Research Technical Report

Cetacean Survey Report off Central California Aboard the NOAA Ship McArthur II

Whitaker, K. (October 2010)

Naval Postgraduate School, Technical Report, 22pp.

INTRODUCTION (partial)

The NOAA Ship McArthur II was the perfect stage for conducting the July 2010 cetacean survey. The flying bridge has an excellent platform for observing and documenting the distributions and diversity of marine mammals off the central California Pacific Coast. Potentially, there are more than 30 species of marine mammals, and 4 species of marine turtles that inhabit these waters. The survey began on 12 July 2010, and was completed on 20 July 2010, departing from San Francisco Bay and concluding in Moss Landing, California.