Editing Gray whale (section)

====Western population====
[[File:GyeongjuGlyphs1.jpg|thumb|Gray and other whales were depicted on the [[Bangudae Petroglyphs]], indicating their historical presences along [[Korean Peninsula]].<ref>UNESCO World Heritage Centre, [https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5486/ Daegokcheon Stream Petroglyphs]</ref>]]
[[Image:Sakhalin-gray-whale-small.jpg|thumb|A gray whale in the water off [[Sakhalin Island]].]]
The current western gray whale population summers in the [[Sea of Okhotsk]], mainly off [[Sakhalin-II|Piltun Bay]] region at the northeastern coast of [[Sakhalin Island]] (Russian Federation). There are also occasional sightings off the eastern coast of Kamchatka (Russian Federation) and in other coastal waters of the northern Okhotsk Sea.<ref name=Weller1999/><ref name=Vladimirov/> Its migration routes and wintering grounds are poorly known, the only recent information being from occasional records on both the eastern and western coasts of Japan<ref name=Kato/> and along the Chinese coast.<ref>Zhu, Q. (1998). "Strandings and sightings of the western Pacific stock of the gray whale ''Eschrichtius robustus'' in Chinese coastal waters. Paper SC/50lAS5 presented to the IWC Scientific Committee, April 1998, Oman</ref> Gray whale had not been observed on [[Commander Islands]] until 2016.<ref>[http://news.zapoved.ru/2016/05/31/krasnoknizhnyj-seryj-kit-priplyl-pod-okna-ofisa-zapovednika-komandorskij/ Краснокнижный серый кит приплыл под окна офиса заповедника «Командорский»] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312033503/http://news.zapoved.ru/2016/05/31/krasnoknizhnyj-seryj-kit-priplyl-pod-okna-ofisa-zapovednika-komandorskij/ |date=2017-03-12 }}. Retrieved on March 09, 2017</ref>  The northwestern pacific population consists of approximately 300 individuals, based on photo identification collected off of Sakhalin Island and Kamchatka.<ref name="Fisheries"/>

The [[Sea of Japan]] was once thought not to have been a migration route, until several entanglements were recorded.<ref name=HKD2402>{{cite journal |title=New observations on Gray whales, ''Eschrichtius robustus'', from Central Japan, Sea of Japan |author=Nambu, Hisao |author2=Minowa, Kazuhiro |author3=Tokutake, Kouji |author4=Yamada, Tadasu K. |name-list-style=amp |journal=Japan Cetology |volume=24 |issue=24 |pages=11–14 |year=2014 |doi=10.5181/cetology.0.24_11 |doi-access=free }}</ref> Any records of the species had not been confirmed since after 1921 on [[Kyushu]].<ref name=hkd2005 /> However, there were numerous records of whales along the [[Genkai Sea]] off [[Yamaguchi Prefecture]],<ref>Uni Y. (2004) [http://www.h6.dion.ne.jp/~unisan/data/graywhale/cetaken15.html 西部系群コククジラ ''Eschrictius robustus'' の記録集成と通過海峡] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924024507/http://www.h6.dion.ne.jp/~unisan/data/graywhale/cetaken15.html |date=2015-09-24 }}. dion.ne.jp</ref> in Ine Bay in the [[Wakasa Wan Quasi-National Park|Gulf of Wakasa]], and in [[Tsushima Strait|Tsushima]]. Gray whales, along with other species such as right whales and [[Baird's beaked whale]]s, were common features off the north eastern coast of [[Hokkaido]] near [[Teshio, Hokkaido|Teshio]], [[Ishikari Bay]] near [[Otaru]], the [[Shakotan Peninsula]], and islands in the [[La Pérouse Strait]] such as [[Rebun Island]] and [[Rishiri Island]]. These areas may also have included feeding grounds.<ref name=hkd2005 /> There are shallow, muddy areas favorable for feeding whales off [[Shiretoko Peninsula|Shiretoko]], such as at [[Shibetsu]], the [[Notsuke-Fūren Prefectural Natural Park|Notsuke Peninsula]], Cape Ochiishi on [[Nemuro Peninsula]], [[Mutsu Bay]],<ref name=geoc>{{cite web|url=http://www.geocities.jp/kayak_surfing/note/9.html|title=珍客コククジラ 静岡沖で潮吹き|publisher=geocities.jp|access-date=2014-05-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512221641/http://www.geocities.jp/kayak_surfing/note/9.html|archive-date=2014-05-12|url-status=dead}}</ref> along the [[Tottori Sand Dunes]], in the [[Suou-nada Sea]], and [[Ōmura Bay]].

