Media Release - For Immediate Release

September 18 2010

Whaling Research Changes Rules

(Photo by Jim Darling) An Eastern Pacific Grey whale frolicks off the coast of B.C.

If whales could talk, a group of Eastern Pacific grey whales that feed off the coast of British Columbia might be saying thank you to a Saint Mary’s biology professor.

Earlier this year, Dr. Tim Frasier appeared before the International Whaling Commission in Morocco and argued that a small group of Northern Pacific grey whales that would likely be the target of an aboriginal hunt should be protected because of their unique genetic traits.

Most Eastern Pacific grey whales spend the winters breeding off the coast of Baja, Calif., then migrate north to spend the summers feeding in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas off northern Alaska. However, a small number of individuals (-200) cut their migration short, and remain in the coastal waters of Oregon, Washington state, and B.C. throughout the summer.

Drawing on genetic testing he and a collaborator carried out on the whales, Dr. Frasier said the size and distinct nature of this “southern feeding group” of whales made it vulnerable and he argued it should be considered separately as a management strategy is developed for the area.

“They accepted that our data should beused in developing the management strategy,”he says with pride. “There will likely still be an aboriginal hunt, but the times and location may change. They will hunt gray whale, but not these (southern feeding) gray whales.”

It was Dr. Frasier’s first appearance before the Whaling Commission, but he hopes it is not his last.

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For More Information:

Steve Proctor
External Affairs
Saint Mary's University
(902) 420.5513
E-mail: steve.proctor@smu.ca
www.smu.ca

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