North Atlantic Right Whale
Data Set (DS) | NMFS Office Of Protected Resources (OPR)GUID: gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:65383 | Updated: October 17, 2023 | Published / External
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Summary
Short Citation
NMFS Office Of Protected Resources, 2025: North Atlantic Right Whale, https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/65383.
Full Citation Examples
This dataset depicts the boundaries of the North Atlantic Right Whale Critical Habitat. This dataset includes boundaries for the following Regulated Areas: - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 1 - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 2. Please Note: Unit 1, in the Gulf of Maine, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. Unit 2, off the southeastern US coast, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region. Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these GIS files are considered to be approximate representations and are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact regulated area boundaries. For information on the official legal definition refer to the Use Constraints metadata section.Critical habitat for the North Atlantic Right Whale was originally designated June 3, 1994 (Vol 59, No. 106). The 2016 critical habitat designation (81 FR 4838, January 27, 2016) replaced the 1994 designation. This dataset depicts the 2016 designation.
Distribution Information
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ESRI File Geodatabase
Data access URL
The user assumes the entire risk related to use of these data. NMFS is providing these data "as is," and NMFS disclaims any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data to evaluate dataset limitations, restrictions or intended use. In no event will NMFS be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages, or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data
Controlled Theme Keywords
boundaries, environment, location, oceans, planningCadastre
Child Items
Type | Title |
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Entity | WhaleNorthAtlanticRight_20160127 |
Contact Information
Point of Contact
Barbara Zoodsma
Barb.Zoodsma@noaa.gov
904-321-2806
Extents
-81.460452° W,
-66.885415° E,
44.82887° N,
28.000005° S
-83° W,
-64° E,
46° N,
23° S
-81.460449° W,
-66.885416° E,
44.82886° N,
28° S
2016-01-26 00:00:00+0000
Publication date
Item Identification
Title: | North Atlantic Right Whale |
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Publication Date: | 2016-01-26 |
Abstract: |
This dataset depicts the boundaries of the North Atlantic Right Whale Critical Habitat. This dataset includes boundaries for the following Regulated Areas: - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 1 - Critical Habitat for North Atlantic Right Whale Unit 2. Please Note: Unit 1, in the Gulf of Maine, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. Unit 2, off the southeastern US coast, falls under the jurisdiction of the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Region. Because GIS projection and topology functions can change or generalize coordinates, these GIS files are considered to be approximate representations and are NOT an OFFICIAL record for the exact regulated area boundaries. For information on the official legal definition refer to the Use Constraints metadata section.Critical habitat for the North Atlantic Right Whale was originally designated June 3, 1994 (Vol 59, No. 106). The 2016 critical habitat designation (81 FR 4838, January 27, 2016) replaced the 1994 designation. This dataset depicts the 2016 designation. |
Purpose: |
Beginning in 2010 and in response to mounting requests for digital depictions of NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast Waters (Regulated Areas), the NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Committee launched a project to standardize the development, publication and regular updating of GIS files depicting Regulated Area boundaries. This dataset is a product of that initiative. This dataset was created to depict the boundaries of NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast Waters (Regulated Areas) only. For information on the proper use of the dataset refer to the Use Constraints metadata section. |
Keywords
Theme Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
---|---|
ISO 19115 Topic Category |
boundaries
|
ISO 19115 Topic Category |
environment
|
ISO 19115 Topic Category |
location
|
ISO 19115 Topic Category |
oceans
|
ISO 19115 Topic Category |
planningCadastre
|
UNCONTROLLED | |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Biology |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Compliance |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Conservation |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Ecology |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Ecosystem |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Environment |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Human |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Management |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Marine |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Monitoring |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Natural Resources |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Permits |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Regulatory |
EPA GIS Keyword Thesaurus | Water |
GARFO Keywords | Atlantic |
GARFO Keywords | Critical Habitat |
GARFO Keywords | EEZ |
GARFO Keywords | Endangered Species Act |
GARFO Keywords | ESA |
GARFO Keywords | Exclusive Economic Zone |
GARFO Keywords | GARFO |
GARFO Keywords | Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office |
GARFO Keywords | National Marine Fisheries Service |
GARFO Keywords | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration |
GARFO Keywords | NMFS |
GARFO Keywords | NOAA |
GARFO Keywords | North Atlantic Right Whale |
GARFO Keywords | SERO |
GARFO Keywords | Southeast Regional Office |
GARFO Keywords | US EEZ |
Spatial Keywords
Thesaurus | Keyword |
---|---|
UNCONTROLLED | |
None | Atlantic Ocean |
None | Cape Canaveral |
None | Cape Cod Bay |
None | Cape Fear |
