IMIS

From 13 July to 24 August, 1993, a part of a larger study, the Bering Sea was surveyed for killer whales (Orcinus orca) from the NOAA Glorita using line transect methodology. To provide adequate coverage throughout the area, the study was limited to areas of known killer whale concentrations. The vessel was 44.8 m (147 ft) long and had a bridge height of 8.8 m (29 feet). The objectives of this study were as follows: 1) Develop a photographic identification catalogue of each killer whale encountered, and its pod, to determine pod identity, distribution, and movements relative to annual survey effort, 2) Obtain minimum population estimated of killer whales in the southeastern Bering Sea, central/eastern Aleutian Islands, western Gulf of Alaska (including Prince William Sound), and southeastern Alaska, and 3) Establish baseline data for detecting annual changes in abundance.