2024 Annual report of a comprehensive assessment of marine mammal, marine turtle, and seabird abundance and spatial distribution in U.S. waters of the western North Atlantic Ocean : AMAPPS III

The Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) is a comprehensive multiagency research program in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean, from Maine to the Florida Keys. Its aims are to assess the abundance, distribution, ecology, and behavior of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds throughout the U.S. Atlantic and to place them in an ecosystem context. This information provides spatially explicit information in a format useful to marine resource managers. This information will also provide enhanced data to managers and other users by addressing data gaps that are needed to support conservation initiatives mandated under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).