US Aboriginal Whaling Quotas Renewed at IWC
By a consensus vote, Alaska Eskimos and the native people of Chukotka, Russia, were allocated a shared catch limit of 280 bowhead whales over a five-year period ending in 2012. The proposal did not ask for an increase on previous catch limits.
The annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission is taking place near the icy coasts where Alaska Natives use whale meat as a staple in their diet and an anchor for their culture. The US delegation said its top priority was to obtain a renewal of this quota.
Alaska Natives are counting on this international permit that allows them to hunt in the tradition of their ancestors and share meat among fellow villagers.
Also up for renewal are aboriginal quotas for natives in Greenland and indigenous communities in St. Vincent and the Grenadines in the Caribbean.
The Greenland proposal is expected to be more controversial since the Danish territory wants to expand its indigenous hunting of minke whales. Greenland also wants to add humpback and bowhead whales to the hunt for the first time.