In November 2025, our team deployed the R/V Barber from Jacksonville, Florida to conduct offshore vessel surveys and visual species-identification trials of marine mammal and sea turtle species in the Jacksonville Shallow Water Training Range (JSWTR) in cooperation with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Division Newport. Our total study area in the Jacksonville Operating Area is 5,786 square kilometers, surrounding the JSWTR itself.
We spent two days offshore and recorded seven marine mammal sightings, all of which were either bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) or Atlantic spotted dolphins (Stenella frontalis). We collected over 700 photographic images of the dolphins, which we are now analyzing to determine if, and where, we may have seen some of these animals before. Additionally, we encountered and removed a derelict fishing net to reduce the potential entanglement risk marine animals.
This was our final JSWTR survey. It concludes a program of baseline research and monitoring that we have conducted since 2009, providing 17 years of aerial and vessel survey data. This research is a continuation of the original multi-institutional monitoring program that provided comprehensive information on the species composition, population identity, density, and baseline behavior of marine mammals and sea turtles present in U.S. Navy range complexes along the U.S. Atlantic Coast. Additionally, our survey work has supported the development of detection and classification algorithms for the M3R (Marine Mammal Monitoring on Navy Ranges) program.