None | Florida |
None | Georges Bank |
None | Georgia |
None | Greater Atlantic Region |
None | Gulf of Maine |
None | New England |
None | North Carolina |
None | South Carolina |
None | Southeast |
None | Southern New England |
None | United States |
None | US EEZ |
None | US Exclusive Economic Zone |
Physical Location
City: | Fernandina Beach |
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State/Province: | FL |
Data Set Information
Data Set Scope Code: | Data Set |
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Maintenance Frequency: | As Needed |
Data Presentation Form: | Map (digital) |
Data Set Credit: | ORIGINATORS: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) - Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO); NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office; |
Support Roles
Point of Contact
Date Effective From: | 2016-01-26 |
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Date Effective To: | |
Contact (Person): | Zoodsma, Barbara |
Address: |
2382 Sadler Road Fernandina Beach,Fl, FL 33701 USA |
Email Address: | Barb.Zoodsma@noaa.gov |
Phone: | 904-321-2806 |
Fax: | 904-321-1579 |
Extents
Currentness Reference: | Publication Date |
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Extent Group 1
Extent Description: |
Publication date |
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Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 1
W° Bound: | -81.460452 | |
---|---|---|
E° Bound: | -66.885415 | |
N° Bound: | 44.82887 | |
S° Bound: | 28.000005 |
Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 2
W° Bound: | -83 | |
---|---|---|
E° Bound: | -64 | |
N° Bound: | 46 | |
S° Bound: | 23 |
Extent Group 1 / Geographic Area 3
W° Bound: | -81.460449 | |
---|---|---|
E° Bound: | -66.885416 | |
N° Bound: | 44.82886 | |
S° Bound: | 28 |
Extent Group 1 / Time Frame 1
Time Frame Type: | Discrete |
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Start: | 2016-01-26 00:00:00+0000 |
Description: |
Publication date |
Spatial Information
Reference Systems
Reference System 1
Coordinate Reference System |
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Access Information
Security Class: | Unclassified |
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Data Use Constraints: |
The user assumes the entire risk related to use of these data. NMFS is providing these data "as is," and NMFS disclaims any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data to evaluate dataset limitations, restrictions or intended use. In no event will NMFS be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages, or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data |
Distribution Information
Distribution 1
Download URL: | https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/map/north-atlantic-right-whale-critical-habitat-map-and-gis-data |
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Distributor: | |
Description: |
Data access URL |
File Type (Deprecated): | File Geodatabase Feature Class |
Distribution Format: | ESRI File Geodatabase |
Technical Environment
Description: |
Esri ArcGIS 10.6.1.9270 |
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Data Quality
Horizontal Positional Accuracy: |
Data were collected using methods that are accurate to within 2-5 meters (EPA National Geospatial Data Policy [NGDP] Accuracy Tier 2). For more information, please see EPA's NGDP at http://epa.gov/geospatial/policies.html |
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Completeness Report: |
Features represented are valid. No geometry problems were detected. |
Conceptual Consistency: |
Check Geometry test has been performed in ArcGIS. |
Lineage
Sources
Collision Regulations Boundary
Contact Role Type: | Originator |
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Contact Type: | Organization |
Contact Name: | NOAA's Ocean Service, Coastal Services Center (CSC) |
Extent Type: | Discrete |
Extent Start Date/Time: | 2010-01-01 00:00:00 |
Source Contribution: |
This boundary was used for delineating the COLREGS boundaries. |
Electronic Code of Federal Regulations
Contact Role Type: | Originator |
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Contact Type: | Organization |
Contact Name: | Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) |
Citation URL: | http://www.ecfr.gov |
Citation URL Name: | Source Online Linkage |
Citation URL Description: |
URL where the source data were originally accessed. |
Source Contribution: |
Spatial definitions for Regulated Area boundaries. |
NOAA's Medium Resolution Digital Vector Shoreline (1998) for the Contiguous United States
Contact Role Type: | Originator |
---|---|
Contact Type: | Organization |
Contact Name: | Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Special Projects (SP) |
Citation URL: | http://www.ngdc.noaa.gov/mgg/shorelines/noaamrdvs.html |
Citation URL Name: | Source Online Linkage |
Citation URL Description: |
URL where the source data were originally accessed. |
Source Contribution: |
This source shoreline was used to generate template shapefiles, which were copied and used when Regulatory Area boundaries followed portions of the US Atlantic coastline. This data source was selected for its suitability to a broad audience, and may not be suitable for specific uses requiring higher-resolution information. Coastlines change. Unless otherwise noted, where the NOAA Medium Resolution Shoreline is used, assume the regulatory boundary reaches the most current coastline delineation available. |
USMaritimeLimitsNBoundaries
Contact Role Type: | Originator |
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Contact Type: | Organization |
Contact Name: | Department of Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Ocean Service (NOS), Office of Coast Survey (OCS) |
Extent Type: | Discrete |
Extent Start Date/Time: | 2011-05-01 00:00:00 |
Citation URL: | http://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/csdl/mbound.htm |
Citation URL Name: | Source Online Linkage |
Citation URL Description: |
URL where the source data were originally accessed. |
Source Contribution: |
This source marine boundary was used to generate template shapefiles, which were copied and used when Regulatory Area boundaries followed portions of the US Exclusive Economic Zone. |
