Opportunistic observations of short-tailed albatross (Phoebastria albatrus) were recorded during International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) stock assessment cruises. The data covers regions including Oregon, Washington, the Gulf of Alaska, Aleutians, and the Bering Sea. The dataset was last updated by SCIOPS in August 2002.
Use Cases
- Analyze albatross spatial distribution relative to cruise tracks and fishing zones.
- Model seasonal or annual presence of short-tailed albatross across the North Pacific regions.
- Correlate opportunistic sighting data with environmental variables from the same cruises.
- Assess potential overlap between endangered albatross habitats and halibut stock assessment areas.
Strengths
- Data collected across a broad geographic area covering multiple key North Pacific regions.
- Observations are linked to systematic, scientific stock assessment cruises providing contextual data.
Limitations
- Dataset is temporally stale, with no updates since 2002.
- As opportunistic data, it lacks systematic survey design and may have inconsistent sampling effort.
- Unknown sample size (row count) limits statistical assessment.
Provenance
- Source
- International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) stock assessment cruises.
- Collection Method
- Opportunistic visual observations recorded during fisheries research voyages.
- Time Range
- null
- Freshness
- null
- Geography
- Oregon, Washington, Gulf of Alaska, Aleutian Islands, Bering Sea.