Cetacean and Seabird Data Collected during the Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (HICEAS), July - December 2017

Hawaii EEZ

The Hawaiian Islands Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey (HICEAS) of 2017 was a large-scale ship survey for cetaceans and seabirds within U.S. waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. HICEAS 2017 was the third of its kind, with prior surveys, using many of the same methods and encompassing the same study area, occurring in 2002 (Barlow et al. 2006) and 2010 (Bradford et al. 2017). The 2017 survey represented the first Cetacean and Ecosystem Assessment Survey conducted as part of the Pacific Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (PacMAPPS), a partnership between NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Navy, and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). PacMAPPS includes rotational ship surveys in regions of joint interest throughout the Pacific designed to estimate the abundance of cetaceans and seabirds and to assess the ecosystems supporting these species.

HICEAS 2017 was a collaborative survey between the Pacific Islands and Southwest Fisheries Science Centers (PIFSC and SWFSC). The survey took place from 6 July to 1 December 2017 aboard the NOAA Research Vessels Oscar Elton Sette and Reuben Lasker (hereafter referred to as the Sette and the Lasker, respectively), spanning 7 survey “legs” and 179 days-at-sea across both ships (Appendix 1).

Survey Objectives

The primary goals of HICEAS 2017 were to collect data required to estimate the abundance and distribution, examine the population structure, and understand the habitat of cetaceans within U.S. waters around the Hawaiian Islands. There were 5 major research components to HICEAS 2017:

● visual observations for cetaceans following a line-transect survey design;

● passive acoustic monitoring for cetaceans using towed hydrophone arrays, sonobuoys, and autonomous drifting acoustic recorders;

● collection of photographs and tissue samples and deployment of satellite tags for select cetacean groups;

● visual observations for seabirds following a strip-transect survey design; and

● ecosystem measurements for assessment of cetacean and seabird habitat.