"Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program"

Arctic Whale Ecology Study / CHAOZ-X 2015 Cruise Report

Through an Inter-Agency agreement (IA) between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), NMML is conducting a dedicated multi-year study to determine relationships between dominant currents passing from the Bering Sea into and through the Chukchi Sea and prey resources delivered to the Barrow Arch area (an area of high bowhead whale and prey concentrations between Wainwright and Smith Bay), and to provide information about the dynamic nature of those relationships relative to whale distribution and habitat utilization in the eastern Chukchi and extreme western Beaufort Seas. This study will also provide important baseline data on the occurrence, distribution, and habitat use of large whales in an area that is subject to rapid change in climate and human industrial development. This annual report covers work conducted in 2014, the third year of the study.

Alaska Fisheries Science Center Quarterly Report.

Cruise Overview

Through an Inter-Agency agreement (IA) between the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), NMML is conducting a dedicated multi-year study to determine relationships between dominant currents passing from the Bering Sea into and through the Chukchi Sea and prey resources delivered to the Barrow Arch area (an area of high bowhead whale and prey concentrations between Wainwright and Smith Bay), and to provide information about the dynamic nature of those relationships relative to whale distribution and habitat utilization in the eastern Chukchi and extreme western Beaufort Seas. This study will also provide important baseline data on the occurrence, distribution, and habitat use of large whales in an area that is subject to rapid change in climate and human industrial development. This quarterly report covers the period of this study between April and June 2013. The major activity during this period consisted of planning for the 2013 vessel survey.

Through an Inter-Agency agreement (IA) between the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), NMML is conducting a dedicated multi-year study to determine relationships between dominant currents passing from the Bering Sea into and through the Chukchi Sea and prey resources delivered to the Barrow Arch area (an area of high bowhead whale and prey concentrations between Wainwright and Smith Bay), and to provide information about the dynamic nature of those relationships relative to whale distribution and habitat utilization in the eastern Chukchi and extreme western Beaufort Seas. This study will also provide important baseline data on the occurrence, distribution and habitat use of large whales in an area that is subject to rapid change in climate and human industrial development. This quarterly report covers the period of this study between January and March 2013. The major activity during this period consisted of planning for the 2013 vessel survey.

Through an Inter-Agency agreement (IA) between the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), NMML is conducting a dedicated multi-year study to determine relationships between dominant currents passing from the Bering Sea into and through the Chukchi Sea and prey resources delivered to the Barrow Arch area (an area of high bowhead whale and prey concentrations between Wainwright and Smith Bay), and to provide information about the dynamic nature of those relationships relative to whale distribution and habitat utilization in the eastern Chukchi and extreme western Beaufort Seas. This study will also provide important baseline data on the occurrence, distribution, and habitat use of large whales in an area that is subject to rapid change in climate and human industrial development. This quarterly report covers the period of this study between July and September 2013. The major activities during this period consisted of the completion of the Arctic Whale Ecology Study (ARCWEST) cruise from 13 August through 18 September 2013. The cruise took place on the chartered research vessel R/V Aquila. Seventeen scientists, technicians, and observers from eight different laboratories and institutions participated on the ARCWEST cruise.

Cruise Summary For FOCI Cruise AQ13-01 (AQ13-01)

The ARCWEST (Arctic Whale Ecology Study) cruise took place on board the R/V Aquila. The cruise began in Kodiak, AK on 13 August 2013 and ended in Kodiak on 18 September 2013. Chief Scientist was Dr. Catherine Berchok from 13 August until 9 September and Jessica Crance from 10 September until 18 September. The survey team consisted of 17 scientists representing eight different laboratories (for full personnel list, see Appendix 1). In summary, a total of 23 passive acoustic and 14 oceanographic moorings were retrieved, and 25 passive acoustic and 17 oceanographic moorings were redeployed. Five satellite tags were deployed on gray whales, four of which transmitted successfully. A total of 48 hydrographic and 32 zooplankton stations were conducted, nine drifters were deployed, 24 hour passive acoustic monitoring (via sonobuoy deployments) occurred, and over 1,500 nm were surveyed for marine mammal and bird observations.

Through an Inter-Agency agreement (IA) between the National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), NMML is conducting a dedicated multi-year study to determine relationships between dominant currents passing from the Bering Sea into and through the Chukchi Sea and prey resources delivered to the Barrow Arch area (an area of high bowhead whale and prey concentrations between Wainwright and Smith Bay), and to provide information about the dynamic nature of those relationships relative to whale distribution and habitat utilization in the eastern Chukchi and extreme western Beaufort Seas. This study will also provide important baseline data on the occurrence, distribution, and habitat use of large whales in an area that is subject to rapid change in climate and human industrial development. This annual report covers work conducted in 2013, the second year of this study. The major activities during 2013 consisted of planning for and conducting the Arctic Whale Ecology Study (ARCWEST) cruise from 13 August through 18 September 2013. The cruise took place on the chartered research vessel R/V Aquila. Seventeen scientists, technicians, and observers from eight different laboratories and institutions participated on the ARCWEST cruise.