14 DAY TRIAL // The Russian government has barred all oil-extracting companies seeking to conduct business in the Sakhalin Island from carrying out their activities when Western gray whales are present in the area.
As such, any economic agency seeking to appropriate any of the newly-available concessions will have to respect this measure. The restriction is only seasonal, and it will help conserve this species.
At least, this is the view of authorities in Moscow, who decided to take matters firmly in hand, and stop activities that might affect these animals' habitats. Companies will be able to conduct their specific activities only from late November to late May,
During this time, the whales are away on migration. The waters around the island are vacated entirely, and this is when operations do not hinder the animals. At this point, the restriction only applies to a single section of the waters surrounding Sakhalin, the WWF reports.
Though only 4 gas and oil platforms are installed around the islands, plans are ongoing to construct new ones. Unfortunately, these structures share the same waters as the 130 remaining Western gray whales. The population is dwindling, and may very well go extinct soon.
“WWF welcomes this seasonal restriction and urges authorities to expand the regulation to include all other off-shore projects near Sakhalin,” says theWWF-Russia Oil & Gas Environmental Policy Officer, Aleksey Knizhnikov.
“While the whales await this much needed protection, WWF calls on operators to halt their dangerous off-shore activities during this summer’s feeding season, including Sakhalin Energy’s planned seismic survey,” he goes on to say.
The expert says that some of the activities associated with offshore oil drilling include seismic tests and other assessments that disrupt the aquatic environment. This may in turn force the whales out of their usual territories, further endangering their species.
“We commend the government for its leadership in prohibiting industrial activities when the whales are present in this area. We look forward to the implementation of additional measures to fully mitigate the impact of oil development around Sakhalin Island,” the WWF official says.
Soon, a consortium including the Shell Corporation, called Sakhalin Energy, will attempt to begin constructing a new platform near the whales' feeding grounds. Activists are urging the consortium to halt its efforts, to prevent endangering the animals even further.