BLM Cetacean and Turtle Assessment Program (CETAP) SHIP Sightings contains survey data on whale, dolphin, and sea turtle distribution and abundance. The University of Rhode Island conducted the program for the Bureau of Land Management from October 1978 to January 1982. Surveys covered outer continental shelf waters from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to the Gulf of Maine.
Use Cases
- Model species distribution from sighting location, date, and environmental covariates.
- Analyze seasonal abundance trends for specific cetacean species using survey date and count data.
- Assess spatial overlap between different marine mammal and turtle species using georeferenced sighting records.
- Validate habitat suitability models by comparing predicted presence with actual sighting locations and conditions.
Strengths
- Data collection spanned over 3 years from October 1978 to January 1982.
- Surveys covered a defined geographic area from Cape Hatteras to the Gulf of Maine, extending seaward to the 1000-fathom isobath.
Limitations
- Dataset is temporally stale, with the last update recorded in December 1980 and no collection after 1982.
- Specific sample size, row count, and column details are unknown, limiting assessment of statistical power.
- Geographic coverage is limited to the northeastern U.S. outer continental shelf, not representative of global populations.
Provenance
- Source
- University of Rhode Island, sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management.
- Collection Method
- Shipboard population surveys for visual assessment of distribution and abundance.
- Time Range
- October 1978 to January 1982.
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Outer continental shelf waters from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, to the Gulf of Maine, from shore to 5 nautical miles seaward of the 1000-fathom isobath.