10.82144/47e78334 https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/704 zd_704 MiguelMacheteDepartment of Oceanography and FisheriesPrimary contact miguel@uac.pt OBIS-SEAMAP Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab, Duke University

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

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seamap-contact@duke.edu https://seamap.env.duke.edu distributor MiguelMacheteDepartment of Oceanography and FisheriesPrimary contact miguel@uac.pt owner 2026-04-28 eng Original provider: POPA: Azores Fisheries Observer Programme Dataset credits: POPA: Azores Fisheries Observer Programme Abstract: POPA was launched in 1998 with the main goal of certifying the tuna caught around the Azores as a "dolphin safe product." This label is attributed by the non-governmental organization Earth Island Institute to catches made without mortality of cetaceans. POPA has built an extensive database with information collected by the observers on board the tuna fishing vessels. This database includes information on tuna fisheries (e.g., location of fishing events, catches, and fishing effort), weather conditions (e.g., sea surface temperature, wind and visibility), live bait fisheries (e.g., location of fishing events, catches, gears used), cetaceans (e.g., occurrences, interaction with fishing events and association with other species), birds and sea turtles (e.g., occurrences). POPA is also responsible for "Friend of the Sea" tuna fishery certification. 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 sightingObserver programmesmarine mammalsseaturtlesseabirdsVesselsSightings N/A The species originally recorded as Delichon urbica was assigned to Delichon urbicum. The accuracy of the time in this period was up to minutes. For the new and existing records with no group size recorded, the group size column was empty, which means a presence-only sighting. Records that did not have time recorded were filled with 00:00:00 and noted in the [NOTES] field. Records that did not have group size recorded were filled with 1 and noted in the [NOTES] field. When an estimated range of animals was sighted, the median value (rounded down) was used as the observed count; when a minimum number of animals was recorded, the minimum number was used as the observed count (i.e., >100 = 100 animals). The access to this work requires permission. https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/704 Azores -39.233383 40.605417 40.605417 26.861383 1998-05-15 2015-09-24 Scientific names are based on the Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS). speciesArenaria interpresRuddy turnstone classAvesBirds genusBalaenopteraBaleen whales speciesBalaenoptera acutorostrataCommon minke whale speciesBalaenoptera borealisSei whale speciesBalaenoptera edeniEden's whale speciesBalaenoptera musculusBlue whale speciesBalaenoptera physalusFin whale speciesBulweria bulweriiBulwer's petrel subspeciesCalonectris diomedea borealis speciesCaretta carettaLoggerhead sea turtle orderCetaceaCetaceans speciesChelonia mydasGreen sea turtle speciesColumba liviaCommon pigeon speciesDelichon urbicum familyDelphinidaeDolphins speciesDelphinus delphisShort-beaked common dolphin speciesDermochelys coriaceaLeatherback sea turtle genusDiomedeaAlbatrosses speciesEretmochelys imbricataHawksbill sea turtle genusGlobicephalaPilot whales speciesGlobicephala macrorhynchusShort-finned pilot whale speciesGrampus griseusRisso's dolphin speciesHyperoodon ampullatusNorthern bottlenose whale genusKogiaPygmy sperm whales genusLarusGulls speciesLarus cachinnansYellow-legged gull subspeciesLarus michahellis atlantis speciesMegaptera novaeangliaeHumpback whale genusMesoplodonBeaked whales speciesMesoplodon bidensSowerby's beaked whale speciesMesoplodon densirostrisBlainville's beaked whale speciesMesoplodon europaeusGervais' beaked whale speciesMorus bassanusNorthern gannet genusOceanodromaDark storm petrels speciesOnychoprion fuscatusSooty tern speciesOrcinus orcaKiller whale speciesPhocoena phocoenaHarbor porpoise speciesPhyseter macrocephalusSperm whale orderProcellariiformesTube-nosed Swimmers speciesPseudorca crassidensFalse killer whale genusPuffinus speciesPuffinus baroliBarolo shearwater speciesPuffinus gravisGreat shearwater speciesPuffinus griseusSooty shearwater speciesPuffinus lherminieriAudubon's shearwater speciesPuffinus puffinusManx shearwater genusStenellaSpinner dolphins speciesStenella coeruleoalbaStriped dolphin speciesStenella frontalisAtlantic spotted dolphin genusStercorariusJaegers speciesStercorarius longicaudusLong-tailed jaeger speciesStercorarius parasiticusParasitic jaeger speciesStercorarius pomarinusPomarine jaeger speciesStercorarius skuaGreat skua genusSternaTypical Terns speciesStreptopelia decaoctoEurasian collared dove speciesTursiops truncatusCommon bottlenose dolphin speciesXema sabiniSabine's gull speciesZiphius cavirostrisCuvier's beaked whale In the late 1990's, it became clear that the tuna industry would be seriously penalized with the absence of a "dolphin safe" certification which instigated new measures from the government and the fisheries sector.<br><br> In order to achieve this certification, the Azores Fisheries Observer Programme (POPA) was funded in 1998, ensuring the absence of dolphin mortality or injury in tuna fishery. Since then, fishery and fishing products are certified by the Earth Island Institute, through the results presented by POPA. Besides that, the tuna fishery is also certified as <a href=http://www.friendofthesea.org>"Friend of the Sea</a>" which means that it is extremely selective, doesn't harm the surrounding environment and is quite sustainable. It became the first tuna fishery in the world achieving that certification. <br> <br> The Programme results from an agreement among Regional Administration, Earth Island Institute, the Tuna Canning Industry Association (Pão do Mar), the Fishing Boat Owners Association (APASA) and IMAR – Instituto do Mar - through the University of The Azores Center (IMAR-DOP/UAç), which carries out the programme. Until 2003, the Programme was supported by regional funds. Between 2003 and 2005 it became co-financed by the European Commission through the INTERREG IIIb Programme/ ORPAM project. Since then it has been exclusively supported by the regional government through the Regional Secretary of Fisheries. notPlanned MiguelMacheteDepartment of Oceanography and FisheriesPrimary contact miguel@uac.pt NA NA NA MiguelMacheteowner NA 2026-04-28T11:36:06-04:00 dataset Machete, M. 2020. POPA cetacean, seabird, and sea turtle sightings in the Azores area 1998-2015. Version 1.1.1. Dataset published in OBIS-SEAMAP. https://doi.org/10.82144/47e78334. Machete, M. and R.S. Santos. 2007. Azores Fisheries Observer Program (POPA): A case study of the multidisciplinary use of observer data. Proceedings of the 5th International Fisheries Observer Conference, Victoria, Canada. McVea, T.A. and Kennelly, S.J. (ed)114-116. OBIS-SEAMAP Dataset Page UTF-8 Interactive map https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/704 FGDC Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/704/fgdc EML Metadata UTF-8 XML https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/704/eml OBIS-SEAMAP zd_704 zd_704