The historical calving grounds were unknown but might have been along southern Chinese coasts from [[Zhejiang]] and [[Fujian Province]] to [[Guangdong]], especially south of Hailing Island<ref name=GrayArea /> and to near [[Hong Kong]]. Possibilities include [[Daya Bay]], [[Wailou]] Harbour on [[Leizhou Peninsula]], and possibly as far south as [[Hainan Province]] and [[Guangxi]], particularly around [[Hainan Island]]. These areas are at the southwestern end of the known range.<ref name="IUCN Western"/><ref name=Brownell/> It is unknown whether the whales' normal range once reached further south, to the [[Gulf of Tonkin]]. In addition, the existence of historical calving ground on [[Taiwan]] and [[Penghu|Penghu Islands]] (with some fossil records<ref>{{cite journal|doi=10.2517/2014PR009|title=Quaternary Fossil Gray Whales from Taiwan|journal=Paleontological Research|volume=18|issue=2|page=82|year=2014|last1=Tsai|first1=Cheng-Hsiu|last2=Fordyce|first2=R. Ewan|last3=Chang|first3=Chun-Hsiang|last4=Lin|first4=Liang-Kong|s2cid=131250469}}
</ref> and captures<ref>Brownell, R.L., Donovan, G.P., Kato, H., Larsen, F., Mattila, D., Reeves, R.R., Rock, Y., Vladimirov, V., Weller, D. & Zhu, Q. (2010) [https://portals.iucn.org/library/node/12737 Conservation Plan for Western North Pacific Gray Whales  (''Eschrichtius robustus'')]. IUCN</ref>), and any presence in other areas outside of the known ranges off [[Babuyan Islands]] in [[Philippines]] and coastal [[Vietnam]]ese waters in [[Gulf of Tonkin]] are unknown. There is only one confirmed record of accidentally killing of the species in Vietnam, at Ngoc Vung Island off [[Ha Long Bay]] in 1994 and the skeleton is on exhibition at the [[Quang Ninh]] Provincial Historical Museum.<ref>2014. [http://www.cesti.gov.vn/kh-cn-trong-nuoc/chuan-hoa-ten-ca-voi-xam-trong-bo-suu-tap-mau-vat-bao-tang-lich-su-quang-ninh.html Chuẩn hóa lại tên cá voi xám trong bộ sưu tập mẫu vật của bảo tàng lịch sử tỉnh Quảng Ninh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312035151/http://www.cesti.gov.vn/kh-cn-trong-nuoc/chuan-hoa-ten-ca-voi-xam-trong-bo-suu-tap-mau-vat-bao-tang-lich-su-quang-ninh.html |date=2017-03-12 }}. Retrieved on March 09, 2017</ref><ref>2012. [http://grobest.com.vn/tin-tuc/44-tin-tuc/310-bi-an-nhung-con-ca-voi-khong-lo-dat-vao-bien-viet-nam.html Bí ẩn những con cá khổng lồ dạt vào biển Việt Nam] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312035203/http://grobest.com.vn/tin-tuc/44-tin-tuc/310-bi-an-nhung-con-ca-voi-khong-lo-dat-vao-bien-viet-nam.html |date=2017-03-12 }}. Retrieved on March 09, 2017</ref> Gray whales are known to occur in [[Taiwan Strait]] even in recent years.<ref name=Pingtan>What's on [[Xiamen]].[http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/tag-Pingtan+gray+whale.html Tags > Pingtan gray whale] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170625015736/http://www.whatsonxiamen.com/tag-Pingtan+gray+whale.html |date=2017-06-25 }}. Retrieved on November 24. 2014</ref>

It is also unknown whether any winter breeding grounds ever existed beyond Chinese coasts. For example, it is not known if the whales visited the southern coasts of the Korean Peninsula, adjacent to the [[Jeju Province|Island of Jeju]]), [[Haiyang]] Island, the Gulf of [[Shanghai]], or the [[Zhoushan Archipelago]].<ref>{{cite web|publisher=中华人民共和国濒危物种科学委员会 |title=濒危物种数据库 – 灰鲸 Eschrichtius robustus (Lilljeborg, 1861) |url=http://www.cites.org.cn/database/index.php?action=item&cid=26 |page=the [[CITES]] |access-date=2014-11-24 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141225151532/http://www.cites.org.cn/database/index.php?action=item&cid=26 |archive-date=2014-12-25 }}</ref> There is no evidence of historical presence in Japan south of [[Ōsumi Peninsula]];<ref>Uni Y., 2010, 『コククジラは大隅海峡を通るのか?』, Japan Cetology Research Group News Letter 25, retrieved on 11-05-2014</ref> only one skeleton has been discovered in [[Miyazaki Prefecture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://svrsh1.kahaku.go.jp/marmam/?p=6|title=海棲哺乳類情報データベース|access-date=14 May 2015|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903230215/http://svrsh1.kahaku.go.jp/marmam/?p=6|archive-date=3 September 2015}}</ref>  {{interlanguage link|Hideo Omura|jp|大村秀雄|vertical-align=sup}} once considered the [[Seto Inland Sea]] to be a historical breeding ground, but only a handful of capture records support this idea, although migrations into the sea have been confirmed. Recent studies using genetics and acoustics, suggest that there are several wintering sites for western gray whales such as Mexico and the East China sea. However, their wintering ground habits in the western North Pacific are still poorly understood and additional research is needed.<ref name="shikoku-np.co.jp">{{cite web|url=http://www.shikoku-np.co.jp/feature/rensa/3/2/|title=連鎖の崩壊 第３部 命のふるさと ２−四国新聞社|access-date=14 May 2015}}</ref>