Resources of commercial cetacean species in the Russian Federation and whaling in 2014–2021.

Abstract

Data about population state of commercial species of cetaceans in the Russian Federation and whaling volumes for the period 2014–2021 are presented. Large-scale whaling in the Far-Eastern seas has been stopped since mid-1990s, and currently whaling exists as traditional economic activities of local indigenous population, although until 2019 it was used for educational and cultural purposes also. During the period of planned economic activities the hanting for marine mammals was an integral part of Soviet economy. In the early 1990s, as the state holding stopped, hunting for marine mammals operated with traditional methods, and so the volume of hanting and the amount of scientific information both reduced. Based on the current data on the abundance of the Far-Eastern populations of commercial cetacean species (except killer whales and small cetaceans, which whaling ceased entirely) potential number of beluga whales for hunting removal can reach 74 in the Bering and Chukchi Seas, up to 100 in the Sea of Okhotsk, and 150 in the White, Kara and Barents Seas. Whaling the gray and bowhead whales is carried out in accordance with recommendations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), and there are no plans now to increase existing quotas.