Tracking the winter range of the

critically endangered western gray

whale
Tagging operation sponsored by Exxon
Neftegas Limited (ENL), a subsidiary
of Exxon Mobil Corporation on Sakhalin Island, Russia
Identification of the relevant tip(s) Executive summary
Tip 2: Assess sensitive areas Since 1997, Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL), a subsidiary of
Understand the location and significance of protected Exxon Mobil Corporation, has co-sponsored a successful
areas, endangered species, sensitive habitats and key western gray whale research and monitoring programme
natural resources. This is critical to the early selection of
facility locations and a project’s overall biodiversity action
planning. It will help keep projects on track and limit
Alien invasive
on behalf of the Sakhalin-1 Consortium. As part of this
effort, a satellite-tagging program – coordinated by the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) and funded by
impacts.

Tip 5: Think about whole landscapes

Understand the scale at which different ecosystem processes
occur in order to design sound impact assessments,
mitigation measures and monitoring programs. For large
projects, assuming a landscape perspective assures that
area-demanding species and broad-scale ecological
processes are adequately considered.
species and t
ENL and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company (SEIC) –
was put into place in 2010 to better understand the winter
range of the species after their summer and fall feeding
and gas indu
period offshore Sakhalin Island, Russia. A tagged whale,
named Flex, was followed by satellite for more than four
months, giving scientists unique data and insight into the
western gray whales’ winter journeys.
Guidance for prevention and ma

