Setting up a long-term research project
This collaboration between the Far East Russia Orca Project (FEROP) of Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), the Russian Academy of Science and researchers from Moscow State and St. Petersburg State universities has focussed on the following research areas: Abundance and distribution, behavioural ecology of whales, dolphins and porpoises in Russian Far East waters, and how they inform conservation of these species.The funding for a multi-year study was obtained to train and enlist young Russian researchers in the study and conservation of these species.
The work in the various research areas has been presented in papers and popular articles, and other media. Building links with various local and national institutions in Russia through key researchers has been vital to our success.
It takes more years than originally envisioned to do the baseline studies and to get the quantity of data needed to progress to thinking about protection. Part of this is due to the logistics of working in the unpredictable conditions of the Russian Far East, but it's also because results from photo-ID and acoustic research techniques to indicate habitat require multiple years.