This week, the western grey whale advisory panel (WGWAP) is meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. Information on the meeting and documents about the assessment of this summers seismic survey in Russia off Sakhalin Island, the primary feeding grounds for western grey whales, is available at:
http://www.iucn.org/wgwap/wgwap/meetings/wgwap_9/
I have served on the seismic survey task force the past three days here in snowy Switzerland leading up to the meeting, and additional information on the task force and it's work and recommendations leading up to the survey are also available through the IUCN website. This is critical habitat for a critically endangered marine mammal, and the amount of thought, planning, and integrated remote sensing technology for the execution of the survey was in some ways unprecedented.
Whether or not their should be full-scale rapid development of this important and unique environment for offshore hydrocarbon extraction is, of course, another matter, but in conducting the survey with the sensitivity of this area there were some very important new steps and precautions taken. YOu can find out more about these at the site given above.
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