Whaling quota to be discussed

The International Whaling Commission will hold a special meeting this fall to discuss the reinstatement of the bowhead quota for Alaskan bowhead whalers, according to the president of the Barrow Whaling Captains Association.

“The IWC is planning to reconvene in October or November to hold an intercessional meeting to try and re-establish the quota,” Eugene Brower told the Arctic Sounder.

The commission rejected whaling quotas for Alaska and Chukotka at its annual meeting last May in Japan.

Since the quota was rejected, the U.S. has explored the options of holding the special meeting or putting Alaska whaling under domestic management.

“If that happens, then the oversight of our whaling will be transferred from the Department to Commerce to the Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Indian Affairs,” Brower said. “There are a number of captains who support putting whaling under domestic control even if the commission were to pass a quota.”