Most cetacean species are very mobile, they can travel tens of kilometers per day and are often characterized by very large ranges of distribution. Therefore, studying and monitoring cetacean populations require to cover very large areas for which the use of a ship may be too time-consuming and costly. In this case, scientists can set up aerial campaigns with small planes adapted to data collection, which allows to cover large distances in short periods of time. However, because of the altitude and speed, aerial surveys do not allow to collect as accurate data as boat observations. For example, the presence of pups or identification of the species is not always possible. In addition, aerial campaigns do not allow for acoustic recordings or photoidentification. The two techniques, sea campaigns and aerial surveys, are therefore complementary.

Aerial surveys

In the Agoa Sanctuary, the Pelagis observatory has carried out two aerial campaigns in 2008 and 2017, named REMMOA, covering the entire Exclusive Economic Zone of the French West Indies and Guyana.