Annual assessment of subsistence bowhead whaling near Cross Island, 2003 ANIMIDA task 4 annual report Contract number 1435-01-99-CT-30998, to 10904

Galginaitis, M.; Funk, D.

OCS Study Report MMS. May; -025 i-xii, 1-36

2005


Document Number: 207085
This Task Order, funded by the Minerals Management Service (MMS) has as its broad objective the description of subsistence whaling as currently conducted near Cross Island by residents of Nuiqsut. This effort is designed to measure basic descriptive parameters of Cross Island whaling so that observed changes (if any) can be analyzed in relation to such factors as oil and gas activities, weather and ice conditions, or other variables. Special attention is devoted to geospatial information through the sharing of GIS information by participating whaling crews. Project reports are only for the purposes of reporting information collected, with no analysis of the information either as a self-contained database or in conjunction with the many pertinent external databases. As a second broad objective, the project is designed as a collaborative effort of MMS and its contractor, Applied Sociocultural Research (ASR), the subsistence whalers from Nuiqsut, and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC). The project will develop a system for collecting information that local whalers themselves can adopt, adapt, and maintain. This report documents the results of the third and final year of this component of the ANIMIDA project. It will be continued by at least three (possibly four) years of additional data collection as a component of the cANIMIDA project. Three methods of information collection are employed - systematic observations, collection of daily vessel locational information from handheld GPS units, and whalers' self-reports and perceptions. Emphasis has been placed on such measures as * Number of crews actively whaling (observation) * Size and composition of crews, and fluctuation over the whaling season (observation) *Number of whales harvested (observation, self-report) * Days spent whaling, and days prevented from whaling (weather, equipment failure or repair, etc.) (observation, self-report) * Days suitable for whaling when whaling did not occur (observation, self-report) * Subsistence activities occurring other than whaling (self-report, observation) * Location of whale sightings and whale harvest (GPS, self-report) * Location of whale searching (GPS, self-report) * Local weather and ice conditions (observation, self-report) * Bowhead whale behavior in the Cross Island area, and indicated differences from past experience (self-report) *Changes in access or other issues related to the whale hunt, such as increased effort for the same (or reduced) harvest, increased risk, increased cost (self-report). In 2003, four crews from Nuiqsut whaled from Cross Island. At least two boats went whaling on seven different days. At least one crew was on Cross Island a total of nineteen days (counting day of arrival and day of departure). Weather prevented whaling on seven days, three days were devoted to butchering and preparations to leave Cross Island after the community quota was taken, and two days were devoted to travel. Four whales were harvested. Weather conditions were poor during the 2003 season, and Nuiqsut whalers scouted for whales on all days when conditions allowed (including the day after the first whale was taken). The final three whales were taken in two days and butchered in sequence. The number of crew members in each vessel scouting for whales varied 2 to 6 per boat per day (most commonly 3 or 4). Scouting trips varied in duration from one hour nine minutes to nine hours six minutes. Total trip distance varied from 25 to 66 miles (with the exception of aborted trips due to mechanical problems) with a greatest distance from Cross Island of from 5.5 to 22.6 miles. Whales were struck from 5.2 to 12.2 (average 9.3) miles from Cross Island. Other daily trip characteristics -- GPS tracks, marked points, self-report of significant sightings, and other perceptions - were also collected and are discussed in the report.

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