"Whales"

When oil spills occur in the marine environment, many species of wildlife in that ecosystem may be either directly or indirectly impacted. NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-OPR-52

This report describes field activities of the Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals (ASAMM) project conducted during summer and fall (1 July – 29 October) 2014 and data analyses used to summarize field activities. Surveys were based in Barrow, Alaska, and Deadhorse, Alaska, and targeted the northeastern and southcentral Chukchi and western Beaufort seas, between 67°N and 72°N latitude and 140°W and 169°W longitude. Sea ice cover in the study area in 2014 was generally light compared with historical (pre-2007) sea ice cover. Sea ice remained in the northern half of the Chukchi Sea study area in early July. By late July, sea ice in the Chukchi Sea had receded to the northernmost regions of the study area. The majority of the nearshore area in the western Alaskan Beaufort Sea had ~1% sea ice in late July, although ~10-100% sea ice cover remained offshore between Camden Bay, Alaska, and Point Barrow, Alaska. Remnant sea ice persisted in the northeastern Chukchi Sea study area through late August, but the western Beaufort Sea study area was ice-free by late August. By 9 September, the entire study area was completely ice-free and remained ice-free until new ice started forming in mid-October. A total of 90 survey flights were conducted. The Barrow-based aerial survey team conducted surveys from 2 July through 29 October 2014 and the Deadhorse-based aerial survey team conducted surveys from 19 July through 10 October 2014. Total combined flight time was 440 hours, including 207 hours of transect survey effort. Over 110,000 km were flown, with 45,224 km of effort on transect. Surveys were conducted in the western Beaufort Sea in summer (mid-July through August) for the third consecutive year and in block 23 (southcentral Chukchi Sea) for the first time in several decades.

Thousands of high-resolution photos provide baseline information on whales ahead of oncoming El Niño.

NOAA gives the U.S. Navy marine mammal protection measures.

New science on how noise levels affect marine mammal hearing.

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments for a proposed rule requiring the United States Navy to implement protective measures during activities at their Northwest training and testing study area in the state waters off Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and northern

A rare opportunity to study how the environment limits the growth of a recovered population of large whales.

NOAA Fisheries scientists research helps fill in the gaps.

NOAA Fisheries is inviting public comments on a new Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) that evaluates the Makah Tribe’s request to resume treaty-based hunting of eastern North Pacific gray whales for ceremonial and subsistence purposes. The

Agency seeks public comment on new NOAA Fisheries proposal.