Marine mammal surveys collect data on the abundance, distribution and behaviour of marine mammals. Marine mammal surveys are primarily boat or aerial based.

Marine mammal surveys are often combined with bird surveys and will also record details about any other large species that have been observed during the survey campaign, such as basking sharks and sunfish.

For many offshore activities, marine mammal survey data is collected throughout a project lifecycle from consenting studies through to monitoring campaigns that observe the effects to marine mammal populations.