Chapter II — Species of Special Concern 



were intended to counter Canadian efforts to move 

 whaling issues to forums other than the IWC and to 

 promote the take of marine mammals in ways that are 

 inconsistent with sound conservation practices. 



In 1997 Canadian Natives neither requested licenses 

 nor took any bowhead whales. However, in 1998 

 Canada issued a license and on 20 July Native whalers 

 took a bowhead whale from the highly endangered 

 eastern Canadian stock. After learning of the take, 

 the Department of State conveyed to the Canadian 

 government its continuing belief that these actions 

 diminished the effectiveness of the IWC's conserva- 

 tion program. The State Department urged Canada to 

 rejoin the IWC or to refrain from allowing its Natives 

 to hunt bowhead whales without review of their 

 subsistence needs and recommended quotas by the 

 IWC. It also advised Canada that the United States 

 would continue to oppose Canadian efforts to address 

 marine mammal trade and other issues within the 

 Arctic Council until Canada either rejoins or complies 

 with the IWC's aboriginal whaling regime. 



IWC Stock Assessment 



During its 1998 meeting, the IWC's Scientific 

 Committee conducted a comprehensive assessment of 

 the status of the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas bow- 

 head stock. During the assessment, it was noted that 

 bowhead whales, particularly males, may live for 

 more than 100 years. Evidence for this includes the 

 recovery of six harpoon points (four of stone) of types 

 not known to have been used for more than 100 years 

 from whales taken in recent years by Alaska Natives. 

 The assessment concluded that the stock is near its 

 maximum sustainable yield level and likely would 

 continue to grow with catch levels up to 108 animals 

 per year. Consequently, the currently authorized 

 quotas are appropriately conservative. 



Gray Whale 

 (Eschrichtius robustus) 



Gray whales occur only in the North Pacific 

 Ocean, where they inhabit primarily coastal waters. 

 They once occurred in the eastern and western North 

 Atlantic Ocean. The eastern North Atlantic popula- 



tion apparently survived into the 1700s. However, it 

 became extinct at about that time, probably due, at 

 least in part, to whaling. 



There are two extant gray whale stocks: the eastern 

 North Pacific (California) stock and the western North 

 Pacific (Korean) stock. The eastern North Pacific 

 stock migrates along the coast between winter calving 

 and breeding areas off Baja California, Mexico, and 

 summer feeding areas as far north as the Bering and 

 Chukchi Seas. The western North Pacific stock 

 migrates between summer feeding grounds in the 

 Okhotsk Sea and winter breeding areas thought to be 

 along the coast of China. 



Pacific gray whales were severely depleted as a 

 result of commercial whaling in the mid- 1800s and 

 again in the early 1900s. In the eastern North Pacific, 

 the species was probably reduced to no more than a 

 few thousand individuals. It first received interna- 

 tional protection in the 1930s when the League of 

 Nations banned commercial whaling for gray whales. 

 This ban has since been carried forward by the IWC 

 under the International Convention for the Regulation 

 of Whaling of 1946. In 1970 additional protection 

 was provided by the United States when the species 

 was listed as endangered under the Endangered 

 Species Conservation Act of 1969, the predecessor to 

 the Endangered Species Act of 1973. 



Protection from commercial whaling has enabled 

 die eastern North Pacific gray whale stock to recover, 

 and its current population is estimated at about 23,000 

 individuals. This stock is believed to be at or near 

 pre-exploitation levels, and in June 1994 it was re- 

 moved from the U.S. list of endangered and threat- 

 ened wildlife. In contrast, the western North Pacific 

 gray whale stock remains severely depleted and has 

 shown no signs of recovery. This stock, believed to 

 contain only a few hundred animals, is one of the 

 world's most endangered populations of baleen 

 whales. It remains listed as endangered under the 

 Endangered Species Act. 



Because gray whales use nearshore waters and bays 

 for migrating, feeding, calving, and breeding, they 

 remain vulnerable to the effects of various human 

 activities. Gray whales are entangled occasionally in 

 gillnets and also may be affected by offshore oil and 



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