Distribution of Eastern Indian Ocean Pygmy Blue Whales and Offshore Wind Impact Assessment

Australian waters and the eastern Indian Ocean are the focus of this spatial dataset quantifying the distribution of pygmy blue whales. It was compiled by the Australian Ocean Data Network to assess the species' exposure to existing and emerging anthropogenic threats, particularly offshore renewable energy developments. The dataset includes spatial layers for baseline impact assessment and was last updated in June 2026.

Use Cases

• Assess spatial overlap between pygmy blue whale foraging grounds and offshore wind development zones based on the compiled distribution maps.
• Model cumulative exposure to anthropogenic pressures using the expert-elicited probability layers for threat assessment.
• Establish a baseline for regulatory decision-making on sustainable offshore energy development based on the provided spatial layers.
• Identify data and knowledge gaps for pygmy blue whale populations prior to further industrial development.

Strengths

• Spatial data compiled for both full distribution and foraging distribution of a priority marine species.
• Threat exposure analysis incorporates expert elicitation to estimate probabilities.
• Provides a baseline for impact assessment specifically for declared offshore renewable energy areas.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Freshness should be verified as the last update is in the future (2026-06-17).

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Compilation of available spatial information and expert elicitation.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-17 00:44:24.970085

Geography

Eastern Indian Ocean, particularly Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone.