Ecological acoustic recorders (EARs) have been deployed around the islands of Oahu and Kauai in a project sponsored by the Office of Naval Research. Detailed information on the EAR was published by Lammers et al. (2008). EARs have been deployed from February, 2009 to the present time around Oahu and from February, 2009 until April, 2011 around Kauai. From April, 2011 four EARs in the waters of Kauai have been deployed along the southern coast.

In August 2017, a marine mammal monitoring project was carried out combining boat-based field efforts and passive acoustic monitoring on and around the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). Commander, Pacific Fleet (PACFLT) funded five days of small-boat effort and the National Marine Fisheries Service funded an additional six days of effort. Information obtained was compared to previous sightings during small-boat effort by Cascadia Research Collective (CRC) off Kauai and Niihau, during 1,119 hr of effort (19,194 km) over nine different years from 2003 through 2016 (see Baird 2016)

As part of the long-term United States (U.S.) Navy-funded Marine Species Monitoring Program, from 5-13 August 2023, Cascadia Research Collective (CRC) carried out a vessel-based field effort in conjunction with passive acoustic monitoring undertaken by U.S. Navy (Navy) scientists on and around the underwater hydrophone ranges of the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF).

As part of a long-term U.S. Navy-funded marine mammal monitoring program, in August 2018 a combination of vessel-based field effort and passive acoustic monitoring was carried out on and around the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) Kaua‘i prior to a Submarine Commander Course scheduled for mid-August 2018. The purpose of the monitoring effort was to assess the spatial movement patterns and habitat use of cetaceans that are exposed to mid-frequency active sonar and how those patterns influence exposure and potentially responses.

As part of a long-term U.S. Navy-funded marine mammal monitoring program, in February 2016 a combining boat-based field effort and passive acoustic monitoring was carried out on and around the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF). The U.S. Navy funded five days of small-boat effort and the National Marine Fisheries Service funded an additional two days of effort. There were 859 kilometers (49 hours) of small-vessel survey effort over the course of the seven day project.

Here we combine results of field efforts funded through the U.S. Navy’s Living Marine Resources Program (through a three-year grant from the Naval Postgraduate School) as well as additional field time in the study area in 2011 and 2012 funded through the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and Commander, Pacific Fleet. We also utilize results from research efforts in the eastern main Hawaiian Islands, off Lāna‘i, Maui, and Hawai‘i Island, to help interpret results from photo-identification and satellite tagging.

Although considerable information is available on residency patterns and spatial use of odontocetes in the eastern half of the Hawai‘i Range Complex (HRC), much less is known about odontocetes in the western half of the HRC. In the second year of a three-year effort in the western main Hawaiian Islands we undertook surveys off Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau in July/August 2011, to examine spatial use and residency patterns using satellite tags, to provide visual verification of acoustically-detected odontocetes on the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), and to obtain individual identification photographs and biopsy samples for assessment of population identity and structure.

Movements and Spatial Use of Satellite‐tagged Odontocetes in the Western Main Hawaiian Islands: Results of Fieldwork Undertaken off O‘ahu in October 2010 and Kaua‘i in February 2011

In Hawaiian waters fishermen use the association between pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) and yellowfin tuna (Thunnus albacares) to catch tuna. Targeting fishing effort around or in spotted dolphin groups has the potential to lead to bycatch, and anecdotal reports of hooking dolphins exist. We recorded information on fishing vessels associated with spotted dolphin groups from 2008 through 2018 to inform discussions about potential bycatch. Associations occurred from Oʻahu to Hawaiʻi Island, but were most prevalent off Hawaiʻi Island, where 29.7 % of spotted dolphin groups had fishing vessels present

This report represents one facet of a collaborative multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report describes results of vessel surveys from a multi-institutional monitoring project intended to provide information on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in United States (U.S.) Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast.

This report summarizes the aerial survey effort conducted at the JAX site from 2009 through 2017. The monitoring project was intended to provide information on the species composition, density, and spatial distribution of marine mammals and sea turtles present in Navy’s JAX operating area (OPAREA), with particular focus on the intended site of the USWTR. These aerial surveys extended over nine years and yielded a very detailed seasonal picture of the occurrence, distribution and abundance of marine mammals and sea turtles in the region. This work also provides an important baseline against which future changes in the marine mammal and sea turtle fauna can be assessed.

