VACAPES Offshore Study Area Observations

The U.S. Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program

One hundred forty kilometers (km) east of Naval Station Norfolk (NSN), the world’s largest U.S. Navy base, lies the continental shelf break and the Norfolk Canyon – areas known to have considerable cetacean species diversity based on previous broad-scale stock and population survey assessments. These waters also play a vital role in the U.S. Navy’s training and testing operations given their complex bathymetry and proximity to NSN. In 2015, the U.S. Navy initiated a multi-year study to provide a more detailed assessment of species occurrence, diversity, and habitat use in the Norfolk Canyon region, and to examine medium-scale movements and dive behavior of large whales. Since April 2015, thirty-eight vessel surveys using photo-ID, biopsy sampling, and satellite-monitored tagging techniques were conducted. To date, sightings of 15 cetacean species recorded (including sightings over the continental shelf en route to the study area). Priority species encountered were fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus), sperm whales (Physeter macrocephalus), minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), sei whales (Balaenoptera borealis), goose-beaked whales (Ziphius cavirostris), and Sowerby’s beaked whales (Mesoplodon Bidens). The species most often sighted were pilot whales (Globicephala sp.), bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), and short-beaked common dolphins (Delphinus delphis). Additional observations of Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis), Risso’s dolphins (Grampus griseus), striped dolphins (Stenella coereuleoalba), and harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) were also recorded. LIMPET-configured satellite-monitored tags (SPOT6 and SPLASH) have been deployed to date on fin whales, sperm whales, and Sowerby’s beaked whales. Preliminary tag results suggest site-fidelity to the Norfolk Canyon by some sperm whales over periods of weeks, while fin whales show a mix of both minimal and extreme movement patterns within and outside of the study area. Future efforts will provide more detail on habitat use in this region.

The goals of this effort focus on addressing fundamental information gaps related to marine mammal occurrence, exposure, and response as identified the U.S. Navy’s Integrated Comprehensive Monitoring Program (DoN 2010) and the follow-up Scientific Advisory Group review (DoN 2011). In order to address these gaps for offshore waters in the VACAPES OPAREA, a combination of techniques are being used, including: (1) photo-ID and behavioral data collection to provide baseline assessments of animal movement patterns, site fidelity, habitat use, life history, and behavior; (2) biopsy sampling for incorporation into existing genetic studies (where opportunities exist) to identify individuals, determine foraging patterns, and assist in delineating stock boundaries; and (3) satellite-linked tagging techniques to provide information on residency patterns and habitat use across intermediate time scales (weeks to months). Residency and movement patterns are of particular interest given the potential for repeated exposure to U.S. Navy training and testing activities known to occur within the area. Although supporting information is limited, preliminary findings from work conducted off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to the south suggest a year-round presence of several species of cetaceans near the continental shelf break (Baird et al. 2016, Foley et al. 2016). Tagging efforts will provide longer-term movement patterns to identify extent of overlap with offshore training and testing activities conducted within the VACAPES OPAREA. Given the duration of the tag attachments and experience from previous tagging studies in waters off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, we would expect the potential to track tagged animals to OPAREAS outside of VACAPES, including the Cherry Point OPAREA to the south and the Atlantic City OPAREA to the north. Taking into consideration the multiple intermediate scientific objectives in the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Planning Process (DoN 2013b), the goals of this study are to assist the U.S. Navy and regulatory agencies with environmental planning and compliance by addressing the following questions: Which cetacean species occur over the outer continental shelf to the east of NSN, and how does occurrence fluctuate seasonally? What are the baseline behaviors and ecological relationships of offshore cetaceans within the study area? Do individual cetaceans exhibit site fidelity within specific regions of the study area over periods of weeks, months, or years? What is the seasonal extent of cetacean movements within and around U.S. Navy VACAPES training range boxes? Do cetaceans spend significant time within or primarily move through areas of U.S. Navy live-fire or Anti-Submarine Warfare training events? For additional information on this project as well as access to reports and publications, please visit the project profile on the U.S. Navy’s Marine Species monitoring portal: https://www.navymarinespeciesmonitoring.us/reading-room/project-profiles/mid-atlantic-offshore-cetacean-study/

2025-11-07: 371 sightings in Mar 2024 ~ Aug 2025 were appended.
2024-10-31: Sightings in Mar ~ Dec 2023 were appended.
2023-11-07: Sightings in Jan ~ Oct 2022 were appended.

Survey tracklines (aggregated over time) are available online and included in a downloadable zip file (shapefile format).

Additional references
Engelhaupt, A., J.M. Aschettino, and D. Engelhaupt. 2018. VACAPES Outer Continental Shelf Cetacean Study, Virginia Beach, Virginia: 2017 Annual Progress Report. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract No. N62470-15-8006, Task Order 35, issued to HDR Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia. May 2018.
Engelhaupt, A., J.M. Aschettino, and D. Engelhaupt. 2017. VACAPES Outer Continental Shelf Cetacean Study, Virginia Beach, Virginia: 2016 Annual Progress Report. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract Nos. N62470-10-3011, Task Orders 03 and 54, and N62470-15-8006, Task Order 5, issued to HDR Inc., Virginia Beach, Virgina.

The dataset has been updated over time as outlined below. Each entry includes the version number, release date, type of change, and a short description.

Overview

This section explains attributes included in the original dataset. OBIS-SEAMAP restricts the attributes available to the public to date/ time, lat/lon and species names/ counts only. Should you need other attributes described here, you are encouraged to contact the data provider.

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
All attributes are included in the downloadable file (CSV or ESRI File Geodatabase) for "Complete Set of Dataset".

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)	Description
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
bearingabs
behavior	Behavior
behaviorevent	Behavior event
countcalves	Number of calves
countjuveniles	Number of juvelines
counttotbest	Best estimate of number of animals
counttotmax	Maximum estimate of number of animals
counttotmin	Minimum estimate of number of animals
depthsounding	Depth as determined in situ via sounding in meters
distsight	The radial distance to the animal
headingplatmagnetic	Heading
headingplattrue	Heading
latanimal	Latitude of animals in decimal degrees
latplatform	Latitude of the platform in decimal degrees
longanimal	Longitude of animals in decimal degrees
longplatform	Longitude of the platform in decimal degrees
sightingnotes	Sighting notes
datetime	Date and time of the sighting at local time zone
surveyid	Survey ID
spcsnmsci	Scientific name
spcsnmcom	Common name
sp_tsn	ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
sightingnumber	Sighting Number
bearing	Bearing
datetimeutc	Date and time of the sighting at UTC
observationtype	Sighting, Re-sighting, or Focal point
birds	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
countfemales	Number of males (blank)
countmales	Number of females (blank in 2015-2018 data)
countvescargo	(blank)
countvesferries	(blank)
countvesfishing	(blank)
countvesmilitary	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
countvesmotoryachts	(blank)
countvessailing	(blank)
countvesother	(blank)
cue	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
groupid	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
headinganimal	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
ordnance	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
sightingmulti	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
sightingtimeend	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
vertangleorreticle	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
opticstype	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
platformelevation	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
distsighttype	(blank in 2015-2018 data)
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP