Shelikhov Gulf

Shelikhov Gulf (Russian: залив Шелихова) is a large gulf off the northwestern coast of Kamchatka, Russia. The gulf is named after Russian explorer Grigory Shelikhov.

It is located in the northeastern corner of the Sea of Okhotsk and branches into two main arms, Gizhigin Bay to the west and Penzhina Bay to the east. Its southwest corner is formed by the P'yagin Peninsula, Yam Bay, and the Yamsky Islands.

The Shelikhov Gulf should not be confused with much smaller Shelikhov Bay (Bukhta Shelikhova, 50.3764N, 155.62E), which is also in the Sea of Okhotsk on the northwestern coast of Paramushir Island.

History

Shelikhov Gulf was frequented by American whaleships hunting bowhead and gray whales between 1849 and 1900. They called it Northeast Gulf.^[1]^[2]^[3] They also traded with the natives for fish and reindeer.^[4] On 11 August 1867, the barque Stella (270 tons), of New Bedford, Captained by Ebenezer F. Nye, was wrecked on Krayny in the northeastern arm of the gulf. Two men were killed as the barque was smashed to pieces on the rocks. The rest of the crew were split among several vessels.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Wildlife

In the spring and summer, beluga whales aggregate in the bays and estuaries at the head of Shelikhov Gulf to feed on spawning herring, smelt, and salmon.^[8] In the spring, bowhead whales can also be seen in the gulf.^[9]

References

^ Mary and Susan, of Stonington, July 18-Aug. 8, 1849, Nicholson Whaling Collection (NWC); Abraham Barker, of New Bedford, June 10-July 17, 1856, NWC; Florida, of Fairhaven, July 7-Sep. 5, 1861 (Williams, One Whaling Family [1964], pp. 186-198); Josephine, of New Bedford, June 9-July 15, 1865, June 9–26, 1866, Kendall Whaling Museum (KWM); Arnolda, of New Bedford, June-Aug. 1874, ODHS; Mary and Helen II, of San Francisco, April 29-May 30, June 9-Aug. 4, 1885, KWM.
^ Jochelson, W. (1905). "The Koryak". The Jesup North Pacific Expedition, Vol. VI. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History. Leiden/New York.
^ Allen, J. A. (1903). "Report of the mammals collected in northeastern Siberia by the Jesup North Pacific expedition with itinerary and field notes, by N. G. Buxton". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XIX, pp. 101-184.
^ Sea Breeze, of New Bedford, Aug. 18, 1866, May 25, 1868, ODHS.
^ Sea Breeze, of New Bedford, Aug. 15, 1867, ODHS.
^ Whalemen's Shipping List and Merchants' Transcript (Vol. XXV, No. 35, Oct. 29, 1867, New Bedford).
^ Starbuck, Alexander (1878). History of the American Whale Fishery from Its Earliest Inception to the year 1876. Castle. ISBN 1-55521-537-8.
^ Solovyev, B. A., Shpak, O. V., Glazov, D. M., Rozhnov, V. V., & D. M. Kuznetsova. (2015). "Summer distribution of beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) in the Sea of Okhotsk". Russian J. Theriol. 14 (2): 201-215.
^ Moore, S. E., and R. R. Reeves (1993). "Distribution and Movement". In Burns, J. J.; Montague, J. J.; and Cowles, C. J. The Bowhead Whale. Special Publication No. 2: The Society for Marine Mammalogy.