This Arctic survey of marine mammals in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas has been conducted every year off the northern and western coasts of Alaska since 1979. A long-term dataset like this is extraordinary because it is both unusual and important. Exact survey dates and boundaries have varied over time, but the study goals, general survey area, and survey methods have stayed remarkably similar. ASAMM is co-managed and conducted by the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center, and funded and co-managed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.