Commission: Sakhalin Oil Development Threatens Gray Whale Survival

SORRENTO, Italy, July 21, 2004 (ENS) - The International Whaling Commission has unanimously endorsed the report of its Scientific Committee describing the Sakhalin oil and gas development project in the Russian Far East as a threat to the survival of the critically endangered Western North Pacific gray whale. Only 100 members of the species, including 23 reproductive females, are known to exist.

An accompanying resolution calling for urgent measures to be taken to protect this critically endangered whale population was also adopted.

Sakhalin II is being developed by Sakhalin Energy, in which Royal Dutch Shell owns a 55 percent stake and Japanese partners Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corp. hold the remaining 45 percent.

Map showing the location of Sakhalin II (Photo courtesy Sakhalin Environment Watch)

The $US10 development involves installation of an offshore platform on the Piltun-Astoskhskoye field and of a platform at the Lunskoye field and linking both to the shore by offshore pipelines.

The oil and gas will then be transported via 800 kilometer (500 mile) onshore pipelines to Prigorodnoye, in the south of Sakhalin Island, the site of a new liquid natural gas (LNG) plant and oil and LNG export terminals. It will be the biggest liquid natural gas processing plant ever built.

After the International Whaling Commission's endorsement of the scientific report on Tuesday, the conservation organization WWF again called on Royal Dutch Shell to suspend the Sakhalin oil project pending a full review.

WWF fears that the construction of the offshore drilling platform and the installation of a seabed pipeline near Sakhalin Island could drive away the whales from their only feeding ground. It has repeatedly called on Shell to support an independent review of the pipeline project by the world's whale experts.

Western North Pacific gray whale, one of only 100 left alive. (Photo courtesy NOAA)

The resolution requests that the International Whaling Commission (IWC) Secretariat offer its services and scientific expertise and actively participate and provide advice at any international expert panels convened to consider the impacts of oil and gas development on the western gray whale

The Revised Management Scheme, new set of rules to govern commercial whaling if and when the 18 year old IWC moratorium is lifted, moved one step closer to completion on Tuesday with the designation of a test whale population - the Western North Pacific Bryde's whales.

Bycatch was the subject of debate a countries tried to sort out whether this taking of nontarget species was within the original mandate of the IWC when it was first established in 1946 under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.

Whaling countries such as Iceland and Japan said bycatch was not in the IWC's original mandate, but many other countries indicated that bycatch is clearly within the IWC mandate, as the WWF explains "both from the perspective of conservation of whale stocks," and when an Revised Management Scheme is used, "it is vital to know all possible off-takes from a population."

The Scientific Committee, which met in late June to determine its position of various issues, suggested the use of market sampling to estimate bycatch, with a workshop to study how market sampling can be used to estimate bycatch. This involves DNA testing of whale meat in the market place, such as in Japan, a controversial proposal. Many countries expressed reservations or objections, but in the end it was endorsed by consensus.

The market sampling workshop will be one of a series of regional workshops to address cetacean bycatch issues over the coming year.

Dead fin whale in the Ligurian Sanctuary off the coast of Italy (Photo courtesy WWF)

Massimiliano Rocco of WWF Italy said, "Intense maritime traffic in the Mediterranean is adversely affecting the giants of our sea - fin and sperm whales. This is a wake-up call and an appeal to the delegates gathered here in Sorrento." He called for immediate implementation of the Ligurian Sanctuary management plan.

The whale watchers did see live whales on their cruise. Pilot whales and striped dolphins made their appearance in the sanctuary.

On Monday, the strength of the pro-whaling and anti-whaling forces at the IWC meeting was tested by a vote on whether to hold future votes by secret ballot, as proposed by Japan, or to continue with the present system of open, public voting. Japan lost its bid for secret ballots by a vote of 29 to 26.