

NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) conduct research on marine mammals off the coasts of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California.
Research projects focus on ecology and behavior, population dynamics, life history, and status and trends. Research results assist NOAA and other agencies in making science-informed decisions for sound management of marine resources.
Bering, Beaufort, and Chukchi Seas, and Gulf of Alaska
May, August, September, October
NOAA, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), U.S. Navy, North Pacific Research Board (NPRB), Marine Mammal Commission
This project continues over a decade of passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals in the Alaskan high Arctic and Bering Sea. Long-term passive acoustic recorder moorings have been distributed throughout the main migratory pathways and in wintering and summering grounds of many Arctic and subarctic marine mammals. The sensors also monitor noise levels from anthropogenic sources. Most moorings are co- located with long-term oceanographic moorings. Collaborators include NOAA Pacific Marine Environmental Lab, NOAA Resource Assessment and Conservation Engineering, Cornell University, and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Catherine Berchok - Catherine.Berchok@noaa.gov
Cook Inlet
November 2020, March 2021, June 2021
NOAA, BOEM
Aerial surveys will be conducted to estimate winter distribution of belugas in November 2020 and March 2021. A survey to determine abundance and trend will be conducted in June 2021. Tracklines are flown along the entire coast north of Augustine Island and sawtooth tracklines cross the inlet. Observations will be compared to passive acoustic recordings obtained year-round at set locations within the inlet.
Kim Shelden - Kim.Shelden@noaa.gov
Cook Inlet
August – September
NOAA
Photogrammetry surveys will be conducted to estimate age classes and an index of beluga calf production in late August/ early September. A hexacopter uncrewed aircraft system equipped with a high-resolution camera will be used to photograph beluga groups. Individuals will be measured to provide blowhole to dorsal ridge lengths, and whales will be assigned to calf, juvenile, and adult age classes based on relative lengths.
Paul Wade - Paul.Wade@noaa.gov
Cook Inlet
August – September
NOAA
A boat-based biopsy survey will be conducted to provide information on the sex, genetics, diet, and hormonal status (for stress, pregnancy, sexual maturity, etc.) of individual beluga whales. In collaboration with GREMM scientists, blubber samples will be collected using a darting gun. Photographs of each biopsied whale, and associated whales, will be taken and analyzed to identify individuals, which will be matched to the existing Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Photo-ID Project catalog.
Paul Wade - Paul.Wade@noaa.gov
Cook Inlet
May – June, September – October
NOAA, BOEM, ADF&G
Passive acoustic recorders will be used in Cook Inlet to identify feeding grounds for the endangered beluga whale population and to characterize potential noise-related disturbance. Recordings will also identify year-round spatial habitat use by other cetaceans such as harbor and Dall's porpoises, and killer whales. This project will maintain thirteen acoustic mooring packages serviced twice per year.
Paul Wade - Paul.Wade@noaa.gov
Eastern Aleutian Islands and Western and Central Gulf of Alaska
July
NOAA
To estimate survival, reproductive rates, and movements of Steller sea lions, direct observations of sea lions will be made in the eastern Aleutian Islands and western and central Gulf of Alaska.
Tom Gelatt - Tom.Gelatt@noaa.gov
Western and Central Aleutian Islands
June – July
NOAA
To estimate survival, reproductive rates, and movements of Steller sea lions, direct and indirect (from remote camera installations) observations of sea lions will be made in the western and central Aleutian Islands west of Adak, Alaska. An uncrewed aerial system will be used to supplement manned aircraft aerial surveys to obtain sea lion counts for determining abundance and distribution. Steller sea lion pups will be captured and sampled for studies of condition and contaminants burden.
Tom Gelatt - Tom.Gelatt@noaa.gov
Aleutian Islands
June – July
NOAA
High-resolution aerial photographic surveys of Steller sea lions will be conducted using manned and uncrewed aircraft during the peak of the breeding season. Sea lion pups, juveniles, and adults hauled out on terrestrial sites will be surveyed throughout the eastern Aleutian Islands west of Samalga Pass using manned aircraft, while uncrewed aircraft associated with a research vessel will be used in the central and western Aleutian Islands. Time series of counts dating from the mid-1970s are used to track overall and regional trends in population abundance to monitor recovery of the endangered western population.
Tom Gelatt - Tom.Gelatt@noaa.gov
Pribilof Islands
August - November
NOAA
Previously tagged seals will be observed to collect information for demographic studies of survival and reproduction by seasonal workers on both islands. In late fall (Sept-Oct), a cohort of pups and adult females will also be tagged.
Tom Gelatt - Tom.Gelatt@noaa.gov
Pribilof Islands
July - August
NOAA
Counts will be conducted in early July of adult male fur seals on both Pribilof Islands. In August, a sample of pups will be temporarily marked and counted to provide an estimate of pup production. In the summer of 2021 test flights with uncrewed aircraft will also be tested as a tool for assessing population size.
Tom Gelatt - Tom.Gelatt@noaa.gov
Beaufort Sea (based out of Deadhorse and Utqiaġvik)
April - June
NOAA, USFWS, USGS
Multispectral (i.e., infrared, visual, ultraviolet) aerial surveys will be flown over the sea ice habitat of the southern Beaufort Sea. Imagery will be used to detect and classify the species of animals on the sea ice to estimate abundance for ice seals and polar bears. Imagery will also be used to improve deep learning algorithms to increase the efficiency and accuracy of the image processing and survey results. Survey flights will maintain a 30 mile buffer around the communities of Utqiaġvik, Wainwright, and Pt. Lay during spring whaling.
Peter Boveng - Peter.Boveng@noaa.gov
Western Aleutian Islands (Attu, Agattu, Alaid, Nizki, and Shemya Islands)
September
NOAA
A medium-range, fixed-wing uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) based at Eareckson Air Station, Shemya Island, will be used to survey Steller sea lion and harbor seal sites in the western Aleutian Islands. Our goals are to evaluate the feasibility of transitioning from manned to uncrewed aerial surveys of pinnipeds in remote parts of Alaska to reduce risks to NOAA personnel and aircraft, and to advance the application of beyond visual line-of-sight UAS operations in the United States.
Peter Boveng - Peter.Boveng@noaa.gov
St. Paul, St. George, Walrus and Otter islands
July – September
NOAA
Surveys for harbor seals will be conducted using a small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS) in the Pribilof Islands in order to develop an image-based, community approach to monitoring this isolated harbor seal stock. We will leverage UAS expertise and local knowledge from the Aleut Community of St. Paul Island to conduct the surveys. This project is part of our ongoing efforts to collaborate with local community partners and improve our understanding of harbor seals throughout the Pribilof Islands.
Peter Boveng - Peter.Boveng@noaa.gov
Glacial fjord and coastal habitats in Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, and Southeast Alaska
August, September
NOAA
Aerial photographic surveys will be conducted using manned aircraft to estimate the distribution and abundance of harbor seals in Alaska. We will conduct aerial surveys for harbor seals using a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft over glacial fjord and coastal habitats in Prince William Sound, Gulf of Alaska, and Southeast Alaska. These surveys will collect visual and infrared imagery of harbor seals resting on ice floes within glacial fjords and along the coastline of Alaska.
Peter Boveng - Peter.Boveng@noaa.gov