Terms of Reference

Evaluation of the Viability of a Provision to Carry Forward Unused Strikes of Eastern Canada-West Greenland Bowhead Whales (Balaena mysticetus)

Regional Advisory Meeting – Ontario and Prairie Region and Arctic Region

November 23, 2021
Virtual Meeting

Chairperson: Shannon MacPhee

Context

Inuit subsistence harvests of Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) from the Eastern Canada-West Greenland (EC-WG) population are conducted in Canada (Nunavut, Nunavik) and West Greenland. In Canada, annual levels of harvest have been established by the Nunavut Wildlife Management Board (NWMB) and the Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board (NMRWB). The concurrent co-management regime lacks a provision to carry forward/credit unused bowhead strikes (or some proportion of them) to a subsequent year(s). DFO Fisheries Management has requested CSAS Science Advice on the sustainability of implementing a carry-forward provision for unused strikes related to Inuit subsistence harvest of EC-WG bowhead whales. Similar carry-over provisions are authorized for subsistence harvests of EC-WG bowhead whales in West Greenland, and of Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort bowhead whales in Alaska(IWC 2021a,b). Science Advice will inform ongoing co-management discussions about the existing management regime, including the possibility of a multi-year block allocation of the Total Allowable Harvest (TAH)/Total Allowable Take (TAT) for EC-WG bowhead whales, rather than annual TAH/TAT harvest limitations.

Objectives

To provide science advice on the potential implementation of a carry forward provision in the EC-WG bowhead co-management regime, and to provide model scenarios to estimate the sustainability of license carry-overs, or credits between years. Specifically:

1. Is it sustainable to carry forward unused strikes (or some proportion of them) from one year to a subsequent year(s)?; and if so,
2. What are the probabilistic risks associated with the time interval within which unused strikes could be carried forward before resetting the accumulation to zero?

Expected Publications

• Science Advisory Report
• Proceedings
• Research Document

Expected Participation

• Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) (Science and Fisheries Management sectors)
• Nunavut Wildlife Management Board
• Nunavik Marine Region Wildlife Board
• Academia
• Other invited groups

References

• IWC [International Whaling Commission]. 2021a. Management and utilisation of large whales in Greenland. International Whaling Commission. Accessed Online: June 2021.

• IWC. 2021b. Description of the USA Aboriginal Subsistence Hunt: Alaska. International Whaling Commission. Accessed Online: June 2021.