Cetacean Monitoring undertaken during the Celtic Sea Herring Acoustic Survey (CSHAS) 2019

A cetacean survey during the annual Celtic Sea Herring Acoustic Survey (CSHAS), running from the 10th to the 28th of October 2019.

A total of 204 sightings, were recorded throughout the survey. This includes 145 primary sightings, 38 sightings recorded as auxiliary sightings, 20 sightings recorded as incidental sightings, and 1 re-sighting of previously encountered individuals. From the total 204 sightings, marine mammals accounted for 163 sightings. The marine mammal sightings included; 1 whale species, 1 dolphin species, 1 porpoise species, 1 seal species and a number of sightings which could not be identified to species level. The remaining 41 sightings consisted of other marine megafauna

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Theme Environment
Date released 2022-05-22
Date updated 2023-11-16
Dataset conforms to these standards The INSPIRE Directive or INSPIRE lays down a general framework for a Spatial Data Infrastructure (SDI) for the purposes of European Community environmental policies and policies or activities which may have an impact on the environment.
Rights notes {http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/,"Copyright Government of Ireland. This dataset was created by National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage. This copyright material is licensed for re-use under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",otherRestrictions}
Update frequency Other
Language English
Geographic coverage in GeoJSON format {"type":"Polygon","coordinates":[[[-11.353569030762, 49.219755545223],[-11.353569030762, 53.746122732723], [-5.245170593262, 53.746122732723], [-5.245170593262, 49.219755545223], [-11.353569030762, 49.219755545223]]]}
Spatial Reference Systems (SRS) WGS 84 (EPSG:4326)
Vertical Extent {"verticalDomainName": "EPSG Projection 5731 - Malin Head height", "minVerticalExtent": "0", "maxVerticalExtent": "1014"}
Provenance information Cetacean watches were conducted using a standard single platform line transect survey design while the vessel was travelling at a consistent speed and heading. When the vessel was stationary at oceanographic stations, cetacean watches were conducted using a standard single platform point sampling survey design. Visual watches were undertaken from the vessel’s crow’s nest, located 17m above sea level, during all daylight hours, when weather conditions permitted. During periods of unfavourable weather conditions, observations were carried out from the bridge (11m above sea level). The Cybertracker (http://www.cybertracker.org/) data collection software package (Version 3.501) was used to collect all positional, environmental and sightings data, and save it to a Microsoft Access database. Positional data was collected using a portable GPS receiver with a USB connection and recorded every 5 seconds. Each line transect was assigned a unique transect number, and a new transect was started anytime the vessel activity changed (i.e. changing from on-transect to inter-transect). Each subsequent sighting was also assigned to this unique transect number. Environmental data was timestamped and recorded with GPS data at the beginning and end of each line transect. Environmental data was recorded at least every 15-30 minutes, or sooner if there was a change in environmental conditions. Environmental data recorded included; wind speed, wind direction, sea state, swell, visibility, cloud cover and precipitation. All data entry was time stamped by Cybertracker and saved in the Access database. The distance of each sighting from the ship was estimated using a fixed interval range finder (Heinemann, 1981), while the bearing from the ship was estimated with an angle board. This data, along with data such as species identification, group size, composition, heading, sighting cues, surfacing interval, behaviour and any associations with birds or other cetaceans was also recorded on the time stamped Cybertracker sighting record page. Where species identification could not be confirmed, sightings were recorded at an appropriate taxonomic/confidence level Some data was amended to comply with GDPR legislation and open data publication guidelines.
Period of time covered (begin) 2019-10-10
Period of time covered (end) 2019-10-28