June 11, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date November 1, 2023
    Reference Date(s) November 25, 2015 (publication)
    Frequency Of Update asNeeded

    Metadata Source

    Harvested from NOAA/NESDIS/ncei/accessions

    Other Data Resources

    Graphic Preview

    Preview graphic

    Additional Metadata

    Resource Type Dataset
    Metadata Date 2023-03-15T01:24:38Z
    Metadata Created Date June 11, 2021
    Metadata Updated Date November 1, 2023
    Reference Date(s) November 25, 2015 (publication)
    Responsible Party (Point of Contact)
    Contact Email
    Guid gov.noaa.nodc:0138007
    Access Constraints Cite as: Rugh, David; Laake, Jeff; Hobbs, Roderick; Breiwick, Jeff (2015). Shore-based counts of the Eastern North Pacific gray whale stock from central California conducted from 1967-12-18 to 2007-02-22 (NCEI Accession 0138007). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0138007. 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.
    Bbox East Long -121.91
    Bbox North Lat 36.5
    Bbox South Lat 36.4
    Bbox West Long -121.94
    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:0138007
    Graphic Preview Type PNG
    Harvest Object Id 6d4d17e7-94a0-41d0-9640-9a11b36411d3
    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": [[[-121.94, 36.4], [-121.91, 36.4], [-121.91, 36.5], [-121.94, 36.5], [-121.94, 36.4]]]}
    Progress completed
    Spatial Data Service Type
    Spatial Reference System
    Spatial Harvester True
    Temporal Extent Begin 1967-12-18
    Temporal Extent End 2007-02-22

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