IMIS

These are the sightings of cetaceans found in Balabac Strait, Palawan, Philippines. The survey was carried out on May 3-14, 2006 using the line transect method. The survey vessel was a 20 m boat with a sighting platform 5 m above sea level. The survey covered 718 km of trackline in an area of 6,538 sq. km. Funding was provided by Conservation International- Philippines. The survey was carried out to characterize the cetacean fauna of Balabac Strait, Palawan, Philippines. Balabac Strait is one of the three Marine Biodiversity Conservarion Corridors in the Philippines delineated by Conservation International-Philippines. Information on the physico-chemical parameters such as sea surface temperature, salinity and total dissolved solids were also gathered. The observations of B. edeni could be B. omurai (Omura's whale). These two species occur in Philippine waters and are very difficult to tell apart. The observation for Stenella longirostris at 9:50 on 5/13/2006 is Stenella longirostris roseiventris. Effort data will be appended later.