Stellwagen Bank Monitoring Inventory

The monitoring projects in the following inventory take place in or around Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Projects are conducted by either Sanctuary staff or by our partners. Summary information is presented for each.

For more information about the monitoring activities at Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, please click here, and review the Sanctuary Condition Report.

Contact the research coordinator at the Sanctuary for additional information.

Commercial Shipping

Lead	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Monitor the amount, speed and travel path of commercial shipping transiting the sanctuary.

Method

Vessel transit monitoring is conducted using the Automatic Information System (AIS).

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	2004 - present	Continuous (real-time)

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/science/tss.html
Partners	Massachusetts Port Authority, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (North East Fishery Science Center), United States Coast Guard, International Fund for Animal Welfare
Keyword(s)	cetaceans, vessel traffic

Baleen Whale Entanglement

Lead	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Monitor the number of entangled baleen whales reported from within the sanctuary.

Method

Reports to SBNMS are used to assess and track entanglement numbers.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	1980 - present	Continuous

Links	http://www.nero.noaa.gov/whaletrp/plan/disent
Partners	Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (North East Fishery Science Center and North East Regional Office)
Keyword(s)	cetaceans

Baleen Ship Strikes to Baleen Whales

Lead	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Monitor the number of baleen whale strikes reported from within and around the sanctuary.

Method

Voluntary reports to SBNMS are used to assess ship strike numbers.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	1980 - present	Continuous

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/science/standardized_survey.html
Partners	NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (North East Fishery Science Center and North East Regional Office)
Keyword(s)	cetaceans

NOAA Data Buoy

Lead	NOAA National Data Buoy Center
Objective	Real-time monitoring of meteorological and oceanographic parameters.

Method

Automated buoy collects continuous data of oceanographic and meteorological parameters.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	2001 - present	Continuous (real-time)

Links	http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=44029
Partners	Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Keyword(s)	real time, ocean observing, data buoy

Northeast Regional Association for Coastal and Ocean Observing (NERACOOS)

Lead	Gulf of Maine Research Institute
Objective	Real-time monitoring of meteorological and oceanographic parameters

Method

Automated buoy collects continuous data of oceanographic and meteorological parameters.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	1980 - present	Continuous

Links	Information Not Available
Partners	Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System, Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, Gulf of Maine Ocean Data Partnership, Open Geospatial Consortium, Alliance for Coastal Technologies, Southeastern Universities Research Association Coastal Ocean Observing and Prediction
Keyword(s)	GMOOS, NERACOOS, ocean observing, real time

Commercial Fish Sizes

Lead	NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
Objective	Monitor the maximum length of commercial fish species represented in NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service groundfish survey database for the area of the SBNMS.

Method

Service trawl surveys are used to collect samples and assess maximum lengths.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	1960 - present	Annual

Links	http://spo.nmfs.noaa.gov
Partners	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Keyword(s)	groundfish, trawl surveys

Passive Acoustic Monitoring

Lead	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Assess ocean background noise at different frequencies in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, characterize the noise, and understand the acoustic environment experienced and created by vocally-active animals in the SBNMS.

Method

Deployment of marine autonomous recording units (MARUs) to record low-frequency underwater sound (10 to 1000 Hz).

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	1996 - present	Continuous (real-time)

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/science/passive_acoustics.html/
Partners	NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (Northeast Fisheries Science Center), Cornell University
Keyword(s)	cetaceans, human use, acoustics

SBNMS Water Quality

Lead	Massachusetts Water Resources Authority
Objective	Monitor key organic, inorganic and physical properties of the water column in the SBNMS.

Method

Physical properties of the water column were assessed using conductivity, temperature, and depth sensor (CTD), plankton net, and rosette sampler.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Inactive	2001-2009	Twice per Year

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/science/monitoringprograms.html/
Partners	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Keyword(s)	contaminants, water quality, organic, inorganic

Marine Mammal Database

Lead	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Monitor the annual diversity and abundance of cetaceans in the SBNMS.

