Editor’s note: The U.S. National Marine fisheries Service published the above-titled article on its Science Blog. This article reads in part as follows:
“Each year we conduct aerial surveys of the northern and western coasts of Alaska, in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas….Welcome to the 41st consecutive field season for the Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals (ASAMM) project! Every year since 1979, ASAMM has conducted line-transect aerial surveys off the northern and western coasts of Alaska, in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas. A long-term dataset like this is extraordinary because it is both rare and ecologically invaluable. Exact survey dates and boundaries have varied over time, but the study goals, general survey area, and survey methods have remained remarkably similar. This year is particularly noteworthy because ASAMM will be extending its range to include Canadian waters in the eastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf during August to collect data for a new estimate of the abundance of the Western Arctic stock of bowhead whales. ASAMM is funded and co-managed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and conducted and co-managed by the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center.”
Click here to read the entire article.
