U.S. reviews annual bowhead whale quotas for Alaska Native hunters

Federal officials are reviewing annual catchlimits for 11 Alaska Native communities whose subsistence huntersare authorized to harvest bowhead whales.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says thepublic has until Sept. 14 to comment on quotas for a six-year periodto begin in 2019.

The International Whaling Commission, which has final say onquotas for subsistence harvesting of large whales, meets next inBrazil in 2018.

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The environmental impact statement being prepared will help NOAAdecide how Alaska's share of catch limits is allocated, according to NOAA spokesman Chris Rogers. The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commissiondecides how the quotas are actually split among the whalingcommunities.

"The EIS is a routine step to consider the environmentalconsequences of continuing to authorize the harvest," Rogers saidin an email Tuesday. The last such assessment was done in 2013.

A federal notice posted Aug. 15 by NOAA fisheries lists fourpossible alternatives to be considered, including not allowing anyquotas.

The other alternatives include annual strike limits of 67bowheads, with as many as 336 whales landed over the six-year
period. Each of those options adds other potential limits, includinghow many unused strikes can be carried over to subsequent years, ifat all.

In 2012, the International Whaling Commission extended bowheadcatch limits allowing Alaska and some Russia Native hunters to land as many as 336 whales through 2018. According to NOAA's new federalnotice, the U.S. and Russian Federation submit a joint request tothe commission for the catch limits.

Representatives of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission did notimmediately respond to requests for comment on the federal plan.

Harvesting bowheads is considered a sacred accomplishment bymany Alaska Eskimos in the whaling communities who heavily rely onthe meat for much of their food. The hunts are blessed through ceremonial dances. Successful harvests prompt celebrations wheretons of meat are cut up and distributed.

The whaling commissionsays on its website that the bowhead whale has beenhunted by Native people for thousands of years.

"The entire community participates in the activities surroundingthe subsistence bowhead whale hunt, ensuring that the traditions and skills of the past associated with their culture will be carried on by future generations," the organization writes.