Humpback Whale, Pacific Summer

The Navy and other military users of the marine environment are required to assess the impact of their activities on marine mammals to comply with the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act. The number of marine mammals that might be impacted by Navy activities must be estimated in an Environmental Assessment or Environmental Impact Statement. A key element of this estimation is knowledge of cetacean densities in specific areas where those activities will occur. Data collected by NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) from 1986-2006 using accepted, peer-reviewed survey methods were used to develop models to forecast cetacean densities. This work represents an important step towards understanding marine mammal habitat use with respect to regions utilized by the U. S. Navy. MarineCadastre.gov has included Blue, Fin, Humpback, and Sperm whale models for the summer months as examples of these models. Please view the publication for specific details on the development and use of these models. NOTE: Updated Pacific models should be available in mid-2017.

To support coastal and ocean planning and other activities pursuant to the Energy Policy Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Rivers and Harbors Act and the Submerged Lands Act.

10993

Please refer to source information.

Original contact information:

Contact Name: MarineCadastre.gov Data Steward

Contact Org: NOAA Office for Coastal Management

Title: MarineCadastre.gov Data Steward

Phone: 843.740.1202

Email: coastal.info@noaa.gov

Spatial_Reference_Information:

Horizontal_Coordinate_System_Definition:

Geographic:

Latitude_Resolution: 0.00001

Longitude_Resolution: 0.00001

Geographic_Coordinate_Units: Decimal degrees

Geodetic_Model:

Horizontal_Datum_Name: D WGS 1984

Ellipsoid_Name: WGS 1984

Semi-major_Axis: 6378137.0

Denominator_of_Flattening_Ratio: 298.257223563

NOAA makes no warranties or representations whatsoever regarding the availability, quality, accuracy, content, completeness or suitability for the user's needs of such information. The services, information, and data made available on the Marine Cadastre web site are provided "as is" without warranties of any kind. These data are intended for coastal and ocean use planning. Not for navigation. https://www.marinecadastre.gov/about/disclaimer.html

None

These data are intended for coastal and ocean use planning. Not for navigation.

The attributes in this dataset are believed to be accurate.

Maximum scale of intended use is 1:80,000.

Spatial and attribute properties are believed to be complete, although attribute information has been simplified. Geometric thresholds from original data are preserved. No tests have been completed for exhaustiveness.

These data are believed to be logically consistent. Geometry is topologically clean.