NOAA Archive Continuation of Impact Assessment for Cross Island Whaling Activities Beaufort Sea (2001-2007) Presented at the Northern Oil and Gas Research Forum 08, 29 October 2008 Contract Numbers 1435-01-04-CT-32149 and M04PC00032 Michael Galginaitis, Applied Sociocultural Research msgalginaitis@alaska.net NOAA Archive
Acknowledgments Residents of Nuiqsut, especially the whalers and the Kittick (2001), Ahkiviana (2002, 2005, 2006, 2008), Oyagak (2003, 2007) and Napageak (2004) crews for serving as hosts Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) Minerals Management Service for primary sponsorship and overall oversight (2001-2007, ANIMIDA and canimida) Industry helped with logistics (2002-2008) and supplemental funding (2005-2008) for reports at the NMFS/MMS Open Water meetings in 2006-2008.
Oil and Gas Infrastructure and Exploration on the North Slope, 2003 (with focus on Nuiqsut) Source - Ecotrust Website
Recent North Slope Oil and Gas Activity Source - Department of Natural Resources, State of Alaska
Bowhead Migration Route and Subsistence Harvest Areas -- Western Arctic Stock Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission and the U.S. National Science Foundation; with the assistance of the NSB Department of Wildlife Management, the NSB Planning Department GIS Division, and the Barrow Arctic Science Consortium
Location Map, Landmarks, and Routes Between Nuiqsut and Cross Island BEAUFORT SEA Figure 1 August 2004 0 5 10 20 Miles 0 10 20 40 Km Cross Island 92-109 miles from Nuiqsut by water Cross Island 17 miles E of Northstar, 15 miles NE of West Dock, and 17 miles N of Endicott Harrison Bay Thetis Island Spy Island Oliktok Point Pingok Island Route between Nuiqsut & Cross Island Simpson Lagoon Northstar Oil Field West Dock Cross Island Nechelik Channel Alpine Oil Field Milne Point Oil Field Gwydyr Bay Prudhoe Bay Niakuk Narwhal Island Endicott Oil Field Pole Island Nuiqsut Kuparuk River Oil Field Kuparuk River Prudhoe Bay Oil Field Dalton Highway TAPS Deadhorse Foggy Island Bay Liberty Prospect Stockton Islands Tigvariak Island Bullen Point Mikkelsen Bay Badami Oil Field Maguire Islands ms14953_location.mxd
Typical Cross Island Whaling Equipment and Crew Float, Shoulder Gun, and Darting Gun
FIELD METHODS (2001-2007) GPS units carried by all whaling vessels to document: Complete track while whaling Locations of whale sightings and whaling events Conversations with and reports from whalers during each season Researcher observations while on Cross Island during each season (present for majority of each season) Weather station to collect systematic time series data Review of draft reports and presentations by NWCA Periodic meetings and visits to Nuiqsut
All GPS Tracks, Coded by Day, Cross Island Whaling 2007 CROSS ISLAND GPS TRACKS 2007, All Tracks for All Boats by Day Landmarks Strike on a Whale GPS Tracks, 08/31/07 GPS Tracks, 09/03/07 GPS Tracks, 09/04/07 GPS Tracks, 09/06/07 GPS Tracks, morning 09/07/07 GPS Tracks,afternoon 09/07/07 Applied Sociocultural Research January 2008 0 10 mi Reindeer Is Cross Island Narwhal Is
All GPS Tracks, Coded by Year, Cross Island Whaling 2001-2008 Bodfish Is Beechey Pt Northstar Reindeer Is Cross Island West Dock Narwhal Is Endicott CROSS ISLAND GPS TRAC... 2001-2008, by Year Applied Sociocultural Reseach October 2007 0 10 mi Landma... Prudhoe 2001 Bay 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2007 Foggy Is Liberty Tigvariak Is Pole Is Bullen Pt Flaxman Is
