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Ask Ms. Prevenas

Hi Maggie and Robyn,

 I sure enjoyed your webinar and am looking forward to the one next week.

Last fall I helped on a research project about the bowhead whale's ecosystem in Barrow. I know the bowheads winter somewhere in the vicinty where you are. Has there been any discussion about them or is anyone on board studying them at all?

Stay warm

Kirk 

Fri, 04/20/2007 - 08:37

Maggie Prevenas

Aloha Kirk! 
Whales are not being studied on theis cruise. The biggest animals we are looking at are the walrus.
 
We are excited when we see whales, and we mark them down in the ice observation, but not studying right now.
 
Lee Harris, one of the ice seal team, is making a baleen basket out of baleen from a bowhead. I have been talking to him about it and whale hunting as part of a sustainable culture. I think I'll ask him about his observations of the bowhead populations. He lives in Kotzebue, AK.
 
So I'll get back to you on it.
 
I am warm :)
 
Maggie
 

Fri, 04/20/2007 - 15:10

Kirk Beckendorf

Maggie,I would be very interested in how whaling there compares to in Barrow? Are bowheads the main whale they hunt? Do they have fall and spring hunts? What is their quota? What sort of climate changes are they seeing there and does there seem to be any impact on the whale migration or feeding behavior, is there any impact on hunting? I guess that is enough homework for you.
Thanks
Kirk

Sat, 04/21/2007 - 13:40

Maggie Prevenas

I needed to go to our Native Alaskan resident, Lee Harris, in order to find out the answers to this question. Scientists haven't been witnesses to the subtle environmental changes spread out over hundreds of years. The People that live here, and get their food from the ocean have a true stake in this. They remain here after the scientists go home. And since the Native Alaskans live within the rules of subsistence, they feel these ecosystem changes before anyone else. BEST (Bering Sea Ecosystem Study) proposes to build bridges between scientists, lawmakers, and the residents of this beautiful area so that environmental changes can be understood and adapted for. I am grateful for Lee's keen observations and explanations.The People of Barrow and the People of Point Hope whale in similar ways. They both whale using bearded skin boats, and paddles and harpoons. Some make their own paddles. The main whales they hunt are bowheads and beluga. Every now and then they will capture a right whale, but not real often. The People from Barrow whale in the fall, the People from Point Hope hunt in the spring. Each group of whalers (crews) are given 10 strikes to get a whale. Some whales may take 2 strikes, some of the larger ones, many more. The ice conditions have been getting poorer and poorer.
Lee said that last year was the first year the village didn't get a whale, ever since he could remember. The year before was a bumper year.
It is obvious that the People are concerned about changes in the environment because their lives depend on the health of the ecosystem. The more we learn from scientific sampling of this area, the more will be understood about the impact of those changes.This is the first time an icebreaker doing a scientific sampling mission has been in this area of the Bering Sea during this time of the year, the time right before and during the gigantic plankton bloom. Hopefully this information will prove valuable to all.
warmly,
Maggie

Sun, 09/16/2007 - 22:31

Guest

Maggie,In reading your discussion I was surprised at the time that your information/facts applied to. It certainly is not current. The methods are anything but crude and they don't use skin covered boats...and haven't for years! How about high powered aluminum boats with hoists and reels to drag the struck whale ashore. It is not only the weather and overall temps that have changed! The native definition of "subsistence" whaling employs modern technique and equipment. WE need to get with the times. I wish I was wrong and your info was really current. Check it out beyond local opinion.
Al 

Sat, 09/22/2007 - 11:22

Maggie Prevenas

Aloha Al-It is true that not all subsistence hunters follow traditions. When I was on the Healy, and spoke with Lee, he told me not all whaling teams followed traditional methods and harpoons, even with traditional hunting guides, employ 'bombs' that explode on impact with the whale to permit a faster kill.
I do urge the readers of my journal to check my latest update, and check other sources for other whaling methodologies. It is important that the readers of this mission know that my journal entries are not the final word in all things whaling and are from one member of one whaling team. I hold in high regard the lifestyle and traditions of a native people and believe that their past history is often untold. It is important to get the entire story, and not just a photograph of current practice.
Thank you for your correction. 

Sun, 08/17/2008 - 10:45

Josh

WOOOOOOOOW you sure do know alot miss P. !!!!!!!!!!!!

Wed, 05/06/2009 - 06:48

Floyd Davidson…

I just happened to run across this thread, and thought there should be some "correction" to the corrections. While not all of the statements made by Maggie are precisely correct (comments about "strikes" and quotas, for example are not exactly right), her overall commentary is accurate.Most of the whaling villages in Alaska hunt from an umiaq, which is a skin boat. In Barrow (where I live) that is true for the spring hunt. In the fall they hunt from power boats.
Please note that Inupiat "traditions" are not defined by what you might expect. The tradition is feeding the village with whale meat, and nobody cares or should ever care whether that is done the same way this year as it was last year. The skin boat, for example, is used due to just one reason: it is the best boat to use when hunting from the ice.