DFO Maritimes Region Cetacean Sightings

Description :

 This is an OBIS formatted version of the Fisheries and Oceans Canada Maritimes Region database for visual sightings of cetaceans (e.g. whales, dolphins and porpoises) and other large pelagic animals (e.g. fish and turtles) mostly from the Scotian Shelf/Bay of Fundy portions of Canada's east coast. The collectors of these sightings are diverse (e.g. NGO researchers, fisheries observers, private consultants, etc), mostly on-board ship and mostly collected since the late 1990s.

The horizontal resolution of the data (e.g. distance between sightings) varies by a vast amount - just metres in some areas like the Bay of Fundy, and tens to thousands of kilometers elsewhere, like off northern Labrador. A small portion of the database (e.g. DFO Survey) are standardized marine mammal survey data, where a line transect sightings survey is conducted and sightings effort is logged. Only these survey data allow for the calculation of Sightings Per Unit Effort and the use of Distance Sampling methods, leading to a statistically-based, unbiased abundance estimate. This information is not provided in this resource.

This resource contains presence information only. No absences are recorded.

The design and structure of the main project database is consistent with other DFO databases and with the University of Rhode Island (URI) whale sightings database. Departures from the URI standard (mainly species and gear codes) are easily translated by users of either database.

This database is a compilation of a number of datasets, most of the data being gathered opportunistically. More detailed information on the individual sightings, human interactions and animal behaviour are available from the source database and the resource creator should be contacted.

Link GBIF portal : https://www.gbif.org/dataset/899c4252-f6d0-4b85-a966-ac40d86c06af
Le jeu de données diffusé est issu d'un traitement automatique appliqué sur les données issues du GBIF. Les règles de l'INPN et plus globalement du SINP (en termes de périmètre et de contrôle sur les données) peuvent impliquer que l'ensemble des données du jeu source ne soit pas restitué dans le SINP.
 The disseminated dataset stems from an automatic treatment applied to data coming from GBIF. INPN rules, and more generally SINP rules (in terms of perimeter and data quality controls) may imply that the whole of the source dataset might not be provided on the SINP platform. 

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Publication dates :

First diffusion : 26/09/2019 

Last update : 14/03/2023