BOWHEAD
RESEARCH
The AEWC, through collaborative efforts with the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, utilizes state-of-the-art research methods as the foundation for the management of the hunt. We have devoted decades of time and millions of dollars to conducting and analyzing research (scientific and anthropologic) and developing upgrades to our traditional hand-held weapons to ensure the safest, most efficient, and most humane hunt possible.
AEWC strongly encourages and supports scientific research on the bowhead whale and its environment. The North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management, on behalf of AEWC, conducts a regular census of the bowhead whale. Population size and trend estimates are critical information that AEWC and NOAA utilize to maintain the bowhead whale subsistence harvest; this information is provided to the IWC Scientific Committee at its annual meetings. Key research efforts, including ice-based census, aerial surveys, photo identification, age estimation, stock structure/genetics, and movements via satellite tagging. A new abundance estimate is required by the IWC at least every 10 years,