YARMOUTH, MA - June 28 - The International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW ) announced today that a Royal Dutch Shell oil and gas project off the coast of Sakhalin Island threatens the extinction of the Western Pacific Grey Whales.

IFAW made the announcement at a rally in The Hague, Netherlands, outside a Royal Dutch Shell shareholder meeting. The purpose of the rally was to educate shareholders about the threat to whales from Shell's Sakhalin project and to offer alternatives to Shell's expansion plans. Shell owns 55 percent of the project. Mitsubishi and Mitsui are other major stakeholders.

Western Pacific Grey Whales are highly endangered and only about 100 remain in the world. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) includes the whales on its list of critically endangered species.

Every year, from May to November, the entire known population of Western Pacific Grey Whales returns to feed off the northeastern shores of Sakhalin Island, off the east coast of Russia. Shell currently operates an enormous oil and gas project in this same location and has announced plans to expand its current project by building a platform and pipeline through the whales' feeding area.

"This is a very clear cut issue," said Marcel Bertsch of IFAW. "Shell can expand its Sakhalin project in a way that protects whales, or it can continue with its stated plans and drive the Western Pacific Grey Whales into extinction. IFAW isn't asking Shell to shut down the project, we are simply asking them to build around the feeding area."

A group of 11 environmental groups -- including IFAW, WWF and Greenpeace -- have warned Shell that its current construction plans pose a critical threat to whales. The groups have offered alternate construction plans that would protect whales but Shell has refused to change their current plans.

"IFAW is going to push for a public dialogue on the threat Shell poses to whales," said Bertsch. "There are reasonable alternatives and Shell's employees, shareholders and investors need to know that this is an important decision. If they choose to proceed recklessly, they are literally choosing the extinction of one of the world's most majestic whales."

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