3. Biologically Important Areas for Cetaceans Within U.S. Waters – Gulf of Mexico Region

Abstract

In this review, we merge existing published and unpublished information along with expert judgment to identify and support the delineation of 12 Biologically Important Areas (BIAs) in U.S. waters of the Gulf of Mexico for Bryde’s whales and bottlenose dolphins. BIAs are delineated for small and resident populations to enhance existing information already available to scientists, managers, policymakers, and the public. BIAs ranged in size from approximately 117 to over 23,000 km. BIAs are intended to provide synthesized information in a transparent format that can be readily used toward the analyses and planning under U.S. statutes that require the characterization and minimization of impacts of anthropogenic activities on marine mammals. BIAs are not intended to represent all important areas for consideration in planning processes; in particular, areas of high marine mammal density, typically identified based on a combination of systematic visual and/or acoustic detections coupled with quantitative modeling, are very important to consider, where available, in any assessment. To maintain their utility, Gulf of Mexico BIAs should be re-evaluated and revised, if necessary, as new information becomes available.