Aerial surveys are flown December 01 through March 31 each year in the Southeast United States to detect North Atlantic right whales in their primary calving area. The purpose of the aerial surveys is to contribute to (in prioritized order): " Population monitoring via detection and identification of individual right whales including cow/calf pairs occurring in the Southeast United States. " Monitoring trends in human-related serious injuries and mortality. " Vessel-strike reduction. Given these objectives, we focused aerial surveys in areas where we expected the highest number of right whale detections. Additionally, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric and Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have agreed to implement the "Early Warning System" (EWS) -a system of aerial surveys and communications designed to provide mariners with information on whale locations. The goal of the EWS is vessel-whale collision mitigation. This report briefly summarizes results from the NOAA Fisheries-administered aerial surveys and the EWS during the 2015/2016 North Atlantic right whale calving season"--Introduction.

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)

Atlantic Coast (South Atlantic States)