that the National Marine Fisheries Service organize and 

 convene a follow-up meeting to develop and, if possible, 

 agree on a coordinated plan for obtaining biological and 

 other information needed to resolve IWC-related as well 

 as other bowhead issues. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service concurred with 

 the Commission's recommendation and convened a meeting on 

 11-12 March 1982 to develop a coordinated, interagency 

 research plan. Meeting participants included representatives 

 of the North Slope Borough, the Alaska Eskimo Whaling 

 Commission, the Bureau of Land Management, and the oil and 

 gas industry, as well as the Commission and the National 

 Marine Fisheries Service. During the meeting, it was agreed 

 that additional research was needed to: 1) provide a more 

 reliable estimate of annual recruitment; 2) evaluate 

 possible sources of bias in census data; and 3) provide 

 better information on distribution and movement patterns, 

 particularly in and near OCS lease sale areas in the Beaufort 

 Sea. It also was agreed that obtaining a reliable estimate 

 of annual recruitment was of particular importance. 



Following the 11-12 March meeting, a report was 

 prepared and circulated and the National Marine Fisheries 

 Service obtained funding for additional surveys of 

 bowhead whales in the eastern Beaufort Sea. This work was 

 carried out by a contractor in August and early in September 

 1982 and the resulting data currently are being analyzed. 



At the March 1982 coordination meeting, it was agreed 

 that the group should meet again some time late in 1982 or 

 early in 1983 to evaluate research progress and to make 

 further recommendations as needed. This meeting was held in 

 Anchorage, Alaska, on 15-15 December 1982. Although 

 the data from the 1982 studies had not yet been analyzed 

 fully, preliminary results were promising. However, it 

 was clear that further work is needed to provide a reliable 

 estimate of recruitment, determine stock distributions, and 

 assess the possible direct and indirect effects of offshore 

 oil and gas exploration and exploitation. 



The report from the December 1982 meeting is expected 

 to be completed early in 1983 and will be reviewed by the 

 Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, to determine what additional action is needed to 

 facilitate planning or coordination of bowhead research. 



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