https://doi.org/10.82144/9b958e56 https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2209 https://www.gbif.org/dataset/b463a5ba-3126-44e1-b017-8020cea66bd1 https://obis.org/dataset/d7864bc9-ed4d-4924-b2ed-16558d47d3bb Meghan Rickard New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Primary contact meghan.rickard@dec.ny.gov OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

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seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu distributor Meghan Rickard New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Primary contact meghan.rickard@dec.ny.gov owner 2025-07-31 eng Original provider: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Dataset credits: New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Abstract: The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Division of Marine Resources contracted Tetra Tech to conduct aerial whale monitoring in the New York Bight (NYB). Monitoring consisted of 36 monthly line-transect aerial surveys starting in March 2017 and ending in February 2020. The NYB survey area is a 43,449 square kilometer area of ocean from the south shore of Long Island to the continental shelf break. These surveys focused on six large whale species: the blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), fin whale (B. physalus), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae), North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), sei whale (B. borealis), and sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus). This longitudinal multi-year study provides new insight into the occurrence, relative abundance, behavior, and densities and abundance of the six large whale species, as well as the occurrence other marine species, in the NYB. A total of 733.1 hours and 149,482 kilometers of flight time were completed over 263 survey flights. Observations were conducted by two observers from a high-winged, twin-engine Partenavia aircraft; one observer was positioned on each side of the aircraft and looked through bubble windows. Data recorded included all parameters required to estimate density and abundance using distance sampling techniques. A total of 3,069 sightings of 37,410 estimated individuals were recorded, including all six large whale species, other marine mammals, sea turtles, and other marine species (i.e., sharks, rays, fish schools, etc.). Further details may be found in the Final Comprehensive Report at www.dec.ny.gov/docs/fish_marine_pdf/mmaeran3.pdf and the associated references. Occurrence GBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type.xml Observation GBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml Marine Biology Visual sighting Marine Animal Survey Marine mammals Sea turtles Visual Sighting Aerial N/A Environmental data are available and included in the downloadable zipped file. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) 4.0 License. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2209 Oceans,North Atlantic,New York Bight -74.126 -70.576917 41.084022 38.553 2017-03-20 2020-02-16 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). genus Balaenoptera Baleen whales species Balaenoptera acutorostrata Common minke whale species Balaenoptera borealis Sei whale species Balaenoptera musculus Blue whale species Balaenoptera physalus Fin whale species Carcharodon carcharias Great white shark species Caretta caretta Loggerhead sea turtle order Cetacea Cetaceans species Cetorhinus maximus Basking shark family Cheloniidae Sea turtles family Delphinidae Dolphins species Delphinus delphis Short-beaked common dolphin species Dermochelys coriacea Leatherback sea turtle subclass Elasmobranchii Cartilaginous fishes species Eubalaena glacialis North Atlantic right whale genus Globicephala Pilot whales species Grampus griseus Risso's dolphin family Hyperoodontidae Beaked whales species Lepidochelys kempii Kemp's ridley species Manta birostris Atlantic manta species Megaptera novaeangliae Humpback whale species Mola mola Ocean sunfish suborder Mysticeti Baleen whales family Phocidae Earless seals species Phocoena phocoena Harbor porpoise species Physeter macrocephalus Sperm whale species Prionace glauca Blue shark species Rhincodon typus Whale shark family Sphyrnidae Bonnethead sharks species Tursiops truncatus Common bottlenose dolphin species Ziphius cavirostris Cuvier's beaked whale The primary goals of the aerial surveys were: (1) Determine the distribution and estimate relative abundance and density of the six large whale species; (2) Determine monthly and seasonal occurrence, and inter-annual variability of the distribution and estimated abundance, density, and relative abundance for the six species; (3) Record data about the behavior of sighted large whales; (4) Record opportunistic sightings of sea turtles and other marine species; and (5) Record relevant environmental variables. notPlanned Meghan Rickard New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Primary contact meghan.rickard@dec.ny.gov NA NA NA Meghan Rickard owner NA zd_2209 2025-07-31T17:40:06-04:00 dataset Rickard, M. 2022. NYSDEC aerial surveys. Version 1.0.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/9b958e56. OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2209 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2209/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2209/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_2209 zd_2209 Zoidis, A.M., Lomac-MacNair, K.S., Ireland, D.S., Rickard, M.E., McKown, K.A., Schlesinger, M.D. 2021. Distribution and density of six large whale species in the New York Bight from monthly aerial surveys 2017 to 2020. Continental Shelf Research: 230.