Digital Aerial Baseline Surveys of Marine Wildlife In Support of New York State Offshore Wind Energy Seasonal PAC Webinar #8 Spring 2018 Dial-in number: 352-327-3264 Access code: 173655
Introduction Greg Lampman, NYSERDA gregory.lampman@nyserda.ny.gov
Outline o Project Team o Winter Survey #8 Data Collection o Results of Winter Survey #7, and Comparison with previous surveys in 2016 and 2017 Birds Marine Mammals Sharks Deceased Mammals o Review of the Interim Fish Report o Overview of new features on public view ReMOTe o Participant discussion
Ann Pembroke Project Manager Stuart Clough Director APEM Stephanie McGovern Technical Director APEM Julia Robinson Willmott Technical Director Normandeau Data Collection David Campbell Image Analysis Simon Warford Data Management/ Reporting Survey Design Mark Rehfisch Preprocess Image ID QA/QC Karen Gilland Survey Execution John McCarthy (survey logistics) David Mullock (camera operator) Simon Warford Stephanie McGovern Stephen Lindsay Melinda Sweeny Laura Jervis Julia Robinson Willmott Mark Hayes Robert Kenney Julia Robinson Willmott Mark Rehfisch Project Team. Those on-call circled
Survey Timing Spring 2018. Survey #8 Seasonal Surveys Summer Fall Winter Spring Months (Purpose) July/August (fin, and humpback whales, turtles, shearwaters and gulls) October/November (northern gannet, red-throated loon, black-legged kittiwake, jaegers and skuas) February/March (beaked whales, alcids) April/May (right and sei whales, roseate tern, red phalarope) Sei Whale N A Right Whale Roseate Terns
Data collection
Survey The Spring survey was flown with the Shearwater III camera system. Camera performed well. The survey was targeted to capture data during April The survey started on 21 April and was completed on 26 April There were a total of 5 flying days to complete the survey
Survey Design The same flight plan as previous surveys was used. Flight plan is currently split between nearshore and offshore areas Access to the restricted area around JFK was granted so all survey lines across the OPA were captured at 1.5 cm
Survey Design
Weather and Survey Weather conditions were very favorable with only one weather down day encountered during the survey period Date (April 2018) April 21 April 22 April 23 April 24 April 26 Action 4 lines of the OPA were flown 8 lines of the OPA were flown 8 lines of the OPA were flown 8 lines of the OPA were flown 3 lines of the OPA were flown
Images Captured and Analysis Total images captured: OPA ~ 400,000 From this we anticipate analyzing: OPA ~ 320,000 To achieve 7% OPA coverage Total images screened so far: OPA ~ 0 Percentage of images screened: OPA ~ 0%
Results of Winter Data Collection
REMOTE https://remote.normandeau.com
Survey Timing Winter 2017/2018. Survey #7 Summer Fall Seasonal Surveys Months (Purpose) July/August (fin, and humpback whales, turtles, shearwaters and gulls) October/November (northern gannet, red-throated loon, black-legged kittiwake, jaegers and skuas) Winter Spring February/March (beaked whales, alcids) April/May (right and sei whales, roseate tern, red phalarope)
Target Extraction: Winter 2017-2018 Total Images Analyzed Blank Images Detected Number Sent for QA Total Percent Blank 320,107 315,434 31,604 98.54
Results 20% QC all animals & 100% QC Endangered Species Birds Marine mammals Turtles Cartilaginous and bony fish Also extracted: Fish shoals Boats and buoys