A multi-institutional marine protected species monitoring program involving aerial, vessel and acoustic surveillance techniques was implemented at the proposed Undersea Warfare Training Range (USWTR) offshore of Jacksonville, Florida in January 2009. Visual surveys, in conjunction with acoustic sampling methods, have been conducted to investigate cetacean and sea turtle occurrence, distribution and abundance. Through December 2012 a total of 722 aerial tracklines (60687 km) were flown, resulting in 641 cetacean sightings, encompassing 8079 individuals. Tursiops truncatus and Stenella frontalis were the most frequently encountered, followed by Grampus griseus, Globicephala macrorhynchus, Balaenoptera acutorostrata, Steno bredanensis, Eubalaena glacialis, Megaptera novaeangliae, Physeter macrocephalus, and Kogia spp. Cetaceans were encountered 126 times during the 3403 km of vessel surveys, totaling 950 individuals. Sightings consisted of S. frontalis, T. truncatus, G. macrorhynchus, and G. griseus. Across all visual platforms, T. truncatus were encountered throughout the range, whereas S. frontalis, S. bredanensis, and E. glacialis were recorded exclusively in shelf waters. All other species were detected only in pelagic waters. The towed passive acoustic array was deployed during 21 vessel surveys, generating 24.2 hours of recordings, detecting all four sighted species. High frequency acoustic recording packages (HARPs) were deployed at two sites in the study area for long‐term passive acoustic monitoring. The HARP data have been analyzed for diel, seasonal, and interannual trends in cetacean occurrence. Surveys are scheduled to continue in order to asses long‐term habitat usage patterns in the USWTR.

Cetacean distribution and abundance are reported from the first systematic line-transect visual survey in the waters of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The survey was conducted during January–April 2007 following standard line-transect protocols. Trackline coverage (11,033 km) was dominated by high sea states (88.2%); however, 13 cetacean species were recorded.

Cetacean distribution and abundance are reported from the first systematic line-transect visual survey in the waters of Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). The survey was conducted during January–April 2007 following standard line-transect protocols.

The first phase to integrate the historical sum of these U.S. Navy-sponsored visual survey efforts for marine species monitoring in the HRC was prepared by Uyeyama (2011). This report represents the second phase of that effort and presents an overview of monitoring survey effort to date in the HRC. Available data from visual surveys performed by both contractor-led efforts and U.S. Navy in-house surveys was compiled and processed in order to: 1. Create a geographic information system (GIS)-based summation of all survey tracks that can be easily visualized. 2. Construct a geo-referenced database of sightings that can be queried by species, observer platform, Beaufort Sea State (BSS), season, or other sighting/survey variables. 3. Conduct an enhanced analysis of sighting success with respect to survey platform, field protocol, and environmental conditions. 4. Inform and adjust data collection procedures on future surveys as needed to reflect lessons learned from sighting data compilation efforts presented here. 5. Provide information to enhance informed management of marine protected species in the HRC and support the adaptive management process that is part of the ICM

This report presents a geographic information system (GIS)-based overview of the sighting records obtained during marine species monitoring effort (a total of 12 U.S. Pacific Fleet-funded surveys) to date in the MIRC. Also included are incidental marine mammal and sea turtle sightings made since 1965 on non-dedicated surveys in the region.

This report presents the results of the Guam and Saipan Marine Species Monitoring: Winter-Spring Survey conducted on the motor vessel (M/V) Sea Fantasy (Guam survey) and the M/V Super Emerald (Saipan survey) from 15 to 29 March 2012. The objective of the 2012 survey effort was to conduct baseline surveys to further document marine mammal and sea turtle occurrence in nearshore waters around the island of Guam and Saipan. The approach primarily followed opportunistic survey protocols used in recent surveys around Guam (Ligon et al. 2011; HDR 2011), which remained within 10 kilometers (km) or 5.4 nautical miles (NM) of the coastline.

The overall objective of the ICMP is to assimilate relevant data collected across U.S. Navy range complexes in order to answer questions pertaining to the impact of MFAS and explosives on marine mammals and sea turtles.

This report presents the results of marine mammal monitoring for the Koa Kai 11‐1 training event, and represents the continued monitoring efforts under the U.S. Navy’s Marine Species Monitoring Program. The objectives of the vessel‐based monitoring effort for Koa Kai 11‐1 consisted of the following:  Perform focal behavioral follows of marine mammals during the course of a training event involving ASW. Assess the occurrence, distribution, and behavior of target species (marine mammals and sea turtles) using a vessel‐based line transect survey within the HRC in waters within or adjacent to the area where ships were training. Locate individual false killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens), pygmy killer whales (Feresa attenuata), and short‐finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus) tagged by Dr. Robin Baird with Cascadia Research. Investigate the occurrence, distribution, and behavior of target species (marine mammals and sea turtles) using vessel‐based line transect survey in waters within or adjacent to the area where Navy ships were training

In August 2023 and February 2024, Cascadia Research Collective (CRC) conducted small boat-based satellite tagging of odontocetes at the Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), with acoustic support from Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Pacific and Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) Newport, directing the tagging boat towards locations of acoustic detections on the range. Seventeen days of tagging effort were conducted over the two years during the biannual Submarine Command Course (SCC) training events. In total 19 odontocetes were tagged: 14 short-finned pilot whales (Globicephala macrorhynchus), 3 common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus), 1 pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata), and 1 melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra). Additionally, 3 humpback whales (Megaptera noveangliae) were tagged in concert with this effort to test new tags, and that data was also analyzed herein

