Five organizations have signed an agreement to work together to protect and study the Chukchi-California gray whales. The move is aimed at combining efforts to conserve these unique marine mammals and developing a unified data exchange system that will improve coordination between researchers and increase the efficiency of their work.
The agreement was signed by the Wrangel Island State Nature Reserve, Kronotsky Nature Reserve, Beringia National Park, ANO Chukotka Arctic Research Center, and the A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS). The main goal of the partnership is to create a common platform for exchanging information, which will help avoid discrepancies in data and improve understanding of the migrations, behavior, and threats faced by gray whales. One of the key research methods will be photo identification, which will allow tracking the movements and migrations of whales. The project will be spearheaded by leading specialists, including Tatyana Pridorozhnaya (Wrangel Island Nature Reserve), Evgenia Volkova (Kronotsky Nature Reserve), and Matvey Mamaev (IEE RAS).
Previous studies have already shown that gray whales living near Sakhalin sometimes stay off the coast of Kamchatka. Comparing photographs from different parts of the habitat will help scientists obtain new data on the behavior and migrations of these animals.
The agreement will pay special attention to food security for the indigenous peoples of Chukotka, for whom whales have been an important source of food for thousands of years. Scientists also plan to study the impact of pathogens, heavy metals and other pollutants on the animals.
The new agreement thus opens up unique opportunities for large-scale research and protection of gray whales.
Photos: IEE RAS
