We are pleased to announce that a publication was released in Biology Letters with the participation of employees of the IPEE RAS on the seasonal movements of bowhead whales in the Spitsbergen population.
This population, once the largest in the world, was virtually exterminated by whaling in the 17th-19th centuries. 20 years ago it was believed that the whales’ population dwindled to less than 100 individuals.
In the last two decades, with the increase in the number of research flights in the Atlantic sector of the Arctic, the researchers have acquired new data on these species of whales. Solely north of Svalbard in 2015, the estimated number of bowhead whales was 343 (CI 136–862). Sightings of this species are regularly recorded in the waters of Franz Josef Land, several individuals were recorded in the Kara Sea.
In May-June 2017, an international team of scientists led by the Norwegian Polar Institute installed 16 satellite tags in the Fram Strait on the eastern shelf of Greenland. The data obtained made it possible to make clearer estimations of the range of the population, the nature of its seasonal movements and the peculiarities of using the water area in different seasons.
Photos by Svetlana Artemieva, IPEE RAS