ERDDAP > info > WCRWhaleEntanglements

Grid DAP Data	Sub- set	Table DAP Data	Make A Graph	W M S	Source Data Files	Acces- sible	Title	Sum- mary	FGDC, ISO, Metadata	Back- ground Info	RSS	E mail	Institution	Dataset ID
	set	data	graph		files	public	National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) West Coast Region (WCR) Whale Entanglement Data, 1982-2022		F   I   M	background			NOAA/NMFS/WCR/PRD	WCRWhaleEntanglements

The Dataset's Variables and Attributes

Row Type	Variable Name	Attribute Name	Data Type	Value
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	cdm_data_type	String	Other
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	contributors	String	Whale entanglements reported to the NMFS WCR office from opportunistic sightings from a variety of sources including whale entanglement response network, whale watch vessels, sport fishing vessels, members of the public from on-water and shore, researchers, government organizations, and commercial fisheries observers.
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	Conventions	String	CF-1.6, ACDD-1.3, COARDS, NCCSV-1.2
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	coverage	String	California, Oregon, Washington, includes whale entanglements of US origin reported from Mexico and Canada
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	creator_email	String	lauren.saez at noaa.gov
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	creator_name	String	Lauren Saez
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	creator_url	String	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/region/west-coast
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	defaultGraphQuery	String	longitude,latitude,Year&.draw=markers&.marker=5|5&.color=0x000000&.colorBar=|||||
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	Easternmost_Easting	double	-105.27
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	geospatial_lat_max	double	57.4999
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	geospatial_lat_min	double	20.61
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	geospatial_lat_units	String	degrees_north
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	geospatial_lon_max	double	-105.27
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	geospatial_lon_min	double	-134.5677
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	geospatial_lon_units	String	degrees_east
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	infoUrl	String	https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/large-whale-entanglements-us-west-coast-1982-2017
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	institution	String	NOAA/NMFS/WCR/PRD
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	license	String	The data may be used and redistributed for free but is not intended for legal use, since it may contain inaccuracies. Neither the data Contributor, ERD, NOAA, nor the United States Government, nor any of their employees or contractors, makes any warranty, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, or assumes any legal liability for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness, of this information.
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	Northernmost_Northing	double	57.4999
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	publisher_email	String	Lynn.Dewitt at noaa.gov
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	source	String	NMFS WCR Whale Entanglement Response (ERD) Database
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	sourceUrl	String	(local files)
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	Southernmost_Northing	double	20.61
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	standard_name_vocabulary	String	CF Standard Name Table v70
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	subsetVariables	String	Common_Name,Report_County,State,Alive_Dead,Entanglement_Type,Entanglement_Fishery,Entanglement_Fishery_Code
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	summary	String	Publishing U.S. West Coast whale entanglement data from 1982-2019. Dataset included as an appendix to the NMFS Technical Memorandum Large whale entanglements off the U.S. West Coast, from 1982-2017 (Saez, et. al., 2020) and updated to include the published 2018 and 2019 whale entanglement report data. Updated to reflect an entanglement data review post-publication in 2020-2022.
