Dedicated boat-based surveys for marine megafauna off Suriname in 2021

Marijke N. de Boer

The Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) project in Suriname was initiated in 2017. Part of this EU-funded project focussed on collecting all the information regarding marine megafauna within the region (Suriname and Guyana). As part of the MSP project, Green Heritage Fund Suriname conducted two dedicated (effort-related) cetacean surveys (where information on survey effort, environmental conditions and GPS tracks are available) off Suriname in 2021. The first survey was carried out in May using a fishing trawler as the research vessel. The second survey took place in September using a catamaran as the research vessel. We emphasize that more systematic at-sea surveys, photo-identification, and behavioural studies are needed to assess the status of all cetaceans and to develop effective regionally and nationally specific conservation measures, not only in Suriname waters but within the Guiana Basin as a whole.

These research activities gain a better understanding about the occurrence, distribution, and ecology of beaked whales within the Guiana Basin. The Demerara Plateau may well offer an important habitat for deep-diving cetaceans, but further research is needed. We emphasize that, in light of a recent increase in oil and gas exploitation activities, there is an urgency to develop effective regionally and nationally specific conservation measures for whales in Suriname.

Accuracy of time varies record by record. '00:00' indicates the time is not available.

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. The availability of the attributes depends on the share policy. When "Minimum attributes" is selected, only date/time, lat/lon, species identification and group size are available. Should you need other attributes described here, you are encouraged to contact the data provider. When "All attributes" is selected, all attributes are available in download.

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
Only minimum required attributes are visible and downloadable online. Other attributes may be obtained upon provider's permission.

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)	Description
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
database_ref_new	Database reference number
survey_sighting_number	Survey Sighting number
survey_code	Survey code
company	Company
country	Country
timezone	Time zone (UTC)
date_time_utc	Date and time in UTC
date_time	Date and time of observation at local time zone
end_time	End time in UTC
method	Method
observer_code	Observer Code
latitude	Latitude in decimal degrees
longitude	Longitude in decimal degrees
water_depth	Water Depth (m)
vesselname	Vessel name
eye_height	Eye Height (m)
vesseltype	Vessel type
species	Species name
latin_name	Species latin name
sp_tsn	Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
certainty	Certainty
radial_distance	Distance (m) - radial distance
bearing	Bearing (360 compas)
total_number_of_animals	Total number of animals
adult	Number of adults
juv	Number of Juveniles
calf	Number of calves
behaviour	Animal behavior
travel	Travel
direcion_of_travel	Direcion of travel
description_of_animal	Description of animal
notes	Notes
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP