2021 Volume 3 Pages 252-257
The information of the North Pacific right whale in the western North Pacific was summarized based on the data collected by the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR: 1994–2016) and the Fisheries Resources Institute (NRIFSF: 1982–2011 including recent Japanese and Russian joint cruise data) with a total of 599,596.7 nautical miles of research distance. North Pacific right whales were distributed north of 42°N in the western North Pacific, including 10 mother and calf pairs during April to September. Two main high-density areas were observed north of 45°N in the area to the far offshore southeast of Kamchatka Peninsula (north of 45°N to 51°N, between 158°E and 168°E) and the central part in the Sea of Okhotsk. There were no sightings in the Sea of Japan during 1982 to 2016. A total of 60 individuals were photographed and 28 biopsy samples were collected. It appears that this species has been showing signs of increase since 1990’s, but it is necessary to carefully monitor this population in the future to check the trend. Further surveys, analysis and international collaboration are required to improve our understanding of this species.
