MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1991 



tence take was jeopardizing the population prompted 

 the IWC to eliminate its exemption under which 

 Natives were allowed to take bowhead whales and 

 other protected species for subsistence purposes. The 

 United States subsequently sought and achieved 

 reinstatement of the exemption, based largely on a 

 pledge by the U.S. Commissioner to the IWC that the 

 United States would undertake a comprehensive 

 research program to monitor the western Arctic 

 bowhead whale population's status and trends. 



In 1982, the IWC adopted a new paragraph, 13(a), 

 to its Schedule of Regulations setting forth principles 

 and guidelines for establishing catch limits for aborigi- 

 nal/subsistence whaling. The new measure formally 

 recognized the distinction between commercial and 

 aboriginal/subsistence whaling. It also codified the 

 IWC's past practice of attempting to strike a balance 

 between the subsistence, cultural, and nutritional 

 needs of aboriginal people and the need to protect 

 affected whale stocks. Specifically, the new para- 

 graph states that "[F]or stocks below the maximum 

 sustainable yield (MSY) level but above a certain 

 minimum level, aboriginal/subsistence catches shall be 

 permitted so long as they are set at a level which 

 allows the whale stock to move to the MSY level." 

 Allowable catch levels established by the IWC are 

 based on advice from its Scientific Committee and are 

 implemented by the member nations. 



To help implement the new measure, the U.S. 

 Department of the Interior began to develop a quanti- 

 tative procedure for determining the nutritional, 

 subsistence, and cultural needs of Alaska Eskimos for 

 bowhead whales. The procedure multiplied the mean 

 annual number of bowhead whales landed per capita 

 during the period (1910-1969) by the current size of 

 the Eskimo population in nine Alaska Native whaling 

 villages. Based on data available in 1983, the cultural 

 need for bowhead whales was established at 26 

 animals landed per year. This estimate was revised in 

 1988 to a take of 41 whales landed per year, based on 

 new data from additional research on past cultural 

 needs in the nine Alaska Native whaling villages. 



The United States subsequently requested and 

 received an annual quota of 41 whales landed or a 

 maximum of 47 whales struck for the years 1989, 

 1990, and 1991. During that period the struck-and- 



landed rate was 66 percent. Based on this rate, at the 

 1991 meeting of the IWC, the United States asked for 

 a quota of 54 strikes per year for the years 1992, 

 1993, and 1994 with no more than 41 whales landed 

 in any year for the next three years (Table 7). The 

 IWC adopted these proposed catch limits, along with 

 a provision to allow Natives to carry over a combined 

 total of up to 13 unused strikes during the 1989, 



1990, and 1991 seasons. 



The Alaska Eskimo bowhead whale hunt is regulat- 

 ed by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission 

 pursuant to a memorandum of understanding signed in 

 1981 by the Commission and the Department of 

 Commerce. The memorandum has been renewed 

 annually, and the number of whales struck, landed, 

 and lost by Alaska Natives has been consistent with 

 the quotas established by the IWC. 



In August 1991, the Minister of Fisheries and 

 Oceans of Canada approved a license for the take of 

 one bowhead whale by the western Arctic Native 

 community of Aklavik. Canada, which is not a mem- 

 ber of the FWC, did so without consulting the IWC. 

 The Inuvialuit Natives subsequently struck two 

 bowhead whales, one of which was landed. Absent 

 consultations with the IWC, Canada's action could be 

 viewed as "diminishing the effectiveness" of the 

 IWC's conservation program and grounds for certifi- 

 cation under relevant U.S. laws — the Pelly Amend- 

 ment to the Fishermen's Protective Act (22 U.S. C. § 

 1978) and Packwood-Magnuson Amendment to the 

 Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act 

 (16 U.S.C. § 1821(e)(2)). 



In response to U.S. concerns, the Canadian Am- 

 bassador wrote to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce on 

 30 September 1991 stating that a committee of offi- 

 cials from various Canadian Government departments 

 would review the issues arising from the Inuvialuit 

 bowhead whale hunt, including the Canadian Govern- 

 ment's position vis-a-vis the IWC. Because of the 

 implications of the Canadian hunt for the conservation 

 of bowhead whales, the Marine Mammal Commission 

 wrote to the U.S. IWC Commissioner on 5 December 



1991. In its letter, the Marme Mammal Commission 

 recommended that, notwithstanding the need for an 

 investigation of the circumstances surrounding the 

 issuing of the Canadian license, the Secretary certify 



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