QC: Winter 2017-2018 Group Number of Images Number of Images for QC % Agreement Avian 11,218 2,244 100 Marine Mammals 1,082 219 99 Sharks 11 3 100 Total 12,311 2,465 99
Survey Comparison Winter 2016 (March 6 to April 3). Winter 2018 (Feb 18 to March 1) and Fall 2016 and 2017 (almost identical timing) Group # Individuals Winter 2016* # Individuals Winter 2017 Avian 20,540 11,218 Marine Mammals 1,580 1,082 Sharks 26 11 Large Bony Fish 15 9 Vessels 6 6 Fixed Structures 6 3 Group # Individuals Fall 2016* # Individuals Fall 2017 Avian 12,043 9,337 Marine Mammals 1,100 1,234 Turtle 38 13 Sharks 4 13 Ray 4 2 Large Bony Fish 168 118 Vessels 16 4 Fixed Structures 3 4 * Corrected for effort
Relative Abundance: All Orders Rel Abund (%) 2016-2017 WINTER Rel Abund (%) 2017-2018 WINTER Avian Mammal Turtle Shark Large Bony Fish Avian Mammal Shark Large Bony Fish
Avian
Relative Abundance: All Avian Groups Rel Abund (%) 2016-2017_WINTER Goose Duck Loon Grebe Fulmar Petrel Shearwater Storm-petrel Gannet Cormorant Shorebird Phalarope Auk Gull Rel Abund (%) 2017-2018_WINTER Swan Duck Loon Grebe Fulmar Gannet Shorebird Phalarope Skua Auk Gull
Shorebirds on Beach
Survey Comparison : Avian (Winter 2016-2017 and Winter 2017-2018) Group Winter 2016-2017* # Individuals Winter 2017-2018 # Individuals Fall 2016* # Individuals Fall 2017 # Individuals Goose 1 Swan 0 12 Duck 1,365 1,662 1,652 282 Loon 575 190 268 315 Grebe 8 3 0 Fulmar 48 705 3 60 Petrel 2 0 Shearwater 4 161 43 Gannet 4,040 831 2,891 757 Shorebird 1 4,026 45 1,993 Phalarope 229 1 1,525 3,017 Skua 0 2 1 1 Auk 8,790 650 78 109 Gull 5,405 3,136 5,348 2,526 Total Individuals 20,540 11,218 12,043 9,337 * Corrected for effort
Survey Comparison: Gulls (Winter and Fall 2016 and 2017-2018) Species Winter 2016-2017* Winter 2017-2018 Fall 2016* Fall 2017 Black-legged Kittiwake 9 10 226 371 Bonaparte s Gull 604 127 1,063 711 Little Gull 6 4 Laughing Gull 765 79 Ring-billed Gull 216 26 89 96 Herring Gull 3,432 1,777 2,239 929 Iceland Gull 7 2 1 Lesser Black-backed Gull 23 17 9 15 Glaucous Gull 1 Great Black-backed Gull 947 1,097 364 186 Species unknown - Large 23 40 16 38 Species unknown - Small 134 39 571 96 species unknown 6 1 1 4 * Corrected for effort
Survey Comparison: Ducks (Fall 2016,2017 and Winter 2017-2018) Species Winter 2016-2017* Winter 2017-2018 Fall 2016* Fall 2017 Gadwall 3 0 Lesser Scaup 7 King Eider 1 Common Eider 0 4 Surf Scoter 231 9 36 39 White-winged Scoter 342 132 19 1 Black Scoter 526 3 1,577 127 Scoter unid. 49 1,473 0 94 Long-tailed Duck 48 43 3 14 Bufflehead 106 1 5 0 Common Goldeneye 1 Red-breasted Merganser 0 2 species unknown 1 10 1 * Corrected for effort
Subsurface Animals: ID Success
ID Success Depth potentially obscures characters required for identification Clarity of water also affects identification Subsurface animals ranked Breaching Near surface Significantly submerged Definite Probable Possible Risso s Dolphins Significantly Submerged Probable Risso s Dolphin Risso s Dolphins
ID Success: Dolphins and Seals ID Success 67% Of unidentified, 82% were significantly submerged Species Number Harbor Seal Common Dolphin 504 Risso's Dolphin 57 Atlantic White-sided Dolphin 2 Striped Dolphin 90 Bottlenose Dolphin 29 Harbor Porpoise 27 Dolphin species unknown 354 Harbor Seal 2 Seal species unknown 3 Mammal species unknown 5 TOTAL 1,073 Common Dolphin
ID Success: Whales ID Success 78% Of 2 unidentified, 100% were significantly submerged Species Number Common Minke Whale 1 Fin Whale 2 Beaked Whale (unid.) 4 species unknown 2 Fin Whale Beaked Whale
