The report highlights the work of the Arctic Research Center (ARC) associated with marine mammals observations made from ships in the course of offshore exploration activities, and minimization of adverse man-made effects on marine mammals during the offshore projects. Today, observations of marine mammals from ships during offshore geophysical data acquisition and other exploration surveys (multipurpose exploration voyages) are one of the most efficient tools available for the studies of marine mammal fauna of Russia’s Arctic seas. In the ice season when most of the area of the Arctic seas is covered with ice, there is virtually no alternative to ship’s observations. This initial data acquisition method gives the advantage of reliability and quality of observations, and permits validating the accuracy of the records of sightings, which subsequently permits correct processing, analysis and visualization of the data. The report summarizes the data from eight exploration voyages made in the period from 2014 to 2015, presents the data including the sightings, population structure, density and distribution of marine mammal populations, and the data valuable for evaluation of the species diversity of the seas.
http://other-4588.kxcdn.com/rosneft_0.1/pdf/ESI.pdf
http://other-4588.kxcdn.com/rosneft_0.1/pdf/M63.pdf