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Cetacean Survey Team Update
Bottlenose dolphins emerge from the swell approximately 30 km NE of French Frigate Shoals. Credit: Andrea Bendlin, Permit: PIFSC 15240
The Papahānaumokuākea Associated Cetacean Ecology Survey (PACES) got underway on 7 May 2013 aboard the NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette. Led by NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, the PACES team consists of 13 scientists who are carrying out six operations to collect data on the abundance, distribution, stock structure, and habitat of cetaceans in Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM). These operations include visual observations, acoustic monitoring, photo-identification, biopsy sampling, small boat surveys, and oceanography. The team is particularly interested in learning more about the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands stock of false killer whales, as well as other species that likely also have discrete stocks within the Monument.
For more information, see: