Chapter III — Species of Special Concern 



Table 8. Quotas and number of bowhead 



whales taken by Alaska Eskimos, 

 1973-1995 1 



IWC 



Quotas 2 Struck % Struck 



(Landed/ No. but not Total and 

 Year Struck) Landed Landed Struck Landed 



1 Cited quotas established by the International Whaling Com- 

 mission; data on numbers of whales landed, struck but not 

 landed, and total struck are from Suydam, R.S., R.P. 

 Angliss, J.C. George, S.R. Braund, and D.P. DeMaster. 

 1995. Revised data on the subsistence harvest of bowhead 

 whales (Balaena mysticetus) by Alaska Eskimos, 1973-1993. 

 In: Forty-fifth report of the International Whaling Com- 

 mission. 45:335-338. 



2 Whaling is to cease whenever the number of whales landed 

 or the number of strikes made reaches the specified number, 

 whichever comes first. 



3 Quotas set for strikes only. 



At its 1994 meeting the IWC amended the Schedule 

 of Regulations to authorize bowhead whale takes for 

 subsistence and cultural purposes for the years 1995 

 to 1998. The amendment permits the landing of no 



more than 204 bowhead whales from the Bering- 

 Chukchi-Beaufort Seas population during the four-year 

 period. The IWC based this total on a need of 51 

 whales per year for Alaska Natives in 10 whaling 

 villages, up from 41 landed per year for 1992 to 

 1994. In an effort to continue improving the efficien- 

 cy of the hunt, the quota permits a decreasing number 

 of strikes each year: 68, 67, 66, and 65 in 1995, 

 1996, 1997, and 1998, respectively. The IWC 

 allowed any unused portion of the strike quota to be 

 carried forward for use in subsequent years, provided 

 that no more than ten strikes are added to the strike 

 quota for any one year. Catch and strike totals of 

 bowhead whales taken by Alaska Natives between 

 1973 and 1995 are shown in Table 8. 



Bowhead Whale Recovery Plan 



The National Marine Fisheries Service has lead 

 U.S. responsibility for coordinating actions necessary 

 to ensure that human activities do not adversely affect 

 bowhead whales or their habitat. Development of a 

 recovery plan specifying needed research and manage- 

 ment actions would help the Service meet its responsi- 

 bilities. The Marine Mammal Commission recom- 

 mended that the Service develop and implement such 

 a recovery plan for bowhead whales in a 5 December 

 1991 letter to the U.S. IWC Commissioner, and again 

 in a letter to the Service dated 10 March 1993. 



On 14 May 1993 the Service advised the Com- 

 mission that it concurred that a bowhead whale 

 recovery plan would be useful. At the same time, 

 however, the Service indicated it would be preferable 

 to defer plan development until 1994 when the IWC's 

 bowhead whale population assessment would be 

 completed. By the end of 1995 the Commission had 

 heard nothing further from the Service regarding 

 development of a bowhead whale recovery plan. 



In 1996 the Marine Mammal Commission will 

 continue to monitor matters related to bowhead whales 

 and advise the National Marine Fisheries Service, the 

 Minerals Management Service, and other involved 

 agencies on further actions that may be necessary to 

 protect and encourage the continued recovery of the 

 western Arctic bowhead whale population while 

 meeting the subsistence and cultural needs of Alaska 

 Eskimos. 



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