The 11^th international conference Marine Mammals of the Holarctic was held on 1-5 March 2021 via Zoom by the Shirshov Institute of Oceanology of the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS).

The participants discussed problems related to the research, conservation and management of sea mammals in internal water reservoirs, Russia’s coastal waters, its shelf and adjacent basins of the Northern Hemisphere.

The participants also held working sessions and targeted events devoted to specific sea mammals and the problems of reducing the negative impact of tourism and technological developments on their habitats.

All recommendations made during the conference will be included in the final resolution and forwarded to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, the Federal Service for Supervision of Natural Resources, the FSB Border Service, the Federal Agency for Fishery and other federal, regional and local authorities.

Following the conference, its participants plan to publish a collection of articles in Russian and English, with the latest information on the condition of the populations of sea mammals and their habitat, and main areas of research and conservation of these species.

The conference was attended by 319 participants from 20 countries: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The participants included representatives of the Federal Agency for Fishery and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, dolphinariums and travel agencies specialising in marine educational tourism, as well as a number of major companies producing hydrocarbons on the Arctic shelf and in the Far Eastern seas.
A contest of works by the researchers of the sea mammals of the Holarctic, and an educational programme for children of school and preschool age were held within the framework of the conference with the support of Presidential Grants Foundation and the Research Zoological Museum of Lomonosov Moscow State University. A contest of student reports took place during the conference. The jury of experts on sea mammals assessed reports by students and postgraduates.

The conference was organised by the Council for Marine Mammals, a public organisation established in 1995. It unites leading Russian and foreign researchers studying and working to preserve seals, whales, dolphins and other marine mammals. In addition to research projects, its members act as experts on the issues of keeping marine mammals in captivity and protecting them, and drafting a new version of the Red Book of Russia and other events at different levels.

Since 2000, the Council has regularly held conferences on the marine mammals of the Holarctic. These are the biggest international events in this field.

The conference was organised jointly by the Foundation for Preserving the Intellectual Legacy of Alexei Yablokov (the Yablokov Foundation) and the RAS Shirshov Institute of Oceanology. The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment of the Russian Federation, the Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS), the Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution and many other research, educational and public environmental institutions provided support for the conference.