Aerial Survey Baseline Monitoring in the Continental Shelf Region of the VACAPES OPAREA: January 2016 - December 2016 (left side)

Original provider: Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Foundation and University of North Carolina Wilmington Dataset credits: Mallette, S.D., R.J. McAlarney, G.G. Lockhart, E.W. Cummings, D.A. Pabst, W.A. McLellan, and S.G. Barco. 2017. Aerial Survey Baseline Monitoring in the Continental Shelf Region of the VACAPES OPAREA: January 2016 - December 2016. Draft Report. Prepared for U.S. Fleet Forces Command. Submitted to Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, under Contract No. N62470-15-D-8006, Task Order 05, issued to HDR, Inc., Virginia Beach, Virginia. 1 February 2016. Abstract: The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation, Inc. (VAQF) is tasked to conduct aerial surveys for the continental shelf region off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay within the Virginia Capes Operating Area (VACAPES OPAREA) to provide marine species monitoring services. In 2007, a multi-institutional project utilizing multiple platforms (i.e., aerial, vessel, and passive acoustic monitoring) aimed at protected species monitoring off the East Coast of the United States commenced. The current survey will complement existing United States (U.S.) Navy marine species monitoring efforts (Aerial Survey Baseline Monitoring- Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing) and supports environmental planning and regulatory compliance along the East Coast of the United States. This project represents the first year of U.S. Department of the Navy-funded aerial survey efforts off Virginia Beach, Virginia. These surveys build upon previous survey efforts funded by Virginia Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program to document large whale occurrence in the vicinity of the Virginia Wind Energy Area (VA WEA) and contribute to regional mid-Atlantic ocean planning efforts. VAQF in collaboration with University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) conducted line-transect aerial surveys from 2012 through 2016, although surveys were not flown every month or with consistent effort between years (Mallette et al. 2014, 2016). The goal of the current aerial survey project is to complement existing monitoring projects and contribute baseline protected species occurrence data, including species distribution; abundance; density estimates; and seasonal habitat usage. The survey site includes an approximately 6,500-square-kilometer area off the coast of Virginia extending from the southern portion of the eastern shore of Virginia to the North Carolina/Virginia state border. The aerial survey design was established based upon advisements from the Centre for Research into Ecological and Environmental Modeling (CREEM) at the University of St. Andrews and objectives identified by the U.S. Navy. VAQF conducted fixed-wing aerial line-transect surveys, using previously established distance-sampling protocols, to document the occurrence of marine mammals and sea turtles. VAQF worked closely with the UNCW to maintain consistency among the safety, flight, and data-reporting protocols for Hatteras/Onslow/JAX baseline monitoring projects (McAlarney et al. 2013, 2015). The current report describes monitoring activities that occurred between January 2016 and December 2016. Supplemental information: This data was created and submitted to the U.S. Department of the Navy on aerial surveys conducted along the continental shelf off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, from January to December 2016. To build upon the existing dataset in the proximity of the VA WEA, previously established transect lines were modified based upon recommendations from CREEM and discussions with UNCW and the Navy to manage overlap between the coastal (VAQF) and Norfolk Canyon Survey Area offshore (UNCW) survey areas. Eighteen survey days were allotted to VAQF to continue surveys of the continental shelf region off the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay within the VACAPES OPAREA during 2016. This dataset represents all sightings except opportunistic sightings collected during the surveys and recorded by the observer on the left side of the craft. Static map of effort (tracklines) are visible on the OBIS-SEAMAP web site but not included in the download. The sightings are split into the left and right sides. This dataset represents the left side sightings. The sightings from the right side are available in http://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/1495