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	time_coverage_end	String	2024-12-01T00:00:00Z
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	time_coverage_start	String	1982-03-01T00:00:00Z
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	title	String	National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) West Coast Region (WCR) Whale Entanglement Data, 1982-2022
attribute	NC_GLOBAL	Westernmost_Easting	double	-134.5677
variable	time		double
attribute	time	_CoordinateAxisType	String	Time
attribute	time	actual_range	double	3.837888E8, 1.7330112E9
attribute	time	axis	String	T
attribute	time	description	String	The year and month of the first reported observation of the entangled whale. Any subsequent sightings or dates that actions took place (e.g., a disentanglement response) are also included in the database and listed by corresponding date. All information is recorded, but linked to the original date of the first observation
attribute	time	ioos_category	String	Time
attribute	time	long_name	String	Time
attribute	time	standard_name	String	time
attribute	time	time_origin	String	01-JAN-1970 00:00:00
attribute	time	units	String	seconds since 1970-01-01T00:00:00Z
variable	latitude		float
attribute	latitude	_CoordinateAxisType	String	Lat
attribute	latitude	actual_range	float	20.61, 57.4999
attribute	latitude	axis	String	Y
attribute	latitude	ioos_category	String	Location
attribute	latitude	long_name	String	Latitude
attribute	latitude	standard_name	String	latitude
attribute	latitude	units	String	degrees_north
variable	longitude		float
attribute	longitude	_CoordinateAxisType	String	Lon
attribute	longitude	actual_range	float	-134.5677, -105.27
attribute	longitude	axis	String	X
attribute	longitude	ioos_category	String	Location
attribute	longitude	long_name	String	Longitude
attribute	longitude	standard_name	String	longitude
attribute	longitude	units	String	degrees_east
variable	CaseID		String
attribute	CaseID	description	String	The initial identification number assigned to the case. The Case ID Number should be assigned by a NMFS Regional Stranding Coordinator. The format is as follows YYYYMMDDGs. Four digit year, two digit month, two digit day, followed by a two letter code for the scientific name, Genus species. Scientific name codes are: Ba=Minke, Bb=Sei, Bm=Blue, Bp=Fin, Er=Gray, Mn=Humpback, Oo=Killer, and Pm=Sperm and Uk=Unknown whale.
attribute	CaseID	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	CaseID	long_name	String	Case ID
variable	Year		int
attribute	Year	_FillValue	int	2147483647
attribute	Year	actual_range	int	1982, 2024
attribute	Year	description	String	The year of the first reported observation of the entangled whale. Any subsequent sightings or dates that actions took place (e.g., a disentanglement response) are also included in the database and listed by corresponding date. All information is recorded, but linked to the original date of the first observation
attribute	Year	ioos_category	String	Time
attribute	Year	long_name	String	Year
variable	Common_Name		String
attribute	Common_Name	description	String	Species identification (ID) initially relies on information provided by the reporting party. When the reporting party is able to provide photos or videos, this increases the Review Team's ability to confirm or later modify the initial species ID, as appropriate. For those reports where the entangled whale cannot be identified to species or the initial report is considered unreliable, it is recorded as unidentified in the database. In some cases, when the species ID was initially considered an "unidentified" whale by the reporting party, the Review Team was able to confirm the whale species from photos or videos associated with the report, or from a resight. The Review Team's decision-making process to confirm species ID is included in the record.
attribute	Common_Name	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Common_Name	long_name	String	Common Name
attribute	Common_Name	units	String	km
variable	Report_County		String
attribute	Report_County	description	String	County nearest the position where the entangled animal was first sighted. If offshore the county is determined by nearest landfall due east
attribute	Report_County	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Report_County	long_name	String	Report County
variable	State		String
attribute	State	description	String	State nearest the position where the entangled animal was first sighted.
attribute	State	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	State	long_name	String	State
variable	Alive_Dead		String
attribute	Alive_Dead	description	String	This records if the entangled whale is initially reported as being alive or dead.
attribute	Alive_Dead	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Alive_Dead	long_name	String	Alive or Dead
variable	Entanglement_Type		String
attribute	Entanglement_Type	description	String	The identification of the entangling gear or the determination that the entangling gear came from a specific fishery relies on information and any documentation provided by the reporting party and/or responders to the NMFW WCR. This includes photographs, video, or the gear retrieved off the animal. Along the U.S. West Coast, certain fisheries have gear marking requirements that are put forth under State and Federal regulations, as well as other characteristics that may be identifiable (see Fixed Gear Guide; appendix in Saez et. al., 2013). NMFS works with State, Federal, tribal fishery managers, and other experts to identify and verify that the entangling gear is accurately assigned to a specific fishery. Because NMFS fishery observers are assigned to a specific fishery, any reports provided by them is assigned to that specific fishery. If a fisherman self-reports an entangled marine mammal, typically reported as bycatch, that report is assigned to the fisherman's specific fishery. Fishermen are required to self-report within 48 hours of returning to port, only if the marine mammal was injured or killed. If the entangling gear could not be identified or assigned to a specific fishery, it was assigned as unknown. For example, when the reporting party used only the term "line" to describe the entangling gear, the Review Team used a conservative approach and assigned the entangling gear as unknown, because it could be from a pot/trap, net, or other fishing source (e.g., mooring line). When netting was described/documented on a confirmed entanglement report, it was coded in general as a "Net" entanglement in the database. The Review Team determined that the likelihood for a reporting party to accurately identify netting as the correct entangling gear is higher due to its appearance than other types of gear. Reporting party gear type identification is often speculative (e.g. based solely on visible floats and/or line) and is categorized as unconfirmed unless there is additional conclusive information. All reports are ultimately categorized on a case-by-case basis when making these assessments.
