Gray whale faces extinction over oil development, warns IWC

0 Comments | AFP, July, 2004

SORRENTO, Italy (AFP) — The International Whaling Commission (IWC) sounded a warning over the effects of a vast oil and gas project on the "critically endangered" western gray whale in the Russian Far East, only 100 of which are known to exist.

The 57-member body adopted a resolution which "strongly recommends" that subsidiaries of oil giants Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell and BP halt seismic exploration activity to avoid disturbing the whales.

Frenetic exploration activity is taking place in the gray whales' feeding ground in the Sea of Okhotsk, north of Russia's Sakhalin Island.

The resolution, adopted by consensus at the IWC's annual meeting in Sorrento, Italy, is based on a detailed report by its scientific committee.

The report warned that a potential...