MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION - Annual Report for 1995 



Bowhead Whale Stock Assessment 



The 1994 amendments to the Marine Mammal 

 Protection Act direct the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service to prepare 

 stock assessments for all marine mammal stocks 

 occurring in U.S. waters (see Chapter IV). The 

 assessments are to include estimates of the minimum 

 stock size, maximum net productivity rate, and 

 potential biological removal level which, if taken, 

 would still allow a stock to remain within its optimum 

 sustainable population level. The assessments also are 

 to provide information on take levels in commercial 

 fisheries and by other human-related activities. They 

 are to indicate whether stocks are "strategic" stocks 

 and could require special management attention to 

 reduce incidental take in commercial fisheries. 



The Commission reviewed draft marine mammal 

 stock assessments prepared by the National Marine 

 Fisheries Service and provided comments concerning 

 Alaska stocks to the Service on 1 December 1994. 

 With regard to the western Arctic bowhead whale 

 stock, the Commission indicated that the draft report 

 did not appear to provide a complete assessment of all 

 available information concerning estimates of the 

 potential biological removal. The Commission also 

 noted that if there is reason to believe that bowhead 

 whales or their habitat could be adversely affected by 

 offshore oil and gas or other activities, the Service, in 

 consultation with the State of Alaska and appropriate 

 Native organizations, should develop a recovery plan 

 for bowhead whales. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service distributed 

 final assessments of Alaska marine mammals in 

 September 1995. The assessment of the western 

 Arctic bowhead whale stock indicated that unusually 

 good counting conditions in 1993 resulted in what was 

 considered the most accurate population estimate to 

 date for this stock: 8,000 whales, with a confidence 

 interval of 6,900 to 9,200. The assessment also 

 indicated that the best estimate of the maximum net 

 productivity rate is 4 percent and indicated that the 

 estimated potential biological removal level is 75 

 whales, but noted that the IWC subsistence harvest 

 quotas, described below, take precedence over the 

 potential biological removal estimate for the purpose 

 of managing the Alaska Native harvest. The assess- 



ment concluded that the level of human-caused mortal- 

 ity and serious injury does not exceed the potential 

 biological removal level nor the IWC quota for 1995. 

 Nonetheless, the stock is listed as endangered under 

 the Endangered Species Act and was thus classified as 

 a strategic stock. 



Eskimo Whaling 



Bowhead whales are hunted by Alaska Natives for 

 subsistence and cultural purposes. Allowable catch 

 levels are established by the IWC, based on estab- 

 lished need, and are implemented by the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service and the Alaska Eskimo 

 Whaling Commission under the terms of a memoran- 

 dum of agreement. 



In 1982 the IWC amended its Schedule of Regula- 

 tions and set forth guidelines for establishing catch 

 limits for aboriginal subsistence whaling. The new 

 guidelines formally recognized the distinction between 

 commercial and aboriginal subsistence whaling, and 

 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 depleted whale stocks. 



In response to the guidelines, the U.S. Department 

 of the Interior developed a quantitative procedure for 

 determining the subsistence and cultural needs of 

 Alaska Eskimos. Based on information available in 

 1988, the subsistence and cultural needs of Alaska 

 Eskimos for bowhead whales was estimated to be 41 

 whales. 



In 1991, on behalf of Alaska Natives, the United 

 States requested a quota of 54 strikes per year for the 

 years 1992, 1993, and 1994 with not more than 41 

 whales to be landed in any year. In response, the 

 IWC adopted a three-year block quota allowing a total 

 of 141 bowhead whales to be struck during 1992- 

 1994. In addition, the IWC adopted a provision 

 allowing 13 unused strikes from the 1989 through 

 1991 quota to be carried forward and added to the 

 new quota. Thus, Alaska Native whalers were 

 authorized up to 154 strikes during 1992-1994. 

 During any single year, however, the number of 

 strikes could not exceed 54 and the number of whales 

 landed could not exceed 41. 



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