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Research establishes whale-friendly approach to seismic surveys

A new, collaborative study published in Aquatic Mammals sets out international best practice approach for minimising seismic survey impact on cetaceans.

The authors took as their starting point, six years of collaborative work focused on the North Pacific near the Russian island of Sakhalin.  An area rich in oil and gas deposits, this is also the feeding area for the critically endangered Western Gray Whale.   Scientists from the IUCN’s Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel, worked with the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company to develop a thorough and practical approach for that region. The authors show how this approach can be adapted to seismic surveys in other environmentally sensitive areas.

The effect of anthropogenic sound on cetaceans is an issue that the IWC Scientific Committee has been investigating for a number of years and several members of the Committee, including the IWC Secretariat Head of Science were co-authors of the new study.

To read the IUCN press release about the study, click here.

To read the study, click here.