PREFACE 



This is a final report from Outer Continental Shelf Environmental Assessment Program (OCSEAP) 

 Research Unit 69/70 supported by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and is for the period 

 September 1975 to March 1978. Because a great deal of additional research has been conducted since 

 1978, as part of an expanded National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) program, we felt it important 

 to update our original unpublished final report submitted to OCSEAP in September 1979 in order to 

 reflect some new data, clarify past statements, and in general provide more timely information for 

 managers. The title of the first edition 1979 report was "Population biology of the bowhead whale 

 (Balaena mysticetus) II: Migration, distribution, and abundance in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort 

 Seas, with notes on the distribution and life history of white whales (Delphinapterus leucas)." 



This report is not comprehensive because our OCSEAP research was general in scope and the entire 

 study area could not be covered completely. Some of the new information added to this report came 

 from other programs supported by the NMFS from 1978 to 1981. 



Some of the recommended research we propose in this report, dating back to 1978, have been under- 

 taken through BLM. This report, however, does not reflect recent research directly supported by 

 them. Again, we do not claim to have covered the breadth and depth of bowhead whale research, and 

 recognize that much more work is needed on both species. 



The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) does not approve, recommend 

 or endorse any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned in this 

 publication. No reference shall be made to NMFS, or to this publication fur- 

 nished by NMFS, in any advertising or sales promotion which would indicate or 

 imply that NMFS approves, recommends or endorses any proprietary product 

 or proprietary material mentioned herein, or which has as its purpose an intent 

 to cause directly or indirectly the advertised product to be used or purchased 

 because of this NMFS publication. 



