WASHINGTON — The U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service and the National Marine Mammal Laboratory of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have agreed work together to study the endangered North Pacific right whales in the Bering Sea, north of the Aleutian Islands. MMS and NOAA will study the whale's distribution, relative abundance, and habitat. The $5 million research program will begin this summer and continue for three and a half years.

“This is an important part of MMS’ commitment to considering an oil and gas lease sale in 2011 in this area," said Chris Oynes, associated director of Offshore Minerals Management. "Once MMS has collected sufficient background environmental information and the data on the right whale is obtained, MMS will be in a sound position to make informed decisions about potential leasing in the area.”

Field studies directed at the North Pacific right whale will use methods and advanced equipment that has been successful in earlier studies of the right whales in the North Atlantic. Scientists will make visual observations from aircraft and ships and will use shipboard listening devices to detect whale sounds. Once they locate the whales, they will tag them to monitor over time the number of whales in the area and where those whales are located. Over the course of the project, scientists will tag several right whales with satellite and acoustic tracking devices to determine the locations and dive behavior of the whales in real-time over long distances. During the tagging operations, they will take small tissue samples from the whales to allow genetic identification of individual whales through DNA genotyping and to study the whales' diet and and the types of pollutants that reside in their bodies. Scientists will take samples of copepods — the planktonic animals that the whales commonly eat — to further study the whales’ diet and to investigate anthropogenic compounds that may be in the whales’ prey.

Once abundant during the summer throughout the eastern North Pacific and Bering Sea, the North Pacific right whale now is one of the rarest stocks of baleen (filter-feeding) whales anywhere in the world. Little is known of their abundance, movements and current habitat use. Because of its endangered status under the Endangered Species Act, the North Pacific right whale is among the highest priorities for recovery efforts.

A planned oil and gas lease sale in the southern Bering Sea will not be held until 2011 to allow sufficient time for the collection of the necessary environmental data on all marine organisms living full- or part-time in the area that offshore operations could adversely affect. Under this schedule, exploratory drilling and related operations would not begin until 2012 or later. The cooperative research on the right whales is expected to provide important information to make the required environmental impact assessment of the proposed oil and gas development. MMS will also work with the National Marine Fisheries Service and other interested parties in protecting living resources while facilitating energy-resource development.

For additional information, please contact Nicolette Nye, MMS (703) 787-1011, or Robin Cacy, MMS, (907) 334-5208.