FWRI Right Whale Aerial Surveys

General Information

Project Type(s):sighting

Site Name:FWRI Right Whale Aerial Surveys

Site Reference Number:46

Region(s):Northeast

Counties:

Approximate Latitude: 30.02 Approximate Longitude: -81.05

View ArcGIS map of study area

Principal Investigator(s):Jackson, Katharine

Point(s) of Contact:Jackson, Katharine - Phone Number: (904) 237-4220, Email: Katie.Jackson@MyFWC.com

Organizations Involved:Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission - Fish & Wildlife Research Institute

Organization Type(s):state agency

Project Status: Active

Start Date: 1/2007

End Date: n/a

Equipment and Methods

General Method(s) Used:aerial survey

Sampling and Effort

	Visual	Capture
Sampling regime:	daily	n/a
Measure of effort:	unknown	none

Bottom Type(s):pelagic

Water Type Zone: neritic-pelagic Water Type Environment: marine

Min. Depth (m): 1.5 Max. Depth (m): 36

Mean Depth (m): 19

Captures and Sightings Information

Species	No. of Captures	No. of Sightings	Min Size* (cm)	Max Size* (cm)	Mean Size* (cm)	FP Observed	Life Stages**	Comments
Green Turtle (Cm)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Loggerhead (Cc)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Kemp's Ridley (Lk)	n/a	6	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	All are ship-based observations.
Hawksbill (Ei)	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a
Leatherback (Dc)	n/a	6868	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	I, A	Includes 1 ship-based observation.

*All size measurements are SSCL unless otherwise indicated
** For Cm, Cc, Lk, & Ei: O - Oceanic-stage juvenile; N - Neritic-stage juvenile; S - Subadult; A - Adult. For Dc: I - Immature; A - Adult. n/a = not applicable; n/r = not reported.

This report adheres to the following size ranges for life stage classification for these species:

	Green turtle	Loggerhead	Kemp's ridley	Hawksbill
Oceanic-stage juvenile	< 25 cm SCL	< 30 cm SCL	< 25 cm SCL	< 25 cm SCL
Neritic-stage juvenile	25-69 cm SCL	30-69 cm SCL	25-39 cm SCL	25-64 cm SCL
Subadult	70-84 cm SCL	70-79 cm SCL	40-59 cm SCL	65-74 cm SCL
Adult	≥ 85 cm SCL	≥ 80 cm SCL	≥ 60 cm SCL	≥ 75 cm SCL

	Leatherback
Immature	< 135 cm OCL
Adult	≥ 135 cm OCL

Other Information Collected

Project Summary

Aerial surveys are conducted for North Atlantic Right Whales (Eubalaena glacialis) along the northeastern Florida and Georgia coastlines by FWC-FWRI. Surveys are conducted annually, from December through March. Leatherback turtles are regularly recorded during surveys. Other (hard-shelled) turtles are not recorded during aerial surveys but may be recorded opportunistically during vessel activities conducted as part of this project.

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