In the summer of 1991, we conducted marine mammal surveys in the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and a small portion of the southwestern North Atlantic. A total of 193 hours of survey effort was conducted, and there were 60 marine mammal sightings. Species identified (number of sightings in parentheses) were: sperm whale Physeter catodon L. (6), Cuvier’s beaked whaleZiphius cavirostris G. Cuvier (1), short-finned pilot whale Globicephala macrorhynchus Gray (1), rough-toothed dolphin Steno bredanensis (Lesson) (1), bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu) (6), Atlantic spotted dolphin Stenella frontalis (G. Cuvier) (2), pantropical spotted dolphin S. aftenuata (Gray) (10), spinner dolphin S. longirostris (Gray) (1), and striped dolphin S. coeruleoalba (Meyen) (3). Distribution of sightings was largely related to sighting conditions, but there were concentrations of sightings in areas with high sea floor relief – in the Straits of Florida, the area west of Martinique, and along the Mexican Ridge.
Jefferson, T., and S. K. Lynn. 1994. Marine mammal sightings in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico, Summer 1991. Caribbean Journal of Science 30(1–2):83–89.