Cruise Results: NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter Cruise GU-04-02 (027) 13 April - 11 June 2004, A Study of Sperm Whales and other Oceanic Cetaceans in the Northern Gulf of Mexico

NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter departed Pascagoula, Mississippi on 14 April 2004 to conduct a marine mammal survey in the northern Gulf of Mexico (GMx). Operations occurred in the waters from 200 m deep seaward to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) from Brownsville, Texas east into the Straits of Florida to 81.0 W.

The U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) requires that stocks of marine mammal species in U.S. waters be maintained at or above their optimum sustainable population level (OSP), defined as the number of animals which results in the maximum net productivity. To meet this requirement for each stock, the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimates annual human-caused mortality and potential biological removal (PBR), the maximum number of animals that may be removed from a stock due to human activities (e.g., fisheries bycatch) while allowing the stock to reach or maintain its OSP. PBR is calculated following specific criteria using the estimated abundance of the stock, its maximum net productivity rate (theoretical or estimated), and a recovery factor (Barlow et al., 1995; Wade and Angliss, 1997). The NMFS is required to prepare an annual Stock Assessment Report (SAR) for each stock to update abundance, stock structure, maximum net productivity, human-caused mortality, PBR, and status

This cruise report is used for documentation and timely communication of preliminary results immediately following the conclusion of the survey. Data, as presented here, are subject to change as further auditing and analysis occur.

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center was authorized to conduct marine mammal research activities during the cruise under Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) Permit No. 779-1633.

Series : Southeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document MMTD ; 2023-03