Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



commercial and recreational fishing. With respect to 

 humpback whales and other whales, such activities 

 could result in disturbance, possible area avoidance by 

 whales, incidental taking, entanglement in lost or 

 discarded fishing gear, and the depletion of available 

 food for marine mammals and other species. There- 

 fore, the Commission recommended that: (1) the 

 environmental impact statement be expanded to 

 include a more thorough description of the possible 

 direct and mdirect effects of commercial and recre- 

 ational fishing on marine mammals and other species; 

 and (2) the sanctuary designation document be ex- 

 panded to include commercial and recreational fishing 

 as an activity that could be subject to regulation if 

 new information indicates that existing management 

 authorities are not providing the necessary level of 

 site-specific protection needed. 



The Commission's comments and those of other 

 reviewers were being considered by the Division at 

 the end of 1991, and the final environmental impact 

 statement and management plan is expected to be 

 completed in 1992. 



An additional effort initiated in 1991 bearing on 

 humpback whales in the North Atlantic is the coopera- 

 tive research program entitled "Years of the North 

 Atlantic Humpback Whale" (Project YONAH). This 

 three-year project was developed to address questions 

 concerning the discreteness of humpback whale stocks 

 in the North Atlantic Ocean, the extent to which 

 whales move between feeding areas, reproduction and 

 mortality rates, and the status of the various hump- 

 back whale stocks in the North Atlantic basin. 



The project involves collaboration by researchers 

 from seven nations to obtain and analyze photographs 

 and biopsy samples from humpback whales throughout 

 the North Atlantic. Sampling is scheduled to begin in 

 January 1992 on breeding grounds (Silver Bank, 

 Navidad Bank, Samana Bay, and Mona Passage) in 

 the West Indies. Sampling is to continue in summer 

 1992 at all known North Atlantic feeding grounds 

 (i.e., the Gulf of Maine, Gulf of St. Lawrence, off the 

 Atlantic coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, off 

 southwestern Greenland, around Iceland, and off 

 Norway). Sampling will be continued in 1993 and 

 final analyses are expected to be completed sometime 

 in 1994. The Marine Mammal Commission provided 



funds at the outset to help support project administra- 

 tion costs (see Chapter DC). 



Bowhead Whale 

 (Balaena mysticetus) 



Bowhead whales historically occurred throughout 

 the seasonally ice-covered areas of the arctic and sub- 

 arctic region. Over-exploitation by commercial 

 whalers between 1600 and 1900 severely depleted all 

 four recognized populations. The species is listed as 

 endangered under the Endangered Species Act and 

 depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. 

 It also is classified as a protected stock by the Interna- 

 tional Whaling Commission (IWC). 



The largest surviving population is the western 

 Arctic population, which migrates seasonally between 

 the Bering Sea and the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. 

 Recently bowhead whale calls were recorded in an 

 area north of Scandinavia that was once populated by 

 the Spitsbergen bowhead whale population. Although 

 this population had been thought to be extinct, new 

 evidence suggests it may still be extant. Populations 

 exist in odier areas as well, but information adequate 

 to assess their status is not available. 



Eskimo Whaling 



The western Arctic bowhead whale population is 

 important to Alaska Natives who continue to hunt the 

 whales for subsistence and cultural purposes. In the 

 mid-1970s, the number of whales struck and landed or 

 lost by Eskuno whalers increased (Table 7). The 

 increase was due to several factors, including an 

 increase in the number of whaling crews and restric- 

 tions on the subsistence take of caribou. As jobs 

 became available on the Alaska oil pipeline and as 

 compensation claims on Native land rights were 

 settled, more cash was available to purchase whaling 

 equipment, which also contributed to the increased 

 amount of whaling. 



At its June 1977 meeting, the IWC reviewed 

 information on the status of the western Arctic bow- 

 head whale population and the increasing take by 

 Alaska Eskimos. Concern that the increasing subsis- 



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