Description: Seabird sightings data for the offshore planning region were extracted by NOAA NCCOS from the Manomet Bird Observatory’s (MBO, now the Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, or MCCS) Cetacean and Seabird Assessment Program (CSAP) database and span from 1980 to 1988. During these surveys a small number of expert observers were placed on research vessels undertaking a wide variety of work. Seabirds were identified to the most specific taxonomic level possible, usually species, and counted within a fixed strip width of 300 m at one side of a ship as it traveled on a straight course, at a constant speed (generally 8-12 knots). Observations were separated by season, and for each species or group sighting record in each season, the number of individuals of that species observed during the timed survey was divided by the corresponding survey tract area to yield an index of relative abundance that was standardized by both time and area, resulting in SPUE represented as sightings per 15 minutes per sq. km of transect footprint.
Copyright Text: NOAA NCCOS CCMA credits these people for deriving this dataset: Menza, C., B.P. Kinlan, D.S. Dorfman, M. Poti and C. Caldow