According to the results of the work, a decrease in the number of individual sex and age groups of fur seals was recorded; the population of sea lions, sea otters and antlers remains at a low level.
Difficult weather conditions — windy and cloudy weather — complicated aerial visual calculations in the 2026 season. The success of the expedition was largely ensured by the well-coordinated work of the team: experienced specialists worked together with young scientists. Bachelors Timur Vlasov and Bogdan Shershenkov, who recently graduated with honors from Kamchatka State Technical University with a degree in Ecology and Environmental Management, quickly mastered the methods of accounting for animals and working with quadrocopters. In addition to scientific work, they took over the daily chores of the group — from harvesting firewood to maintaining order in the camp — and proved to be a promising shift for the older generation of researchers.
Now the team has to do painstaking desk work: create orthophotoplans of rookeries, count the fur seal pups and prepare the final report on the expedition.
VNIRO Press Service
