ICES Biodiversity - Cetaceans (JCDP)

Marine mammals abundance and distribution

Cetaceans (whales, dolphins, and porpoises) data to understand their abundance and distribution This portal assembles at-sea effort-related data collected via ship-based or aerial methods, collated under the Joint Cetacean Database Programme (JCDP).

The JCDP aims to streamline the process of accessing and utilising these data by collating the existing and forthcoming cetacean evidence base into a single resource. These data have a wide range of applications and have the potential to support analyses at a range of spatial and temporal scales. The JCDP database hosted by ICES stomach content database includes data from aerial and ship-based surveys from the Arctic waters, Greater North Sea, Northeast, Celtic seas and Bay of Biscay. Data from 74 distinct surveys are published here - Cornwall Wildlife Trust Marine Megafauna Ferry surveys~ 2010-2013, SCANS (Small cetaceans in the European Atlantic and North Sea)-94, SCANS-II and SCANS-III- spanning over the years 1994, 2005, 2009-2013 and 2016. The data are organised at an effort level (effort is a specific time interval within a survey, dedicated to the sightings of marine mammals), and sightings of different taxonomic groups are reported as occurrences. 5411 occurrences of marine mammals and a few other species are reported.

Data and resources

Additional information

Temporal extent	1994-01-01 – ongoing
Date (creation)	2024-08-13
Date (publication)	2024-08-13
Status	onGoing
Update frequency	asNeeded
Metadata language	en
License	Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
Source metadata	ISO 19115 XML
Last updated	2026-11-04
Created	2026-11-04
API	package_show