Survey Comparisons
Survey Comparison: Mammals (Winter 2016-2017 and Winter 2017-2018) Species # Winter 2016-2017* # Winter 2017-2018 # Fall 2016* # Fall 2017 Seal 34 5 13 1 Whale 25 9 13 16 Dolphin 1,489 1,063 1,074 1,221 Unid. Mammal 32 5 5 Total 1,580 1,082 1,100 1,243 * Corrected for effort
Survey Comparison: Dolphins and Seals (Winter 2016-2017 and Winter 2017-2018) Species Winter 2016-2017* Winter 2017-2018 Gray Seal 3 Harbor Seal 1 2 Seal species unknown 30 3 Common Dolphin 556 504 Risso's Dolphin 48 57 Atlantic White-sided Dolphin 7 2 Rough-toothed Dolphin 1 Striped Dolphin 5 90 Common Bottlenose Dolphin 130 29 Harbor Porpoise 189 27 Dolphin species unknown 538 354 Mammal species unknown 32 5 * Corrected for effort
Survey Comparison: Whales (Winter 2016-2017 and Winter 2017-2018) Species # Winter 2016-2017* # Winter 2017-2018 North Atlantic Right Whale 4 Blue Whale 1 Common Minke Whale 7 1 Fin Whale 5 2 Humpback Whale 2 Beaked Whale (unid.) 1 4 species unknown 5 2 * Corrected for effort
Whale Locations
Whale Locations 2017-2018 Whale Species Unknown Common Minke Whale Fin Whale Beaked Whale
Whale Locations 2016-2017 N A Right Whale Fin Whale Whale Species Unknown Humpbacked Whale Common Minke Whale Beaked Whale Blue Whale
Survey Comparison: Sharks
Survey Comparison: Sharks Species Winter 2016-2017* Winter 2017-2018 Basking Shark 14 9 Blue Shark 2 2 Spurdog 2 species unknown 1 TOTAL 19 11 * Corrected for effort
Encounters of Deceased Mammals
Encounters of Deceased Mammals
Encounters of Deceased Mammals Humpback Whale
Bony Fish and Shoals: Overview of first year report
Large Bony Fish Identified Species # Individuals in Group # Individuals # Significantly Submerged Percent of Total Submerged Billfish 11 5 45.45% species unknown 11 Cobia 144 134 93.06% Cobia 144 Mahi-Mahi 136 68 50.00% Mahi-Mahi 136 Sunfish 624 164 26.28% Ocean Sunfish 566 117 20.67% Sharptail Sunfish 4 2 50.00% species unknown 54 45 83.33% Tuna 184 149 80.98% Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 164 148 90.24% species unknown 20 1 5.00% Not identified 466 466 133 28.54% Total 1,565 1,686 653 41.73%
Large Bony Fish Identified by Seasonal Survey Species # Summer 2016 (July) # Fall 2016 (November) # Winter 2016 (March) # Spring 2017 (May) Billfish 11 0 0 0 species unknown 11 0 0 0 Cobia 144 0 0 0 Cobia 144 0 0 0 Mahi-Mahi 134 0 0 2 Mahi-Mahi 134 0 0 2 Sunfish 147 167 11 299 Ocean Sunfish 115 164 8 279 Sharptail Sunfish 2 1 0 1 species unknown 30 2 3 19 Tuna 180 0 0 4 Atlantic Bluefin Tuna 160 0 0 4 species unknown 20 0 0 0 Not identified 103 18 5 340 Total 719 185 16 645
Plots of Large Bony Fish - excluding sunfish
Seasonal Distributions - Mahi-Mahi
Plots of Large Bony Fish - including sunfish
Seasonal Distributions - Sunfish
Fish Shoals Season # Fish Shoals Total Area (m 2 ) Summer 2016 (July) 3,948 188,112.08 Fall 2016 (November) 172 178,488.78 Winter 2016 (March) 1 13.53 Spring 2017 (May) 51 6,439 Total 4,172 373,053.40
Fish Shoals Season Mean Area (m 2 Min Area (m ) Max Area ) (m 2 ) Summer 2016 (July) 47.65 0.91 4,457.00 Fall 2016 (November) 1,037.73 4.17 8,651.18 Winter 2016 (March) 13.53 13.53 13.53 Spring 2017 (May) 126.25 8.00 1,211.00
Fish Shoal Hot Spots: Summer
Fish Shoal Hot Spots: Fall
Fish Shoal Hot Spots: Winter
Fish Shoal Hot Spots: Spring
Plans for further evaluations
ReMOTe
Thank You Discussion?