Responses of bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus ) to activities related to offshore oil and gas exploration

The presence and behavior of bowhead whales near offshore oil and gas exploration activities in the eastern Beaufort Sea were studied during August 1980. Numerous bowheads were within 5 km of an artificial island construction site where a large dredge, a barge camp, and several boats were operating. In a different situation, the physical presence of a 16.1-m boat had no apparent effect on the behavior of bowheads at a distance of 3.7 km. Subtle changes in behavior were noted when the vessel's engines were idling with propellers disengaged. Bowheads within 1 km of vessels responded by spending briefer periods at the surface, by respiring fewer times per surfacing, and by moving away from the disturbance. Surfacing and breathing patterns returned to normal following the disturbance, while interanimal distances remained greater. Whales 13 km from an underwater seismic exploration operation did not behave differently from animals in the same area on days preceding and following the seismic work. Additional data from 1981 will also be presented. (See a companion paper on underwater noise near the above industry activities by C. R. Greene, Abstract MMI0, this session.) [Work supported by the Bureau Land Management.]