The following two papers have just been published: Ivashchenko, Y.V., Clapham, P.J. & Brownell, R.L. Jr. 2017. New data on Soviet blue and right whale catches in the North Pacific. * Journal of Cetacean Research and Management* 17: 15-22. ABSTRACT: Details are provided on 17 previously unreported catches of blue whales, and 93 catches of North Pacific right whales, all taken illegally by the former USSR. The blue whale catches were made between mid-July and mid-September 1972 in the eastern North Pacific at distances of from 96 to 626 nautical miles from the US west coast (Oregon and Washington); they highlight the inadequacy of the International Observer Scheme, as implemented in 1972, to report or detect illegal whaling. These previously unknown blue whale catches bring the Soviet total to 1,638 for the period 1948–1972. The 93 right whale catches were made during the period 1951–62 around the Kuril Islands, which brings the known total of takes of this species from 1935–1971 to 775 (including 10 taken for scientific research and officially reported at the time). Ivashchenko, Y.V. & Clapham, P.J. 2017. Evaluation of the accuracy of reported noon positions from Soviet whaling factory ships. * Journal of Cetacean Research and Management* 17: 23-28. ABSTRACT: It has generally been assumed that the noon positions reported to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) by Soviet factory ships were accurate, despite that nation’s extensive falsification of catch records. In this paper, Soviet whaling industry reports are used to investigate this issue. Comparison of available track data from the reports with information submitted to the IWC through the BIWS shows that the officially reported data provide a reasonably accurate idea of general whaling effort, with minor discrepancies attributable to differences in precision or to geo-referencing. However, the Soviet report tracks sometimes include unreported excursions for the purpose of illegal whaling, and these were omitted from the data sent to the IWC. Both should be downloadable from the IWC website: https://archive.iwc.int/pages/view.php?ref=6607&k= ...or I can send pdfs if you contact me directly. Happy holidays everyone! -- Yulia V. Ivashchenko, Ph.D. Associate Scientist National Marine Mammal Laboratory Alaska Fisheries Science Center 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle, WA 98115, USA Tel: +1 206 526 4037 Email: *yulia.ivashchenko@noaa.gov <yulia.ivashchenko@noaa.gov>* *http://www.moscowproject.org <http://www.moscowproject.org>*