Alarming results

The Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel (WGWAP), set up by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) in 2005, said it was extremely concerned by the results of observations undertaken in 2008, and suggesting that whale distribution and behavior have changed.

The panel has concluded that all activities planned for 2009, including Sakhalin Energy’s seismic survey, should be postponed until the western gray whale population has been fully monitored and assessed.

According to IUCN.ORG, if the monitoring in 2009 reduces the uncertainty and concern over the western gray whale population, the panel may be able to accept a seismic survey in 2010.

The panel said the whale population in this area was affected by the activities of all companies in the region.

Reaction from oil and gas companies

A number of conservation organisations, including the WWF and Pacific Environment, praised the Sakhalin Energy consortium for its decision to abandon underwater seismic work, scheduled to take place off Sakhalin Island in 2009.

"The results seen today demonstrate that collaborative science-based initiatives like this panel process can succeed – even on issues as complex as oil and gas development," the BBC quotes Aleksey Knizhnikov, a WWF-Russia oil and gas programme coordinator.

The only feeding ground of the “critically endangered” western, or Okhotsk-Korean population, is in the Piltun Bay, in the Sea of Okhotsk, along the North-Eastern part of the Sakhalin shelf. Whales – including calves and pregnant females – come there in the summer to feed before the migration period.

Research reveals that the noise from oil and gas exploration has driven the whales into deeper waters, making it hard for their calves to feed and thrive.

The suspension of seismic work by Sakhalin Energy, in particular by Shell and Gazprom, might allow the whales to move in-shore, feed, and breed.
However, according to the BBC, a number of other oil and gas firms operating in the region, including BP, Exxon, and Rosneft, are still planning to carry out their seismic work in 2009.

Critically endangered

The gray whale is known to be among the world’s most threatened mammals. It is listed as ‘critically endangered’ in the Red Data Book of Russia, and appears on the IUCN red list of endangered species.

The western population, feeding along the Sakhalin shelf, is near the brink of extinction: it numbers 130 individuals, with only 35 breeding females. Oil and gas exploitation, fishing nets, collision with ships, and occasional whaling by the Japanese, have greatly affected its numbers.