needs of Alaska Eskimos would be met by landing 41 bowhead 

 whales. Based on information reviewed during the meeting, 

 the IWC adopted a three-year guota for the Bering-Chukchi- 

 Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales covering the 1989, 

 1990, and 1991 whaling seasons. The quota provides for an 

 annual limit of 44 strikes or 41 landings, whichever is reached 

 first, and also provides that up to three strikes not used in 

 1988, 1989, or 1990 may be added to the strike limit for the 

 following year. 



Eskimo Whaling 



In 1981, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administra- 

 tion and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission signed a 

 cooperative agreement setting forth shared responsibilities 

 for regulating, monitoring, and enforcing the Alaska Eskimo 

 bowhead whale hunt. Under terms of the agreement, quotas are 

 negotiated annually between the two parties. The Alaska 

 Eskimo Whaling Commission allocates the negotiated quota 

 among Alaska whaling villages and monitors the hunt for 

 compliance with the regulations. The quotas negotiated under 

 the agreement have been consistent with those established by 

 the IWC. The table below shows the quotas set by the IWC and 

 the results of the Eskimo hunts since 1977. 



Quotas and Numbers Taken of Bowhead Whales. 1977-1989 



Year 



IWC Quotas* 



Landings 



Strikes 



Takes by Alaska Eskimos 

 \ctually Struck Total 

 Landed But Lost Struck 



2 

 27 

 2 6 



65** 



43*** 



26+ 



26+ 



32++ 



35 



44+++ 



26 

 12 



12 

 16 

 17 

 8 

 9 

 12 

 11 

 19 

 22 

 23 



62 



6 



15 



18 



11 



11 



9 



13 



6 



9 



9 



6 



108 

 18 



27 

 34 

 28 

 19 

 18 

 25 

 17 

 28 

 31 

 29 



In establishing quotas for both landings and strikes, 



the IWC stipulated that whaling should cease whenever 



the number of whales landed or the number of strikes 



reached the specified number, whichever came first. 



In 1980, a block quota was set for the years 1981 to 



1983, with a stipulation that in any one year, the number 



landed should not exceed 17 and the number of strikes 



should not exceed 27. 



In 1983, a block quota was set on strikes alone for 1984 



and 1985, with a further stipulation that the number of 



strikes in any one year not exceed 27. 



In 1985, a quota of 26 strikes per year was set for the 



years 1985-1987, with the stipulation that strikes not 



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



long as no more than 32 strikes were made in any single 



year. 



In 1987, the IWC modified its 1987 quota to allow 32 



strikes. 



The adopted quota provides that up to three strikes not 



used in 1988 may be used in 1989. 