Process Steps
Process Step 1
Description: |
[Template Generation] Many NMFS Regulated Areas in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Waters (Regulated Areas) share boundaries that are partially coincident with any combination of the following: 1) the U.S. Atlantic coastline; 2) the Submerged Lands Act boundary; 3) the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary in the Gulf of Maine; 4) the outward extent of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (a.k.a. the "200-nautical mile line"). To standardize Regulated Area features sharing these boundaries, published shapefiles of the shared administrative boundaries were obtained from the authoritative agencies. A shoreline was selected that was suitable for general mapping purposes, freely and publicly available, of medium-resolution, and covering the extent of the U.S.. When necessary, the boundaries were transformed to NAD83. A series of template polygon shapefiles were then generated, using these authoritative boundaries as the outward extents of the polygon. All templates were generated in NAD83 geographic coordinate system. The templates created are: 1) Coast-to-EEZ: bounded by the coastline, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the U.S. EEZ, and 81°W longitude off the southern extent of Florida (an arbitrary cut-off for the Atlantic); 2) Coast-to-SLA: bounded by the coastline, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the Submerged Lands Act boundary, and 81°W longitude off the southern extent of Florida; 3) SLA-to-EEZ: bounded by the Submerged Lands Act boundary, the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary, the U.S. EEZ, and 81°W longitude off the southern extent of Florida. These templates were subsequently copied and edited, as needed by the Regulated Area spatial definitions. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2013-01-01 00:00:00 |
Process Step 2
Description: |
[Combine Features] The Unit 1 (produced by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office) and Unit 2 (produced by the Southeast Regional Office) boundaries were merged into a single shapefile. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 |
Process Step 3
Description: |
[COLREGS] Where specified in the Regulated Area definition, inshore and offshore waters were separated following COLREGS lines. These inlet/bay crossings were drawn after consulting a combination of a) the COLREGS definitions in 33 CFR 80, b) the NOAA Coastal Services Center COLREGS shapefile, and c) the NOAA Medium Resolution Shoreline shapefile because COLREGS lines described by a single source may not always fully cross the specified waterway as depicted by the source shoreline data set. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 |
Process Step 4
Description: |
[Get Definition Text] The current legal spatial definition for the Regulated Area was copied from the e-CFR website. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 |
Process Step 5
Description: |
[Check Geometry] The ESRI ArcGIS Check Geometry tool was run on the shapefile to identify any geometry problems. If problems were encountered, they were reviewed and corrected. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 |
Process Step 6
Description: |
[Features From Templates] The Coast-to-EEZ template shapefile was copied and projected to NAD83 Mercator Projection. The coordinates of the Regulated Area definition were transferred to a spreadsheet, converted to Decimal Degrees, plotted as a point shapefile in NAD83, and then projected to NAD83 Mercator Projection. To generate the Regulated Area boundary in ArcGIS, the template polygon was split by connecting these points in the order specified in the spatial definition. When the spatial definition specified that points were connected by following the Coastline, the coinciding outward extent of the template polygon was used. When the spatial definition specified that points were connected by following a straight line, rhumb lines were constructed. As an exception, points intended to fall along the U.S.-Canada Maritime Boundary were connected by following the geodesic line that legally defines that international boundary. After all points were appropriately connected, any portions of the template outside the defined Regulated Area were discarded. When multiple Regulated Areas are a part of a larger grouping of related Regulated Areas, these steps were repeated to generate a unique feature for each Regulated Area and the features were then combined into a single shapefile. The boundaries were densified with consecutive vertices spaced no more than 10 nautical miles apart, to preserve rhumb line paths in other coordinate systems. The file was projected back to the un-projected NAD83 coordinate system. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 |
Process Step 7
Description: |
[Final Review] The shapefile was reviewed by members of the GARFO GIS Committee, policy experts from the GARFO Division responsible for the Regulated Area, and General Counsel, according to the GARFO GIS Data Distribution Policy. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 |
Process Step 8
Description: |
[Publication] The shapefile, with accompanying metadata, was uploaded for public download on the NOAA NMFS GARFO GIS website. |
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Process Date/Time: | 2016-01-01 00:00:00 |
Child Items
Rubric scores updated every 15m
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Type | Title |
---|---|---|
Entity | WhaleNorthAtlanticRight_20160127 |
Catalog Details
Catalog Item ID: | 65383 |
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GUID: | gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:65383 |
Metadata Record Created By: | Jonathan Molineaux |
Metadata Record Created: | 2021-08-31 21:02+0000 |
Metadata Record Last Modified By: | SysAdmin InPortAdmin |
Metadata Record Last Modified: | 2023-10-17 16:12+0000 |
Metadata Record Published: | 2021-11-30 |
Owner Org: | OPR |
Metadata Publication Status: | Published Externally |
Do Not Publish?: | N |
Metadata Last Review Date: | 2021-11-30 |
Metadata Review Frequency: | 1 Year |
Metadata Next Review Date: | 2022-11-30 |