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These data represent marine waters used for wildlife viewing at sea, which includes boat-based wildlife viewing at sea, usually on a commercial vessel. Excludes incidental wildlife viewing from shore or while at sea pursuing other uses.
Wildlife viewing at sea has shown some increase in recent years with increase in eco-tourism. Use tends to be seasonal, following seabird and whale migration patterns. Use is most dominant out of Westport and Neah Bay, but there are also wildlife boat tours out of Port Angeles, Ilwaco and LaPush. Tribal uses of the ocean were not mapped explicitly, though tribal chairs and/or their designated representatives were formally invited by BOEM to participate in the mapping workshops. The sharing of tribal use information was dependent upon each tribe’s determination of whether the mapping workshops were an appropriate forum for sharing such information. Any tribal use information shared during the workshops was incorporated into the defined use categories. Thus, the atlas data and map products do not explicitly depict tribal use. |