Method

Visual surveys from vessel(s) transiting sanctuary.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Inactive	1979-2008	Multiple times per year

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/science/standardized_survey.html
Partners	Whale Center of New England, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies
Keyword(s)	cetaceans, whales

Habitat Use

Lead	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Monitor the temporal and spatial patterns of human and marine mammal use of the sanctuary.

Method

Line transect with latitude and longitude calculated for each sighting of habitat use.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Inactive	1994-present	Monthly

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/science/standardized_survey.html
Partners	Not Applicable
Keyword(s)	cetaceans, human use

Commercial Fisheries

Lead	NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
Objective	Monitor commercial fishing vessels and activities occurring within the SBNMS. Data include pounds landed and value by species and gear-type (fish) and number of vessels by port of registry and port of landing (vessels).

Method

Vessel trip reports to NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service are used to assess fisheries within the SBNMS.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	1996 -present	Continuous

Links	Not Applicable
Partners	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Keyword(s)	fish, human use

Acoustic Tagging

Lead	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Objective	Use acoustic recording tags (DTAGs) and data visualization software (GeoZUI4D and TrackPlot) to provide fine-scaled data on the underwater behavior of whales.

Method

Attach acoustic tags to whales via suction from a boat with a long pole. Data collected from tag is then transmitted wireless via satellite when whale surfaces.

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	2000 -present	Annual (Summer)

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/science/DTAG.html
Partners	Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, University of New Hampshire, Duke University, University of Hawaii, Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies, Whale Center of New England
Keyword(s)	cetaceans, whales, acoustics

Historical Ecology

Lead	Andrew Rosenberg (University of New Hampshire)
Objective	Historic documents are analyzed to provide information on ecosystem status and resources in centuries past in the sanctuary.

Method

Data are extracted from existing historical sources (ship logs, landing records, etc.)

Status	Duration	Frequency
Completed	2010	One Year

Links	http://stellwagen.noaa.gov/management/fmp/pdfs/sbnms_fmp_4_res_state.pdf
Partners	Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, University of New Hampshire
Keyword(s)	ecosystem status, historical ecology

Stellwagen Sanctuary Seabird Stewards Program (S4)

Lead

Anne-Marie Runfola

Objective

Over 100 citizen scientists assist sanctuary and Mass Audubon staff in collecting data with the goals to: systematically collect baseline data on seabirds within sanctuary boundaries to compare populations over time; educate the public about seabirds and connect residents with their sanctuary; and train a group of observers to join our scientists in this groundbreaking project. The resulting data will be used to compare relative abundance of seabirds over time--to help us understand populations within the sanctuary and their possible impacts on local ecosystems and as a barometer for other changes in the environment.

Method

Standardized and non-standardized shipboard survey

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	2011 to present	Weekly from May - October, and quarterly for standardized surveys on Auk

Links	Information Not Available
Partners	Massachusetts Audubon Society
Keyword(s)	seabirds, survey, habitat use, relative abundance

Whale Watching Data Collection in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Lead

Michael Thompson

Objective

Volunteers from the Coast Guard Auxiliary are trained by sanctuary staff to collect data from whale watching vessels operating in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Volunteers map the path of the cruise with a GPS unit and make observations regarding the behaviors and sightings of marine mammals and other vessels encountered while on the cruise. In addition, they report violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, entanglements and other issues. They send GPS tracks and data to sanctuary staff for compilation and analysis. These data have been used for the Mass Ocean Plan Cumulative Impacts Assessment projects and Ecosystem Services and acoustic modeling of the sanctuary. This project allows retired Coast Guard members to maintain a presence on the water, while providing data that the sanctuary could not obtain otherwise.

Method

Shipboard survey

Status	Duration	Frequency
Active	2004 to present	multiple days per week; June - September

Links	Information Not Available
Partners	US Coast Guard; US the Coast Guard Auxiliary
Keyword(s)	marine mammals, vessels, trackline