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Bowhead Whale Management
The International Whaling Commission conserves and manages bowhead whale populations worldwide under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.
In Alaska, the U.S. government and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission have jointly managed the traditional subsistence harvest of the bowhead whale under a cooperative agreement since 1981. The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission allocates the International Whaling Commission quota among the ten Alaska Eskimo communities that hunt whales: Gambell; Savoonga; Wales; Little Diomede; Kivalina; Point Hope; Wainwright; Barrow; Nuiqsut and Kaktovik. A part of the International Whaling Commission quota is also allocated to whaling villages in Russia.
All stocks of bowhead whales are classified as protected by the International Whaling Commission. The United States has classified bowhead whales as endangered under the Endangered Species Act and depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
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Subsistence Whaling
Bowhead whales. Photo: Kristin Laidre, American Cetacean Society © |
Critical Habitat
- 67 FR 55767, August 30, 2002. Notice of determination - NMFS is not proposing designation of critical habitat for this population of bowhead whales.
- 66 FR 28141, May 22, 2001. Notice of a petition to designate critical
habitat for the Western Arctic stock of bowhead whales under the ESA. Copy of Petition
- Biological Opinion on the DOI Minerals Management Service’s Liberty
oil project and its effects on the endangered bowhead whale, January 31, 2002.
Stock Status
Development in Beaufort Sea
- 72 FR 36427, July 3, 2007. Notice of extension of comment period for the Draft Programmatic EIS for Seismic Surveys in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Comment period extended until July 30, 2007.
- 72 FR 33221, June 15, 2007. Notice of Availability the Final EIS for the Chukchi Sea Planning Area Oil and Gas lease Sale 193 and Seismic Surveying activities in the Chukchi Sea. Wait period ends July 16, 2007.
- 72 FR 26788, May 11, 2007. Notice of extension of comment
period on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement for Seismic Surveys in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Comment period through June 29, 2007.
- 72 FR 17117, April 6, 2007. Notice of Availability of a Draft Programmatic EIS for Seismic Surveys in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas. Comment period through May 14, 2007.
- Permits and Applications for Incidental Take Authorizations
- Shell Offshore, Inc. Open Water Exploration and Appraisal Drilling Program (external link)
Bowhead whale. Photo: Kristin Laidre, American Cetacean Society © |
Additional Information
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