10.82144/45674eb3 https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2373 zd_2373 LauraDiasNOAA Southeast Fisheries Science CenterPrimary contact laura.dias@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9378-4577LanceGarrisonNOAA Southeast Fisheries Science CenterSecondary contact lance.garrison@noaa.gov OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

A328 LSRC building Durham NC 27708 US

seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

A328 LSRC building Durham NC 27708 US

seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu distributor LauraDiasNOAA Southeast Fisheries Science CenterPrimary contact laura.dias@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9378-4577ownerLanceGarrisonNOAA Southeast Fisheries Science CenterSecondary contact lance.garrison@noaa.gov originator 2026-01-07 eng Original provider: NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) Dataset credits: NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) Abstract: As part of the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS), the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) conducted a shipboard survey of the U.S. waters of the Western North Atlantic (WNA) from approximately the 200m isobath out to the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The survey was conducted between June 12 and September 5, 2021 onboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, split into three survey legs. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the scientific staff sheltered-in-place (SIP) before the start of the survey and before leg 3. Multiple days were lost due to mechanical problems with the ship and unfavorable weather conditions. The final portion of this survey transited through the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico). The survey was designed for a two-team independent visual observer approach with distance sampling to estimate the detection probabilities for marine mammal sightings. A sighting constituted a single or group of marine mammals (whales and dolphins) seen at the same location and time. This dataset includes marine mammal visual observation data and effort points with surveying conditions that can be used in abundance and density modeling per visual line-transect survey protocols. This dataset also includes opportunistic marine mammal photographs and non-marine mammal sightings such as sea turtles. Sea bird observers conducted counts of all birds detected within a 300m strip transect from the ship during all legs of the survey (see additional references and data below). The scientific echosounder (EK) recorded data during the nighttime from the end of the survey day until commencement of acoustic effort, the following morning (CIMAS, NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center, 2024). Environmental data was collected at predetermined stations using a conductivity, temperature, and depth sensor (CTD) unit (Wanninkhof, Sullivan, and Pierrot, 2021). OccurrenceGBIF Dataset Type Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_type.xmlObservationGBIF Dataset Subtype Vocabulary: http://rs.gbif.org/vocabulary/gbif/dataset_subtype.xml Marine BiologyVisual sightingMarine Animal SurveyVisual SightingVesselLine Transect SamplingDistance SamplingSpecies Distribution ModelsPopulation Abundance N/A This is a reformatted version of the archive stored in U.S. National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI; https://doi.org/10.25921/gwbg-7k67). Sightings reported as Mobula birostris (AphiaID: 1026118) were mapped to Manta birostris (TSN: 160992) for consistency with the ITIS taxonomy adopted by OBIS‑SEAMAP. Sightings reported as Selachii (AphiaID: 368408) were mapped to Elasmobranchii (TSN: 159786) for consistency with the ITIS taxonomy adopted by OBIS‑SEAMAP. Non-animal observations are removed. To the extent possible under law, the publisher has waived all rights to these data and has dedicated them to the Public Domain (CC0 1.0). Users may copy, modify, distribute and use the work, including for commercial purposes, without restriction. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2373 North Atlantic Ocean,United States of America -86.70882 38.89468 38.89468 24.28098 2021-06-13 2021-09-04 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). genusBalaenopteraBaleen whales speciesBalaenoptera physalusFin whale speciesCaretta carettaLoggerhead sea turtle orderCetaceaCetaceans familyCheloniidaeSea turtles familyDelphinidaeDolphins speciesDelphinus delphisShort-beaked common dolphin speciesDermochelys coriaceaLeatherback sea turtle subclassElasmobranchiiCartilaginous fishes genusGlobicephalaPilot whales speciesGrampus griseusRisso's dolphin genusKogiaPygmy sperm whales speciesKogia simaDwarf sperm whale speciesManta birostrisAtlantic manta speciesMegaptera novaeangliaeHumpback whale genusMesoplodonBeaked whales speciesMesoplodon densirostrisBlainville's beaked whale speciesMesoplodon europaeusGervais' beaked whale suborderMysticetiBaleen whales suborderOdontocetiToothed whales speciesOrcinus orcaKiller whale speciesPhyseter macrocephalusSperm whale speciesPseudorca crassidensFalse killer whale genusStenellaSpinner dolphins speciesStenella attenuataPantropical spotted dolphin speciesStenella clymeneClymene dolphin speciesStenella coeruleoalbaStriped dolphin speciesStenella frontalisAtlantic spotted dolphin speciesStenella longirostrisSpinner dolphin speciesTursiops truncatusCommon bottlenose dolphin familyZiphiidaeBeaked whales speciesZiphius cavirostrisCuvier's beaked whale The primary goal was to conduct visual line-transect survey for abundance estimation, and distribution of cetaceans in the U.S. waters of the Atlantic Ocean. notPlanned LauraDiasNOAA Southeast Fisheries Science CenterPrimary contact laura.dias@noaa.gov https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9378-4577 NA NA NA LauraDiasownerLanceGarrisonoriginator NA 2026-01-07T17:52:01-05:00 dataset Dias, L. and L. Garrison. 2026. NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter Vessel Line-transect Survey 2021 (GU2103). 1.0.0. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. Data accessed on yyyy-mm-dd from https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2373. Palka, Debra; Garrison, Lance; Soldevilla, Melissa; Dias, Laura Aichinger; Rappucci, Gina. 2026. Cetacean visual observations using line-transect survey methods onboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter (GU) during the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) in the Western North Atlantic Ocean (survey GU2103) from 2021-06-13 to 2021-09-04 (NCEI Accession 0309425). National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2373 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2373/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/2373/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_2373 zd_2373