Suspended Underground Seismic Work to Bring Relief to Gray Whales

The groups have won agreement from some oil and gas companies in Russian waters to end seismic work, giving gray whales a chance to breed undisturbed.

The cessation comes in response to research showing how oil exploration can alter the behaviour of gray whales.

However, a number of firms have refused to stop exploration work planned for the breeding season.

The WWF and Pacific Environment conservation groups 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," said Aleksey Knizhnikov from WWF-Russia in a statement.

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 gray whale is known to be one of the world's most endangered creatures. Only 35 of the 130 remaining gray whales are thought to be breeding females.

The suspension of seismic work by Sakhalin Energy, which is backed by Shell and Gasprom, might mean the whales can move in-shore, feed and breed.

However, campaigners pointed out that other oil and gas firms working in the region, including BP, Exxon and Rosneft, were still planning to carry out seismic work in 2009.

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.

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.