its Annual Meeting on 10-12 December 1987, the Commission was 

 advised that a draft was nearing completion and would be pro- 

 vided to the Recovery Team early in 1988 for review and comment, 



The Commission looks forward to working with the Service, 

 the Recovery Team, and other concerned parties during 1988 to 

 develop and improve the evolving right whale recovery program. 



Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) 



Prior to commercial exploitation, bowhead whales were 

 circumpolar in distribution and made up at least five or six 

 separate populations. Over-exploitation by commercial whalers 

 between 1600 and 1900 reduced all populations to extremely 

 low levels, and one population, the Spitsbergen population 

 north of Scandinavia, may be extinct. The largest surviving 

 population is the Bering Sea (western Arctic) population. 

 This population migrates seasonally between Bering Sea and 

 the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The population is important 

 to Alaska Eskimos who continue to hunt bowhead whales for 

 subsistence and cultural purposes. 



Consideration bv the International Whaling Commission 



The International Whaling Commission (IWC) reviews infor- 

 mation on the status of the Bering Sea stock of bowhead whales 

 and establishes quotas for aboriginal subsistence whaling. 

 Since 1977, a series of quotas have been adopted by the IWC 

 to satisfy the needs of Alaska Eskimos while allowing the 

 bowhead whale stock to recover. As noted in previous Annual 

 Reports, the IWC Scientific Committee reviewed information on 

 the status of bowhead whales during its meeting in 1985. 

 Based on information available at that time, the Committee 

 accepted an estimate of 4,417 animals (range, 2,613 to 6,221) 

 as the best estimate of the current size of the Bering Sea 

 stock of bowhead whales. Considering this estimate and the 

 advice of the Committee, the IWC adopted a three-year block 

 quota of 26 strikes per year for bowhead whales for the years 

 1985 through 1987. The quota provided that strikes not used 

 in any one year could be used the following year so long as 

 no more than 32 strikes were made in any single year. 



As noted in Chapter V, the IWC again considered aboriginal 

 subsistence needs for bowhead whales during its 1987 meeting. 

 During the Scientific Committee deliberations prior to that 

 meeting, results of further research on the Bering Sea stock 

 of bowhead whales were considered. Based on that information, 

 the Committee accepted a new population estimate of 7,200 

 animals (standard error, 2,400 animals) as the best estimate 

 of stock size. In view of this estimate, the IWC modified 



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