Cascadia Research Collective

For This Proposal We Would Focus on Examining the Temporal Occurrence of Whales on Their Breeding Grounds. We Would Examine Two Metrics: 1) the Proportion of Whales Going to Key Feeding Areas Off the Us West Coast and Farther North, and 2) the Proportion of Whales in Mexico Matching to Whales Known to Go the Central America. These Results Would Be Compared Through the Winter Breeding Season in Mexico. While Initially Efforts Focused on Identifying the Spatial Separation Between the Mexico and Central America DPS', the Results Mentioned Above Indicate That Considering the Timing of Occurrence May Help in Making the Separation Between These. We Would Largely Rely on Existing Data Already Gathered That Can Help Address the Objectives of the Project Especially From the 2021 and 2022 Winter Seasons Where the Noaa Support Has Already Provided Our Best Sample Size of Whales From S Mexico and Central America. We Propose to Support Some Limited Field Effort in 2023 in Mexico to Specific