Identification Database
The Identification database, also referred to as the North Atlantic Right Whale Catalog, or “Catalog” for short, contains all photographed sightings of right whales since 1935. In addition to photographed sightings, the database now contains any record that can lead to an individual identification. This includes “sightings” with just a skin sample and no photographs since that whale can be individually identified by genotyping. It also includes one quality location per day from satellite tags attached to identified individuals. Research groups, whale watchers, and individual mariners from all along the eastern seaboard contributed these sightings. Photographed sightings are matched to whales in the identification database whenever possible so that individual animals can be monitored over time. Each record in the Identification database is of a single individual (i.e. a group of 3 whales will have 3 separate records with an association code linking the 3) and each record contains time, date location, observer, notes and behaviors.
The Sightings and Identification databases are periodically cross-referenced, so that individual identification data from the latter can be linked to sighting data from the former. For that reason, all sightings in the Identification database are eventually included in the Sightings database (with an approximate 1-year lag). Although the animals' identifications are not included in the Sightings database, the two databases can be linked on common fields.
The Sightings and Identification databases are periodically cross-referenced, so that individual identification data from the latter can be linked to sighting data from the former. For that reason, all sightings in the Identification database are eventually included in the Sightings database (with an approximate 1-year lag). Although the animals' identifications are not included in the Sightings database, the two databases can be linked on common fields.
