SC/52/AS24 SUBSISTENCE HARVEST OF BOWHEAD WHALE BY ALASKAN ESKIMOS DURING 1999

• Main Authors: John C. George, Robert S. Suydam, T. M. O’hara, Gay Sheffield
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: bowhead whale; eskimo*
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.462.1937; http://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/B/648772492/648772492-1999.pdf

A total of 47 whales was struck during the 1999 hunt resulting in 42 animals landed for an efficiency rate of 89%. The 1999 hunting efficiency rate is the highest ever recorded. Whale 99B6, 12.6 m in length, is the shortest pregnant harvested animal yet examined. Based on new data from 1993 to present, the average length of the five smallest pregnant whales examined is 13.7 m. The 4 cm (“crown-rump ” length) fetus from whale 99B7 is the smallest bowhead fetus recovered to date (to our knowledge). Since 1980, 29 % of the mature females (for which we have records) ≥ 14.2 m were pregnant. Based on new information using ≥ 1.7 m for the length at sexual maturity, suggests 27 % of the mature females were pregnant.