TY - RPRT
TI - Digital Aerial Wildlife Survey of BOEM Lease Area OCS-A 520 Annual Report: December 2019 to November 2020 
AU - Arundale, M
AU - Goulding, A
AU - Rogerson, K
AU - Glew St John, K
AU - Warford, S
AU - Jervis, L
AB - APEM and Normandeau were contracted by Equinor to provide a full year of digital aerial wildlife surveys of the Massachusetts Lease Area OCS-A 0520. Surveys were carried out on a monthly basis from December 2019 through November 2020, except for April, May, August and September, when two surveys per month were carried out in order to coincide with potential use of the area by roseate tern (Sterna dougallii).  The aims and objectives of the work were to assess the abundance and distribution of birds, marine mammals, sharks, rays, and turtles present in the Lease Area OCS-A 0520 over the course of a full year. Data from the surveys will provide the baseline information required for conducting impact assessments and are consistent with the survey guidelines for providing avian, marine mammal, and sea turtle information for renewable energy development on the OCS (BOEM, 2017; 2019).  The ‘Site’ referred to herein is comprised of the Lease Area OCS-A 0520 only, whilst the ‘Survey Area’ is comprised of the Site, plus a 2 km (c. 1 NM) buffer surrounding it with an approximately 4 km (c. 2 NM) buffer towards the northeast end. Images were captured using a grid-based survey design with a 1.5 cm ground sampling distance (GSD). Images were analyzed by APEM and quality assurance (QA) was undertaken by Normandeau.  This annual report summarizes the information collected following the completion of 16 monthly and / or bimonthly aerial digital surveys of the Survey Area between December 2019 and November 2020.  Other data sources (not collected by APEM on behalf of Equinor) available in the literature that may be relevant to the Survey Area are summarized in Section 3.  The following information is provided in Section 4 for the data collected on behalf of Equinor:• The number of surveys conducted;  • The dates, start and end times, and weather conditions;  • Survey and analysis methodology; and• Any health and safety notes.The following information is provided in Section 5:• The number of avian and marine megafauna species / taxonomic groups;• Maps showing the locations of birds and marine megafauna and actual survey route; and• Flight direction information. Abiotic observations, for example shipping information recorded visually from the aircraft or captured in the imagery, has been provided in Section 6.  Additionally, the locations of the vessels captured in the imagery are presented spatially within figures in Section 5. 
DA - 2021/04//
PY - 2021
SP - 329
PB - Normandeau Associates Inc
SN -  P15000019267
UR - https://remote.normandeau.com/aer_docs.php?pj=22
LA - English
KW - Birds
KW - Marine Mammals
KW - Reptiles
KW - Sea Turtles
ER -