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The Committee notes that an update to the CMP for western gray whales has been indefinitely delayed due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Committee reiterates the importance of long‐term monitoring and welcomes new information provided by Japan, Mexico, the Russian Federation and USA. It strongly recommends that range states continue to support this work as it is essential for conservation and management. The Committee recommends: (1) every effort is made to continue the Russian Gray Whale Project in order to maintain the several‐decades‐long time‐series upon which assessment of the population relies and to monitor the concerning decline in whale numbers using the nearshore feeding area off Sakhalin Island, Russia; (2) NOAA/SWFSC continue regular surveys of ENP gray whale abundance and calf production as the associated data are critical to the ASW and ASI sub‐committees; (3) other research programmes focused on WNP gray whales (e.g., the industry funded programme initiated in 2002 off Sakhalin) report to the Committee as the IUCN WGWAP has been discontinued; and (4) the industry programme follows the example set by the Russian Gray Whale Project and make photo‐ID catalogues and related data available via the IWC. |