Head of Science, International Whaling Commission
The author will examine the history of bowhead whaling leading up to the beginning of international management of the ‘aboriginal subsistence whaling’ operations on the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock and in particular the crisis that occurred in the 1970s. Bowhead whales were heavily exploited by the commercial whalers from the middle of the 19th century; by the end of that century the bowhead whales stocks of the western Pacific had been brought to commercial extinction. However, a low (ca around 20 animals annually) level of subsistence whaling continued up until the late 1960s. Concurrent with the arrival of oil revenues for northern Alaska, an increase in inexperienced crews led to greatly increased catches and strikes such that by 1977, 29 whales were landed and 82 were struck but lost; at that time the abundance estimate was 600-2,000. On the basis of the information available, the IWC (International Whaling Commission) Scientific Committee recommended a zero quota and this was briefly adopted by the IWC but 6 months later this was quickly changed to a small catch and strike limit. This threat to their way of life led to the hunters forming the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC). Amongst other things, the AEWC, using their share of oil revenues, paid for an extensive and innovative research programme that focussed on obtaining good abundance estimates, as well as becoming directly involved at the legal and political level. For many years, the bowhead whale catch limit was one of the more controversial quotas set at the IWC and was unofficially one of the bargaining tools used in discussing overall quotas. It divided NGOs, national delegations and had impacts beyond whales and whaling. Improved scientific knowledge and the development of a management procedure approach for providing advice on the catch limit reduced the controversy over the catch limits for a while. We now believe there are over 10,500 bowhead whales and they are increasing at around 3% per year. Recent catch/strike limits have been set for 5 year periods and allow for up to 56 landed animals with not more than 67 strikes per year. However, the involved politics surrounding whaling have made renewal of the quota problematic – and it is up for renewal at the 2007 IWC meeting in Anchorage. I will try and lead you through the complex recipe for bowhead whale management: ‘Take (un)equal portions of animal, native and drilling rights and blend with local, national and international politics. Stir in some scientific knowledge, spice with journalism and law and leave to simmer before serving in Anchorage in summer 2007’.
Greg Donovan is the Head of Science for the International Whaling Commission, the 71-member intergovernmental body responsible for the conservation of whales and the management of whaling. He has been a member of the IWC Scientific Committee for over 25 years. He acts as a scientific advisor for a number of other intergovernmental organisations working with cetaceans and served for several years on the board of the European Cetacean Society. Greg began working with cetaceans in the late 1970s after completing his thesis on ultrasound in rodents at King’s College, London. His fieldwork has taken him to Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, Spain, Alaska and Peru, where he has left behind new lovers of Irish music and Guinness. His primary research interests now include abundance estimation and population modelling with a particular emphasis on incorporating scientific uncertainty into the provision of advice on conservation and management. In this context, he is Chair of the IWC group responsible for developing management procedures for aboriginal subsistence whaling operations and has been heavily involved with the development of a management procedure for commercial whaling. He is also a member of the IUCN Western Gray Whale Advisory Panel and editor of the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management.