attribute	Entanglement_Type	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Entanglement_Type	long_name	String	Entanglement Type
variable	Entanglement_Fishery		String
attribute	Entanglement_Fishery	description	String	The entangling material has been identified or described with enough information to characterize as fishery origin. Can include general fishery type and/or more specific fishery ID. Examples include Oregon Dungeness crab pot, California lobster pot, gillnet or Unknown.
attribute	Entanglement_Fishery	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Entanglement_Fishery	long_name	String	Entanglement Fishery
variable	Entanglement_Fishery_Code		String
attribute	Entanglement_Fishery_Code	description	String	The entangling material has been identified or described with enough information to characterize as fishery origin. Fisheries were coded as: Dcc= Dungeness crab commercial, Dcr= Dungeness crab recreational, Dgn= Drift gillnet, Gn= Gillnet, Lb= Lobster, Nt= Netting, Rc=Rock crab, Sb= Sablefish pot, St= Salmon troll, Sp= Spot prawn, Spr= Spot prawn recreational, Un= Unknown, Ot= Other (e.g.., cables, weather buoys)
attribute	Entanglement_Fishery_Code	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Entanglement_Fishery_Code	long_name	String	Entanglement Fishery Code
variable	Entanglement_Response		String
attribute	Entanglement_Response	description	String	Code for entanglement response are: Yes (Y), No (N), or Dead. Any attempt at intervention, including measures attempted by a trained disentanglement team1, and includes searching for the entangled whale, even if the whale is not found. Entanglement reports of live free-swimming and/or anchored entangled whales are classified by the level of entanglement response effort. Classifications include: a) whale not found after initial sighting; b) whale is re-sighted (no additional entanglement evaluation is possible, so disentanglement efforts are not initiated); c) stand-down (entanglement evaluated, but disentanglement efforts are not initiated for a variety of reasons); d) partial release from gear (disentanglement effort is conducted by a trained team, some gear is removed, but some gear remains on animal after team's release efforts; gear can be removed either directly by trained response team or by animal itself or a combination); e) full release from gear (disentanglement effort is conducted by trained team and all gear is removed from the animal); and whale self-release (entanglement response team is on-the-water and there is no intervention, but animal self-releases or trained observer reports the animal "throwing" the gear and self-releasing).
attribute	Entanglement_Response	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Entanglement_Response	long_name	String	Entanglement Response
variable	Entanglement_Removed		String
attribute	Entanglement_Removed	description	String	Codes for entanglement removed are: F, SR-F, P, SR-P, N, Dead: The intervention resulted in successful entanglement removal (F), partial removal (P), or removal was unsuccessful (N). This could also include self-release cases (SR-F, self-release full; SR-P, self-release partial). If the animal was reported as dead, entanglement response was not necessary and was coded as dead.
attribute	Entanglement_Removed	ioos_category	String	Other
attribute	Entanglement_Removed	long_name	String	Entanglement Removed

The information in the table above is also available in other file formats (.csv, .htmlTable, .itx, .json, .jsonlCSV1, .jsonlCSV, .jsonlKVP, .mat, .nc, .nccsv, .tsv, .xhtml) via a RESTful web service.