Using the Tools We Have: An Integrated Approach to Protect the Sea of Okhotsk

• Main Author: Huff, Julia LeMense
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: DigitalCommons@Pace 2003
• Subjects: Okhotsk; Pacific; Sakhalin
• Online Access: https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/pelr/vol20/iss2/3; https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1180&context=pelr

This article discusses the environmental impacts of oil and gas exploration on the Sea of Okhotsk and proposes a multi-faceted approach to protecting and preserving this large marine ecosystem. The article begins with an overview of the Sea of Okhotsk and Sakhalin Island and one of its most endangered residents, the Western North Pacific gray whale. The article goes on to discuss the oil and gas industry in Russia, describing the effects of oil and gas exploration and production on marine ecosystems. The author then suggests that the other proposed approaches to protecting the marine environment or lessening the environmental impacts of oil and gas production in the area, do not adequately address the immediate threat faced by this ecosystem. Against this background, the author discusses her proposal for protecting the Sea of Okhotsk using existing legal mechanisms. Finally, the article concludes with evidence supporting the author's proposal in both Russian domestic law and international law.