A three-week expedition of the A. N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences to study the Sea of Okhotsk gray whales in the protected waters of the Pacific Ocean has concluded. Further, scientific research in Olga Bay will be continued by employees of the Kronotsky Reserve.
During the expedition, scientists identified 62 gray whales, of which half of the animals were encountered off the coast of Sakhalin in previous years.
“We registered only 3 mother-calf pairs. This is quite a small amount, but not a problem, since the main feeding area for female gray whales with calves is still the Piltun area on Sakhalin. Kamchatka for them is only a part of the migratory route. As I said, at the very beginning of the feeding season, many individuals look noticeably emaciated. The observations, which will be continued by the staff of the reserve in July and August, will show how successfully the animals were able to fatten. Interestingly, active molting was observed in several individuals. Most likely, this is due to strong water freshening near the coast in places where the whales feed. Basically, they stayed at depths of 6-10 meters,” said Matvey Mamaev, expedition leader, leading engineer of the IEE RAS.
Recall that it was the shore of the Olga Bay, near which the red-listed marine giants feed annually during migration, that became the first facility where the accumulated environmental damage was eliminated under the federal program. Work was going on in 2015. 1,300 tons of solid waste and scrap metal were removed from the protected coast, including 5,000 barrels with fuel residues.