IUCN, the International Union for Conservation of Nature

The few surviving animals face a number of potential hazards throughout their range, including collisions with ships, underwater noise, entanglement in fishing gear and modifications of their physical habitat. Particular concerns have been raised about the impact of offshore oil and gas activities along the coast of Sakhalin Island, Eastern Russia.

Oil and Gas Exploration and Production Activities

The waters off Sakhalin island are of particular significance to the conservation of the western gray whale, as  the only known feeding ground for this population lie in these waters. Whales only feed half of the year, in the summer, and stock energy and fat for their winter calving and mating season. Their primary feeding ground is therefore of major importance for the health and survival of the population. The area is also rich in oil and gas deposits, which have been explored and exploited during the last decade.

Oil and gas exploration and production in the offshore regions around Sakhalin Island are a relatively recent phenomenon. Development of these fields did not begin until the 1990s and production only started in 1999. Sakhalin’s offshore area has been divided into nine different projects, three of which are currently underway (Sakhalin I, II and V).

One of these, the Sakhalin II oil and gas development, lies in close proximity to the only two identified feeding areas of the western gray whales (see Sakhalin II oil and gas development brief). Its impact on the survival of the population is therefore potentially critical. To address this threat, IUCN is working closely with Sakhalin Energy on the development and implementation of a comprehensive strategy to minimise impacts on, and hopefully conserve and support recovery of the western gray whale population and its habitat.

Bycatch in Fishing Gear

In addition to the threats posed by offshore oil and gas development, the reported incidence of western gray whale entrapments in fishing gear on the Pacific coast of Japan has increased suddenly in the last two-three years. In the ten years prior to 2005, only two gray whale deaths had been reported on the Pacific coast of Japan. Between 2005 and 2007 a total of four western gray whale, all female, are known to have been killed in this manner on the Pacific coast of Japan. According to a population projection prepared by the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, this rate of loss of females will, if continued, lead to extinction of the population with high probability. Thus the incidental mortality in fishing gear could become a major factor inhibiting the recovery of western gray whales.
See February 2007 press release

Where to From Here?

IUCN’s overall objective is the conservation of the western gray whale population. While IUCN’s engagement with Sakhalin Energy is an extremely positive development for the conservation of this critically endangered population, it is widely recognized that any comprehensive conservation management initiative must consider the full range of threats to the population. For this reason, we aim to eventually broaden the scope of IUCN’s efforts to conserve the western gray whale, to consider not only the full range of threats within the vicinity of Sakhalin Island, but also across the entire geographic range of this population. It is therefore our intention to use our scientific network to focus the best available scientific information on the range of critical threats facing this population, thereby enhancing the populations chances of recovery and survival.