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) has been conducting visual surveys and long-term acoustic monitoring for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as part of an ongoing effort to develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region. Visual surveys have been conducted aboard small boats (7.6-12.2 m) since 2010 off the southernmost islands of the Mariana Archipelago (Guam, Rota, Saipan, Tinian, and Aguijan). These surveys include the collection of photographs for individual identification, tissue samples for genetic analysis of population structure, and the deployment of satellite tags for assessment of individual movements throughout the broader region

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) conducted surveys for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) (Figure 1) in an effort to further develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region and to gather photos and biopsy samples for population studies. This project was carried out in partnership with the U.S. Navy Commander, Pacific Fleet by a team of six primary personnel (Table 1).

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) has conducted visual surveys for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) since 2010 as part of an ongoing effort to develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region. During 24 August–9 September 2018, non-systematic visual surveys were conducted from small vessels off Saipan, Tinian, Aguijan, and Guam. A total of 1,168 km of trackline was surveyed and most was in Beaufort sea states of 2–4 (73%) and swell heights of 0–4 ft (71%). Twenty cetacean groups were encountered, resulting in the collection of 6,437 photos, 33 biopsy samples, and the deployment of 5 satellite tags.

The PIFSC CRP has conducted research on cetaceans in the Mariana Archipelago since 2010. A cooperative effort with funding from U.S. Navy Pacific Fleet and PIFSC has included summer and winter small-boat surveys off the southernmost islands (Saipan, Tinian, Aguijan, Rota, and Guam), development of photo-ID catalogs, analysis of collected tissue samples and satellite telemetry tag data, and shipboard visual and PAM surveys in portions of the EEZ in 2010 and 2015. PIFSC has maintained long-term PAM on moored recorders off Saipan and Tinian (since 2010) and off Pagan (since 2015) as part of the Pacific Islands Passive Acoustic Network (PIPAN). The goal of these efforts is to collect the data necessary to conduct population assessments for cetaceans within the Mariana Archipelago, including the determination of their occurrence, population structure and abundance, movements, distribution, and habitat use.

A long-term goal of this research is the evaluation of the population status of each cetacean stock. This includes producing population abundance estimates using mark-recapture techniques. The first step in the process is the creation of species photo-identification catalogs, which began during the summer of 2012

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) has been conducting visual surveys and long-term acoustic monitoring for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) as part of an ongoing effort to develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region. Visual surveys have been conducted aboard small boats (7.6-12.2 m) since 2010 off the southernmost islands of the Mariana Archipelago (Guam, Rota, Saipan, Tinian, and Aguijan). These surveys include the collection of photographs for individual identification, tissue samples for genetic analysis of population structure, and the deployment of satellite tags for assessment of individual movements throughout the broader region.

e Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) conducted surveys for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) in an effort to further develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region.1 This was the fourth year conducting cetacean surveys aboard small boats (7.6 – 12.2 m) around the southern Mariana Islands of Guam, Rota, Saipan, Tinian, and Aguijan (Fig. 1). This project was carried out in partnership with the Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet by a team of four primary personnel (Table 1). The collected data are being used to reveal the occurrence and distribution, stock structure, and movements of cetaceans within the study area.

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center’s (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) has been conducting visual surveys for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and collecting long-term passive acoustic monitoring data at two sites in CNMI as part of an ongoing effort to develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region. Visual surveys, conducted aboard small boats (7.6 – 12.2 m), have been ongoing since 2010 off the southern Mariana Islands of Guam, Rota, Saipan, Tinian, and Aguijan. T

an effort to further develop a record of cetacean occurrence in the region, as well as to gather photos and biopsy samples and deploy satellite tags for population studies, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center's (PIFSC) Cetacean Research Program (CRP) conducted surveys for cetaceans in the waters surrounding Guam and the CNМІ (Figure 1) during 2010-2014. This research was carried out in partnership with the U.S. Navy and is expected to continue through 2015. Detailed reports for each survey year were submitted to the Navy (Oleson and Hill 2010, Ligon et al. 2011, Hill et al. 2012, Hill et al. 2013).

Goals: Understand species occurrence and distribution. Determine the population structure and abundance of the those species. Study the movements and habitat use of individuals and populations. Methods: Small boat-based and ship-based surveys. Passive acoustic recordings (HARPs & towed array). Photo-ID, biopsy sampling, and satellite tagging.