Figure 1. Map of Flex’s movements, 4 October 2010-5 February 2011 (reprinted from http://mmi.oregonstate.edu/Sakhalin2010). This research was
conducted by A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IEE RAS) and Oregon State University Marine Mammal
Institute; in collaboration with the University of Washington, Sakhalin Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, and Kronotsky State Nature Biosphere
Reserve. The research was contracted through the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with
funding from Exxon Neftegas Ltd. and Sakhalin Energy Investment Company Ltd.
Background
There are believed to be less than 160 western North
Pacific gray whales, also known as western gray whales,
and the population is listed as endangered in the Russian
Federation Red Book and critically endangered on the
International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List.
Populations in the western and eastern Pacific were hunted
to near extinction in the early 19th century. The eastern
gray whale population has recovered to pre-hunting levels
(~20,000), but the western population has been much
slower to recover. For those western gray whales that
remain, the primary summer feeding grounds are along
the northeastern shore of Russia’s Sakhalin Island, near
where Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL) and Sakhalin Energy
Investment Company (SEIC) operate offshore oil and gas
production platforms.
In the late fall and throughout the winter, these critically
endangered mammals leave the waters off Sakhalin Island
and head to warmer waters to breed and calve. Prior to
the 2010 satellite tagging effort, it was unknown where
these animals traveled during their winter migration. After
careful consideration of the risks to tagging gray whales,
and several years of experiments to test the tags on non-
endangered eastern Pacific gray whales, the decision was
made to support a programme to tag western gray whales.
The tracking project was designed to help scientists and
biologists identify the exact path of a mature western gray
whale to better understand their winter breeding and
calving habits.
The scientific research was conducted by A.N. Severtsov
Institute of Ecology and Evolution of the Russian Academy
of Sciences (IEE RAS) and Oregon State University Marine
Mammal Institute in collaboration with the U.S. National
Marine Fisheries Service, Kronotsky State Nature Biosphere
Reserve and the Kamchatka Branch of the Pacific Institute
of Geography. The research was contracted through the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) and IUCN with
funding from ENL and SEIC.
The whale tagging expedition was led by Dr. Bruce Mate,
an Oregon State University researcher and a pioneer in
tagging and satellite tracking of whales.
Activities
The tagging expedition was complicated by rough seas
and cautious whales, who typically avoid coming into close
proximity of boats. Even though a number of different
males were sighted and approached, a whale named
Flex was the only successful candidate, tagged in early
October 2010 on the last day of the five-week expedition.
The 14-year-old Flex was first sighted by Sakhalin crews
when he was just a calf in 1997. Tagging him involved
approaching from behind in a small boat and using an
air-powered applicator at close range to apply a stainless
steel tag in his blubber and muscle. The tag is about 2 cm
in diameter and 25 cm in length. An electronic transmitter
inside the tag produced a small signal that was picked up
by orbiting satellites that tracked the whale’s location.
Following the application of his tracking tag, Flex remained
off Northeast Sakhalin from October until mid-December
2010. Although researchers expected Flex to migrate
south along the Asian coast toward the South China Sea
to unidentified winter breeding areas, he instead moved
across the Sea of Okhotsk to Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.
He then swam across the Bering Sea in deep water, south
through the eastern Aleutian Islands and southeast across
the Gulf of Alaska.
Flex’s last confirmed location was only 20 miles off the
central Oregon coast on 5 February 2011, when the tag
ceased operating. He had traveled more than 5,300 miles
in 124 days.
The straight-line route he often took, his higher-than-
normal speed, his arrival into the south-bound migratory
path of eastern Pacific gray whales, and his swimming
across deep water surprised the project’s researchers, who
expected a different route. One of the biggest revelations
of Flex’s travels was that he had appeared on the eastern
side of the North Pacific before. A photographic match for
Flex was found in a catalogue of the eastern Pacific gray
whale population. The picture had been taken in April
2008 off Vancouver Island.
Outcomes
Although monitoring Flex’s journey provided scientists
with invaluable data, they still do not know exactly where
the western gray whales go for breeding and calving –
information that is critical to helping the species survive.
Knowing how many there are – and where they travel to
mate – can help provide the protection that will enable
the population to recover.
Over the years, other ENL-supported scientific studies
have revealed that, contrary to initial understanding,
there are a number of feeding areas for western gray
whales that are geographically distributed. These include
areas farther offshore Sakhalin Island in water more
than 150 feet deep, and waters off the east coast of
Kamchatka Peninsula.
For employees of the Sakhalin-1 Project, Flex is just one
part of the story of how ENL works to protect the whales.
Science-based research, monitoring and protection
measures are continuing to enable the population to
increase from around 100 when work began off the
coast of Russia.
ENL has strict operational criteria to manage potential
disturbance of whales feeding off Sakhalin Island.
These criteria are based on published science as well
as studies sponsored by the company. The studies
provide information about the level of noise produced by
shoreline or offshore operations – whether seismic work,
pipeline installation, facility construction, drilling or fixed
platform operations – and the potential of that noise to
propagate into feeding areas. The levels are compared
with published thresholds, and appropriate actions are
taken to reduce any disturbance to the whales. When
work is conducted offshore, expert observers are on hand
to observe the whales and advise measures necessary to
mitigate harm.
Lessons learnt
• Assess environmental aspects of operational areas
prior to initiating activities
Through ENL’s Environmental Impact Assessment
and the Russian Federation’s State Ecological Expert
Review processes, western gray whales were identified
as a population of primary concern on the northeast
Sakhalin shelf, a critical feeding area. The major
anthropogenic threats/risks to western gray whales
in the summer feeding area were evaluated and
include: (1) ship strikes, (2) pollution, and (3) acoustic
disturbance leading to displacement of animals. Each of
these risks to western gray whales have been mitigated
by the implementation of robust protection plans and/
or gathering of scientific information through the ENL-
SEIC Joint Monitoring Program to justify decreasing the
level of risk. The mitigation measures and research
program design may be applicable to areas of
operation where endangered or sensitive populations
are present.
• Evaluate additional risks potentially posed to sensitive
and/or endangered populations outside the immediate
operational area (i.e., evaluate species’/population
habitat use over the entire life cycle)
ENL is committed to managing its activities in the
presence of sensitive populations in its areas of
operation. This includes understanding the location
and relative time spent during critical life stages
including feeding, migration, and breeding/calving
for marine mammals. The value of using satellite tags
to obtain data on migration routes and breeding/
calving areas for western gray whales was deemed of
high value, and the risks to animals deemed low as a
result of rigorous scientific studies and risk assessments.
Pre-tagging studies to evaluate potential health
impacts to individual animals provided invaluable
information that helped inform ENL in its decision
to proceed with financial support to the 2010 IWC
program. Results from the 2010 tagging of western
gray whales indicate that there is still a high degree
of uncertainty surrounding the population’s migratory
routes and breeding/calving areas, and further studies
are needed to fully understand risks and implications to
population recovery.
Contact information
Daniel Egging
Manager, Sakhalin-1 Safety, Security, Health and
Environment
ExxonMobil Development Company
daniel.e.egging@exxonmobil.com