Miljø- og Planlægningsudvalget 2009-10
MPU Alm.del Bilag 675
Offentligt
Mr. Rinat R. GizatulinThe Director of Department forenvironment ecological safety State PolicyMinistry of Natural Resources andEnvironment of The Russian Federation4\6, Bolshaya Gruzinskaya str, Moscow,123995, Russian FederationCopied to: Dr. Valentin IlyashenkoRussian Federation Commissionerto the International Whaling Commission (IWC)7 July 2010SUBJECT: Western Gray Whales and the potential impacts of Lebedinskoe seismic survey
Dear SirWe, the Governments and scientists of Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Hungary, Mexico,Monaco, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States would like to thank the Government of theRussian Federation for its work to address the critically endangered Western Gray Whale (WGW) in the westPacific Ocean and for the continued efforts to mitigate potential impacts on this population from oil and gasdevelopment.We note the planned seismic survey scheduled for July 2010 off Sakhalin Island this year, coinciding with thecritical period in the Western Gray Whales feeding season, and we welcome consideration of itspostponement in line with the advice from the International Whaling Commission's (IWC) ScientificCommittee and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Western Gray Whale AdvisoryPanel (WGWAP).Only around 130 Western Gray Whales remain with a minimum of just 26 breeding females observed since1995. A 3-D seismic survey (Rosneft Lebedenskoie) is scheduled to take place when the highest number ofgray whales, including mothers and their calves, are present in the area. We understand that the survey willlast through much of the critical time when calves are with their mothers.The IWC Scientific Committee, at their June 2010 meeting, were "extremely concerned about the potentialimpact of this survey on Western Gray Whales" and strongly recommended that "Rosneft postpone theirsurvey until at least June 2011". The Committee also recommended that "Rosneft use monitoring andmitigation measures similar to those used by Sakhalin Energy, which have been independently reviewed byexperts, and that all energy companies operating in the feeding areas of 2WGW should use comprehensive monitoring and mitigation measures to protect them."The WGWAP is "extremely concerned that the Lebedinskoe survey, without the kind of robust mitigation andmonitoring planned for the Astokh survey, could seriously damage the survival and recovery of Western GrayWhales" and concluded that "postponement of the Lebedinskoe survey until at least 2011 is necessary andappropriate."We note with concern the critically endangered status of this population and welcome range states andcompanies continuing to engage with the Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel and the IWC ScientificCommittee to look at ways to mitigate anthropogenic disturbance to this population.
Yours Donna PetrachenkoAustralia Commissioner to the IWCAndrea NouakAustria Commissioner to the IWCAlexandre de LichterveldeBelgium Commissioner to the IWCStéphane LouhaurFrance Commissioner to the IWCThomas SchmidtGermany Commissioner to the IWCZoltan CzirakHungary Commissioner to the IWCJohn FitzgeraldIreland Commissioner to the IWCLorenzo Rojas BrachoMexico Commissioner to the IWCFrederic BriandMonaco Commissioner to the IWC Sir Geoffrey PalmerNew Zealand Commissioner to the IWCNigel GoodingUnited Kingdom Commissioner to the IWC Monica MedinaUnited States Commissioner to the IWC "
