Cetacean Research Institute Undertakes a Survey on Korean Gray Whale in the East Sea

Cetacean Research Institute of NFRDI undertakes an annual survey on Korean Gray Whale, a species known to be extinct. The survey, which is planned to last from Jan. 10 through 19, 2011, was decided under the IWC resolution and has been annually carried out between December and the next January since 2003.

The Korean Gray Whale belonging to Rorqual whales grows 16m in length and 45t in weight. The behavior is unique in that it moves along the coastline and slowly swims. The gray whale sticks its head upright between coastal rocks then suddenly disappears at the sight of a human, getting a nickname of “Ghost Whale”. The Korean Gray Whale was first found and scientifically reported by American naturalist Roy Andrews in 1912.

The Korean Gray Whale was threatened to be extinct in the early 1900s when Korea was under the Japanese colonial rule. At that time, the gray whales were caught in mass along the Korean east coast by Russian and Japanese whaling ships, experiencing a drastic decline in the stock. It was since 1933 that the whaling had been stopped for a while and the species had not been reported to be spotted since then.

The last finding of the species in the Korean waters happened on Jan. 3, 1977, when two of gray whales were spotted 5 miles off the coast of Ulsan(East Coast) migrating to the south. Since then, there has been no sighting of the gray whale, leading scientists an assumption of the species becoming extinct.

Recently, a population of about 130 gray whales was fortunately observed feeding in flock off the coast of Sakhalin, Russia. However, the Korean Gray Whale is still exposed to a threat caused by the gas field development, vessels and fishing gears at sea.

It is hoped that the efforts by Cetacean Research Institute to search for the Korean Gray Whale will be continued to raise possibility of conservation of the Korean Gray Whale in the waters of Korea.