Guam Shore Station Study
Authors: Deakos et al
Year published: 2016
File size: 3,303.10 KB
About
A shore-based platform, incorporating two high-powered 25 × 150-millimeter binoculars ("Big Eyes"), was evaluated as an alternative approach for surveying marine areas for protected species (marine mammals and sea turtles). During a pilot study at a test site on Oahu (278-meter [m] elevation), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) blows were visible through Big Eyes at 37 kilometers (km) away in Beaufort Sea State (BSS) 2. This suggests the approach could be effective at detecting baleen and sperm whales from long distances, priority species under the United States Department of the Navy's Marine Species Monitoring Program.
