Initial Population Size Of Bowhead Whale Balaena Mysticetus Stocks PDF Download

The Bering Sea stock of bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) was formerly an important cultural and subsistence resource among native people living on the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Sea coasts. From 1848 to 1914, the stock was also exploited by commercial whalers. The bowhead is now widely recognized as an endangered species, and it is hunted today only by residents of certain coastal settlements in Alaska. The Alaska hunt is managed within a catch quota, set by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Canada is no longer a member of the IWC, and thus, has no direct role in the management of this whale fishery. However, the bowhead stock's main summer feeding grounds are in the eastern Beaufort Sea and Amundsen Gulf; activities associated with the exploration and development of oil and gas in the western Canadian arctic could have a serious impact on summering bowheads; and coastal residents of the western Canadian Arctic have expressed in hunting whales. Estimates of initial and current population size suggest that the Bering Sea stock is reduced to about 19-28 percent of its level in 1848. Most life-history parameters for r the bowhead are poorly known, and there is reason to question whether stock size will increase substantially under the existing harvest regime. Because of scientific uncertainties, continued hunting, and possible adverse effects of industrial activity, this stock should continue to be listed as endangered by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).