Bowhead Whale (Balaena mysticetus) 



Bowhead whales occur only in the northern hemisphere where 

 they are circumpolar in distribution. They are associated with 

 ice-bound regions of the Arctic and sub-arctic. Historically, 

 there are believed to have been at least four or five separate 

 populations. Over-exploitation by commercial whalers between 

 1600 and 1900 reduced all populations to extremely low levels, 

 and one population, the Spitsbergen population north of 

 Scandinavia, may be extinct. 



The largest surviving population is in the western Arctic, 

 where animals migrate seasonally between the Bering Sea and the 

 Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. In recent years, improved information 

 has led to a series of revised estimates of the number of whales 

 in the population. The most recent estimate accepted by the 

 International Whaling Commission at its 1988 meeting was 7,800 

 animals with a 95 percent confidence interval of 5,700 to 10,600 

 whales. The population is important to Alaska Natives who 

 continue to hunt bowhead whales for subsistence and cultural 

 purposes. Both the bowhead whale population and the availability 

 of whales to Native subsistence hunters could be affected by 

 offshore oil and gas exploration and development in the Beaufort, 

 Chukchi, and Bering Seas. 



Eskimo Whaling 



The International Whaling Commission reviews the status of 

 whale populations from which animals are taken for subsistence 

 purposes, including the western Arctic bowhead population from 

 which animals are taken by Alaska Eskimos. Based on the best 

 available scientific information, the International Whaling 

 Commission adopts recommended quotas for subsistence whaling that 

 are implemented by member nations. In the United States, the 

 Secretary of Commerce and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission 

 share responsibility for regulating, monitoring, and enforcing 

 the Alaska Eskimo bowhead whale hunt pursuant to a Memorandum of 

 Understanding signed in 1981. The quotas set under this 

 agreement have been consistent with those established by the 

 International Whaling Commission. The table on the following 

 page identifies the guotas adopted by the International Whaling 

 Commission and the results of the Eskimo hunts since 1977. 



Research Planning and Coordination 



In December 1977, the International Whaling Commission 

 lifted its total ban on subsistence taking of bowhead whales that 

 had been adopted the preceding June. It did so based, in part, 

 on a pledge by the U.S. Commissioner to the IWC that the United 

 States would undertake a comprehensive research program on the 

 species. The National Marine Fisheries Service is responsible 

 for planning and implementing this program. Relevant research 



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