MARINE MAMMAL COMMISSION — Annual Report for 1992 
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Table 7. Quotas and number of bowhead whales taken by Alaska Eskimos, 1973-1992' 
IWC Quotas? Number Taken 
Struck Percent 
But Total Struck 
Year Landings Strikes Landed Lost Struck Landed 
1973 (No Quotas) 37 10 47 79 
1974 (No Quotas) 20 31 51 39 
1975 (No Quotas) 15 28 43 35 
1976 (No Quotas) 48 43 91 53 
1977 (No Quotas) 26 82 108 24 
1978 14 20 12 6 18 67 
1979 18 27 12 15 27 44 
1980 18 26 16 18 34 47 
1981 17 27 17 11 28 61 
1982 il 27 8 11 19 42 
1983 ily/ 27 9 9 18 50 
1984° — 43 12 13 25 48 
1985° — 26 11 6 17 65 
1986° _ 26 19 9 28 68 
1987° -- 32 22 9 31 71 
1988? _ 35 23 6 29 79 
1989 41 44 18 8 26 69 
1990 41 47 30 14 ah 68 
1991 41 44 PH | 19 46 59 
1992 41 54 38 12 50 76 
1 Cited quotas provided by the International Whaling Commission; data on the number of whales taken provided by the National 
Marine Fisheries Service. 
In establishing quotas for both landings and strikes, the International Whaling Commission stipulated that whaling should cease 
whenever the number of whales landed or the number of strikes reached the specified number, whichever came first. 
3 For the years 1984 through 1988, quotas were set for strikes only. 
Bowhead whales were listed as endangered under 
the Endangered Species Act in 1970 and depleted 
under the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1977. 
They are classified as a protected stock by the Interna- 
tional Whaling Commission (IWC). 
Eskimo Whaling 
Bowhead whales are hunted by Alaska Natives for 
subsistence and cultural purposes. In the mid-1970s, 
54 
the number of whales struck and landed or lost by 
Native whalers increased (see Table 7). This was due 
to several things, including improved wage-earning 
opportunities that enabled more hunters to outfit boats 
and crews. 
As described in previous annual reports, in 1977 
the International Whaling Commission’s Scientific 
Committee reviewed information on the status of the 
western Arctic bowhead whale population and the 
