Report of Ecosystem Studies Conducted During the 1997 Vaquita Abundance Survey on the Research Vessell DAVID STARR JORDAN.

摘要

In 1997, the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) conducted a survey designed to estimate the abundance of vaquita, the Gulf of California harbor porpoise (Phocoena sinus). This was a joint project between the fisheries agencies of the United States and Mexico. Two research vessels were used for this survey. The NOAA ship David Starr Jordan (hereafter referred to as the Jordan) was the primary vessel and the Instituto Nacional de la Pesca of Mexico (INP) research vessel Buque de Investigacion Pesqueria XI (or BIPXI) assisted in shallower areas around the coastline of the Gulf. A small open boat was used from the BIPXI for very shallow waters in the northern Gulf. The seven-week cruise was conducted on the Jordan from August 04 to September 19, with additional concurrent work on the BIPXI throughout the cruise. This report describes the types of ecosystem data collected and sampling techniques used, and summarizes the data collected aboard the Jordan during the 1997 vaquita abundance survey. A paper regarding the vaquita abundance estimates was published by A. Jaramillo-Legorreta (1999).