IMIS

Two ship surveys were performed simultaneously. The primary survey, using the 106 foot RV/ Abel-J, was from 22 July 1991 to 30 August 1991, starting and ending in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The study area, covering approximately 13,300 nm2, was from Port Clyde, Maine to St. John, New Brunswick over to the Nova Scotian coast, up to Liverpool, Nova Scotia, Canada. The supplementary survey, using the 48 foot MV/ Sneak Attack, was from 3 August to 22 August, 1991. Their study area was the inland bays from Penobscot Bay, Maine to Machais Bay, Maine, United States. Purpose The primary objectives were: 1) Estimate the abundance of harbor porpoises in the Gulf of Maine - Bay of Fundy - Nova Scotia area, and 2) Investigate if there are any spatial distribution patterns of the harbor porpoises, and if those patterns are correlated with water depth or harbor porpoise group size. Secondary objectives were: 1) Estimate the abundance and spatial distribution of other cetaceans, 2) Determine if harbor porpoise avoid this ship, and if so, at what distance, 3) Determine if there is a spatial distribution pattern of mother-calf pairs of harbor porpoise, 4) Compare the abundance estimate and spatial distribution of harbor porpoise as seen this year with that seen in previous years, 5) Investigate if inland bays can be surveyed using a rigid-hull inflatable boat as the observation platform in a line transect survey, and 6) Determine if Buckland's sighting procedure (1991), which is a line transect survey using both a primary and marking team, is a feasible procedure to estimate the abundance of harbor porpoise in the Bay of Fundy area.