27526 NARWSS Data Set Published / External 23294 Survey Data Project Completed Since 1995, PSB has been conducting line-transect aerial abundance surveys over waters ranging from North Carolina to the Gulf of St. Lawrence in Nova Scotia, Canada, and from the coastline to slightly beyond the EEZ. The purpose of the aerial surveys is to document right whale distribution and habitat use. Theme Eubalaena glacialis Theme North Atlantic right whale Theme aerial survey Spatial Western North Atlantic NEFSC Woods Hole Lab Woods Hole MA USA Data Set Oracle Database Twice a Year Table (digital) na mostly NOAA Twin Otter airplane na 51964 NARWSS Data Published / External North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey Data Data File North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey Data SOURCE text No No Active NEFSC PLANE text No No Active identification of aerial platform DATE_LOCAL date No No Active dd-mmm-yy TIME_LOCAL text No No Active hh:mm:ss EVENT_NUMBER number No No Active Chronological listing of records (events) LATITUDE number No No Active Latitude (decimal degrees) LONGITUDE number No No Active Longitude (decimal degrees) FLIGHT_TYPE number No No Active Code that indicates the type of survey (directed, sawtooth, etc.) LEGTYPE number No No Active Code that indicates the type of survey (directed, sawtooth, crossleg, etc.) LEGSTAGE number No No Active Code that indicates the stage of survey (off watch, begin, line, etc.) PSB_LEGSTAGE number No No Active Code that indicates the stage of survey with codes specific to NEFSC ALTITUDE number No No Active Aircraft altitude (feet) HEADING number No No Active Aircraft heading (degrees) SPEED number No No Active Aircraft speed (knots) SST_C number No No Active Sea surface temperature (degrees Celsius) VISIBILITY_CODE number No No Active Code that indicates visibility VISIBILTY_NM number No No Active Visibility (nautical miles, maximum 35) BEAUFORT number No No Active Beaufort sea state CLOUD_CODE number No No Active Cloud cover code GLARE_L number No No Active Glare for the observer in the left bubble window GLARE_R number No No Active Glare for the observer in the right bubble window QUALITY_L text No No Active Overall quality conditions for the observer in the left bubble window QUALITY_R text No No Active Overall quality conditions for the observer in the right bubble window SIGHTING_NUMBER number No No Active Chronological listing of the number of sightings in a given flight SPCODE text No No Active Species identification code ID_RELIABILITY number No No Active Reliability of the species identification (3=definite, 2=probable) GROUP_SIZE number No No Active The number of individuals in the group (minimum used when uncertain) CALVES number No No Active The number of calves in the group (minimum used when uncertain) BEARING number No No Active The compass direction heading of the animal in relation to the airplane (where the animal was) DISTANCE number No No Active The distance from the animal to the airplane in nautical miles RELATIVE_HEADING number No No Active The compass direction heading of the animal's direction of travel in relation to the airplane (which direction the animal was traveling in) ACTUAL_HEADING number No No Active Sighting compass heading of the animal(s) or vessel(s) (degrees) OBSERVER text No No Active Initials of the observer who made the sighting OBS_POSITION text No No Active Position of the observer who made the sighting (L=left, R=right, C=center) ANGLE number No No Active Declination angle (0-90 degrees) CUE text No No Active Code for the sighting cue (animal, blow, birds, etc.) B1_FINAL_CODE text No No Active Behavior code B2_FINAL_CODE text No No Active Behavior code B3_FINAL_CODE text No No Active Behavior code B4_FINAL_CODE text No No Active Behavior code B5_FINAL_CODE text No No Active Behavior code PHOTOS number No No Active Code that indicates whether or not photos were taken (1=no, 2=yes) EFFORT_COMMENTS text No No Active Comments relating to survey effort (weather, tracklines, etc.) SIGHTING_COMMENTS text No No Active Comments relating to sightings EDIT1 text No No Active post flight edit tracking column EDIT2 text No No Active post flight edit tracking column EDIT3 text No No Active post flight edit tracking column MISC_EDIT1 text No No Active post flight edits made by an additional editor Data Steward 2014 Person Khan, Christin christin.khan@noaa.gov 508-495-2040 email Distributor 2011 Person Khan, Christin christin.khan@noaa.gov 508-495-2040 email Metadata Contact 2014 Person Khan, Christin christin.khan@noaa.gov 508-495-2040 email Point of Contact 2012 Person Cole, Timothy tim.cole@noaa.gov 166 Water Street Woods Hole MA 02543-1026 USA 508-495-2087 508-495-2258 email Point of Contact 2012 Person Khan, Christin christin.khan@noaa.gov 508-495-2040 email Ground Condition -79 -65 47 35 Continuing 1998 Unclassified Please contact Point of Contact via email for data access. Requester must have network access for direct query of the data. https://console.cloud.google.com/storage/browser/nmfs_odp_nefsc/PARR/READ/PSB/27526 2 files: NARWSS-ALL-THRU-2015.xlsx Data File Data Field Codes.docx Documentation for coded fields http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/513 OBIS Seamap The North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) is a NOAA Fisheries program which locates and records the seasonal distribution of right whales off the northeastern United States. https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/psb/surveys/index.html Interactive North Atlantic Right Whale Sightings Map Data are visually inspected for errors. Yes Unknown Yes No to be determined 6 months To Be Determined 0-6 months Data are stored on NEFSC servers which are backed up with remote storage. Data are collected by observers on right whale aerial surveys and entered into on-board laptop computers. 51964 Entity gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:27526 Patricia Jones 2015-09-27T20:15:17 SysAdmin InPortAdmin 2025-05-15T19:16:05 2017-04-07 Northeast Fisheries Science Center NEFSC 166 Water Street Woods Hole MA 02543-1026 USA (508)495-2000 https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday - Friday 1001 Public No No 2017-04-07 1 Year 2018-04-07