Major Achievements

A maiden multispecies cetacean survey was conducted onboard FORV Sagar Sampada from 15th to 18th December, 2017, off Kochi as part of the ongoing bilateral collaboration between National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA and Ministry of Earth Sciences, India. Sightings of marine mammals were carried out using two 25 x 150 long-range binoculars or “Big-Eyes” positioned on either side (port and starboard) of the ship’s flying bridge following a line-transect method. A total of 12 cetaceans were recorded which is not only the highest record per unit efforts, but also included several species viz. Stenella longirostris (spinner dolphin), Stenella attenuata (pantropical spotted dolphin), Grampus griseus (Risso’s dolphins), Globicephala macrorynchus(pilot whales), and Balaenoptera edeni/Balaenoptera omurai (Bryde’s whales/Omura whale), Tursiops sp. (bottlenose dolphin).