|
|
|
| Historical Records and Current Status of Western Gray Whale in China Waters |
| WANG Pi-lie,LU Zhi-chuang |
|
|
|
|
Abstract The feeding ground of the western gray whale(Eschrichtius robustus)in summer was mainly located in the Okhotsk Sea. The gray whales usually migrate into the waters of China crossing Tatarskiy Strait and along the Korean peninsula. Thirty-one gray whales were recorded in the waters of China from 1917 to 1997. A female gray whale with a fetus was found in the coastal water of Zhejiang province in 1933. In the spring of 1953, the fishermen of Wailuo port captured two pairs of female and pup gray whales. Therefore, the coastal water area off Guangdong province was regarded as a breeding ground for the western gray whale population. Currently, the western gray whale population was facing a danger of extinction, estimated to total around 130 individuals by the survey in feeding ground-the water off Sakhalin Island and has been as "Critically Endangered" by the World Conservation Union(IUCN)in 2000. So it was of great significance to conduct investigation and research on the breeding ground of the population for the protection of the species.
|
|
Received: 25 December 2009
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