In this assessment we incorporated published and unpublished information to delineate and score Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) for cetaceans in the Hawaiʻi region following standardized criteria. Twenty-six cetacean species have been documented in Hawaiʻi. Eleven odontocete species have distinct small populations resident to one or more island areas: rough-toothed dolphins, pantropical spotted dolphins, common bottlenose dolphins, spinner dolphins, short-finned pilot whales, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, melon-headed whales, Blainville’s beaked whales, Cuvier’s beaked whales, and dwarf sperm whales.

We have been conducting ongoing monthly aerial surveys off Cape Hatteras, NC, USA as part of the US Navy's marine species monitoring program in the Atlantic since 2011. We utilize line transect survey methods and extensively photograph all sightings to confirm species identification. Survey tracklines extend from shallow continental shelf waters, across the shelf break, to deep pelagic waters. From May 2011 through December 2014, 26,131km of trackline were flown, and 9,941 individual cetaceans were documented during 437 encounters. Nineteen species of cetaceans, including three mysticetes (Balaenoptera physalus, B. acutorostrata, Megaptera novaeangliae), five deep-divers (Physeter microcephalus, Kogia spp., Ziphius cavirostris, Mesoplodon europaeus, M. mirus), and eleven delphinids (Tursiops truncatus, Stenella frontalis, S. attenuate, S. coeruleoalba, S. clymene, S. longirostris, Steno bredanensis, Peponocephala electra, Lagenodelphis hosei, Grampus griseus and Globicephala macrorhynchus) were encountered. Similar surveys at the adjacent Onslow Bay, NC site yielded only 257 sightings (4,773 individuals representing nine species) despite nearly two times the survey effort flown (48,698km). At Cape Hatteras, minimum abundance estimates (i.e. uncorrected for availability or perception bias) were generated using spatio-temporal density surface modelling for species with sufficient detections. Predicted monthly abundance of T. truncatus varied between 170 (95% confidence interval; 0 - 17,100) and 3,450 (300 - 8,510). Monthly Stenella spp. abundance varied between 110 (0 - 360) and 1,720 (400 - 5,390). Monthly abundance of G. macrorhynchus varied between 10 (0 - 960) and 1,230 (220 - 4,300). These results demonstrate that the waters off Cape Hatteras support both higher diversity and density of cetaceans than adjacent waters along the US Atlantic coast. This site is included in the area of interest identified in six pending permits for large-scale, commercial seismic surveys. We suggest that the high density and diversity of cetaceans at this site warrants a special degree of concern by the US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

In 2015 field efforts were carried out at the U.S. Navy’s Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) during two time periods prior to the spring and fall Submarine Commander Courses (SCC). The tests were conducted under the auspice of the Living Marine Resources Program (LMR) and the Office of Naval Research (ONR). The first took place April 23rd – May 11th, and the second October 24th – November 6th. There was an additional test conducted from August 10th – 23rd when range activity was low and weather conditions are generally better, thus maximizing the opportunities for locating and tagging beaked whales to gather baseline data.

During 2007, the first large-scale survey for marine mammals and sea turtles -- the Mariana Islands Sea Turtle and Cetacean Survey (MISTCS) -- was conducted in the Navy’s Mariana Islands Range Complex (MIRC; DoN 2007, Fulling et al. 2011). The survey region encompassed approximately 584,800 square kilometers (km2) and was a rectangle bounded by 18° – 10° N and 142° –148° E. The survey used standard line-transect methodology and also included passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) using a towed hydrophone array system.

The United States (US) Navy uses lookouts (LOs) to detect objects in the water in the vicinity of ships. One class of object that LOs are trained to detect is marine mammals ; this forms an important component of the Navy’s procedures for marine mammal mitigation during training activities . As well as dedications of marine mammals by these LOs, detections of marine mammals may also be made by other members of the ship’s crew such as officers on the bridge (“watchstanders”) or sonar technicians, although acoustic detections require visual confirmation. We refer to these personnel together as the “lookout team” (LT). The primary goal of this project was to determine how effective LTs are at detecting marin

During a combined visual and acoustic cetacean abundance survey that took place in the waters around Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, delphinid whistles were frequently detected, but were not always coupled with visual observations. As a resu lt, many acoustic detections were not identified to spec ies. Very little data exist on the occurrence and distribution of delphinids in this study area, so the ability to acoustically identify species that were not sighted can provide important information regard ing the occurrence and distribution of delphinid species in these waters.

The objective of Mariana Islands Sea Turtle and Cetacean Survey (MISTCS) was to conduct the first systematic line-transect visual survey of the waters around Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands and generate density estimates for those species which had adequate data.

The purpose of this report is to compile previously unpublished sightings of marine mammals and sea turtles made in the Mariana Islands Range Complex. The original primary goal of this report was to compile such sightings incidentally made during Navy-funded field efforts or other Navy training. However during the course of compiling these data, additional incidental sightings made by other sources were encountered.