Alaska Harbor Seal Haul-out Locations

Aerial surveys of coastal Alaska are the primary method for estimating abundance of harbor seals. A particular challenge associated with aerial surveys of harbor seals is maintaining consistent spatial representation of haul-out locations (waypoints). In some cases, seals aggregate into a single large grouping at a particular area. In other cases, seals aggregate into several smaller groups spread over a particular area. To establish geo-spatial consistency, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) maintains a list of haul-out locations that represent known harbor seal aggregations in Alaska. Haul-out locations were identified through aerial survey efforts and historical knowledge. Locations are assigned a unique alphanumeric identifier, based on the survey unit they fall within, and the spatial data are provided in the geographic (epsg:4326) coordinate reference system. These haul-out locations are used to inform management decisions pertaining to coastal activities (presence/absence of seals in a particular area) and to facilitate AFSC field work that includes both aerial and vessel surveys. Haul-out locations are updated annually based on information obtained from aerial survey observations. This dataset contains Alaska harbor seal haul-out locations that are recorded primarily to support aerial survey efforts in August and (in some areas, June). Harbor seals are known to use various haul-out locations seasonally and, thus, this is likely not a complete collection of harbor seal haul-out locations. Some haul-outs that are close together may be combined and represented as one site or waypoint. Important haul-out locations have been identified in the "status" field of the attribute table and are labeled as "key haulout" if a particular location contains 50 or more harbors seals. A haul-out location containing less than 50 harbor seals is labeled "not key haulout". This number may change as more in depth analysis continues.

This geospatial dataset describes observed haul-out locations used for coastal aerial surveys of harbor seals in Alaska.

London, J.M., K.M. Yano, E.L. Richmond, D.E. Withrow, S.P. Dahle, J.K. Jansen, H.L. Ziel, G.M. Brady, and P.L. Boveng (2015): Observed Haul-out Locations for Harbor Seals in Coastal Alaska. Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. --doi:TBD, contact authors for updated citation details--

Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

The data set is publicly available via REST web services. Users should acknowledge NOAA/NMFS/AFSC as the source from which these data were obtained and cite data as specified in any publications and/or other representations of these data. Communication and collaboration with dataset authors is strongly encouraged prior to use.

The data set is publicly available via REST web services. Users should acknowledge NOAA/NMFS/AFSC as the source from which these data were obtained and cite data as specified in any publications and/or other representations of these data. Communication and collaboration with dataset authors is strongly encouraged prior to use.

The data set is publicly available via REST web services. Users should acknowledge NOAA/NMFS/AFSC as the source from which these data were obtained and cite data as specified in any publications and/or other representations of these data. Communication and collaboration with dataset authors is strongly encouraged prior to use.

User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. Acknowledge NOAA/NMFS/AFSC or the specified citation as the source from which these data were obtained in any publications and/or other representations of these data. Communication and collaboration with dataset authors is strongly encouraged.

no metadata access constraints

Metadata are subject to revision at any time and information within the metadata record should not be cited without author consent. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

Haulout locations are evaluated annually to insure all known harbor seal aggregations within Alaska have been incorporated. Feedback from aerial survey observers informs this evaluation.

data are not automoatically processed

IT Security and Contingency Plan for the system establishes procedures and applies to the functions, operations, and resources necessary to recover and restore data as hosted in the Western Regional Support Center in Seattle, Washington, following a disruption.

The haul-out locations (waypoints) were derived from efforts that combined historical knowledge of harbor seal aggregations and aerial survey observations. During aerial surveys, an observer photographs all haul-out locations within a given survey unit and is also responsible for recording any new haul-out location information that is observed. Survey unit boundaries were optimized to limit the number of known haul-out locations near the boundary.