Selected Measures of Cross Island Whaling, 2001-2007 Metric Season Measure Type 2001 2002 2003 2004 7 2005 7 2006 2007 Whales Taken/Whales Struck and Lost count 3/0 4/1 4/0 3/0 1/0 4/0 3/1 Active Crews on CI (maximum) count 4 3 4 4 5 4 5 Scouting Boats on CI (maximum) count 7 9 10 8 8 7 9 Cross Island Population average 27.7 26.6 20.4 18.9 29.8 29.2 26 Length of Season 1 count 24 23 19 30 27 21 13 Weather Days count 8-9 4 8 10 11-15 4 3 # days scouting 2 count 12 8 15 8 7 12 8 8 9 10 5 # days whales seen 3 count 9 9 7 6 7 8 4 # boat days 4 count 57 65 33 41 34 45 16 Boats scouting/day average 4.8 4.3 4.7 3.4 4.1 4.5 3.6 Length of trip (miles) average 85.6 65.1 36.4 47.8 64.7 61.0 30.1 Duration of trip (hours:minutes) average 9:55 8:04 4:28 7:24 7:32 8:12 6:02 Furthest point from CI (miles) average 23.9 19.8 11.5 12.5 20.1 22.4 10.4 Strike distance from CI (miles) average 19.5 13.4 9.3 9.7 25.9 17.0 12 Strike Direction from CI degrees 5 average 64 67 56 36 82 59 80 Total Effort (Boat-Hours) 6 sum 575.3 532.5 156.4 299.4 338.9 418.2 126.6 1 Number of days with at least one crew on Cross Island - includes day of arrival at and departure from Cross Island. 2 Number of days when at least one boat went out scouting for whales 3 Number of days when at least one crew saw whales while scouting from a boat. Blows were seen from Cross Island on a few nonscouting days, but are not included in these totals. 4 Each boat scouting for whales on any given day counts as one boat day regardless of the duration of the trip or if whales are seen or not. Thus if 2 boats scout on one day and 4 boats scout on the next, the total for the two days would be 6 boat days. 5 Due north is 0 degrees, due east is 90 degrees includes struck and lost as well as landed strikes 6 Yearly total equals aggregate sum of duration of all whaling trips by all boats. Includes estimates for missing information. 7 One crew went to Cross Island well before other crews, so total season measures may be somewhat misleading. See 2004 and 2005 Annual Reports. 8 On one of these days, only one crew with one boat went scouting. 9 On two of these days, only one crew (one boat) went scouting. On another day, this same boat went out sealing (no whale gear).
Whale Searching Patterns as Affected by Ice Conditions GPS Tracks when significant pack ice was present, compared to GPS Tracks when significant pack ice was absent "No Ice" Tracks Cross Island Whaling, 2001-... Landmarks 2001 Tracks 2002 Tracks 2003 Tracks 2004 Tracks 2005 Tracks (partial) 2006 Tracks (partial) 2007 Tracks 0 10 mi Bodfish Is Beechey Pt Northstar Reindeer Is Cross Island West Dock Narwhal Is Endicott Liberty Pole Is Prudhoe Bay Foggy Is "Ice" Tracks Tigvariak Is Bullen Pt Flaxman Is Landmarks 2005 Tracks (partial) Bodfish Is Beechey Pt Northstar West Dock Reindeer Is Prudhoe Bay Cross Island Endicott Foggy Is Liberty Narwhal Is 2006 Tracks (partial) 0 10 mi Pole Is Ice packed against barrier islands most of 2005 season and the first half of the 2006 season. Only one whale landed in 2005, 3 or 4 in all other years Tigvariak Is Bullen Pt Flaxman Is
Wind Speed, 2003 (mph) 3 boats out scouting 8/25, 3 boats out scouting 8/37 Numbers reflect # of boats out hunting. Red indicates a strike. 6 6 2 8 6
Wind Speed, 2004 (mph) 1 boat went out scouting 8/17 Numbers reflect # of boats out hunting. Red indicates a strike. 2 2 1 2 6 4 4 2 7 7
Wind Speed, 2005 (mph) 1 boat scouted 9/02, 1 boat scouted 9/03, 4 boats scouted 9/05 Numbers reflect # of boats out hunting. Red indicates a strike. 4 4 7 7 5
Commercial Vessel Traffic - Canadian Tug Nunakput 167 6, two 2150 HP engines, 7 knots towing (12 light vessel) Unidentified Canadian Tug (NTC) with Barges Source: Northern Transportation Company (owner of Nukakput) Website
Brief discussion -What do whalers say about whale migration and behavior in terms of ice, wind, noise, and industrial/commercial activities? CROSS ISLAND GPS TRACKS 2006-2008, All Tracks for All Bo... Landmarks 2006 GPS Tracks 2007 GPS Tracks 2008 GPS Tracks Applied Sociocultural Research October 2008 Bodfish Is Beechey Pt Northstar Reindeer Is Cross Island West Dock Narwhal Is Endicott Liberty Pole Is Prudhoe Bay Foggy Is 0 10 mi Tigvariak Is Bullen Pt Flaxman Is
Summary of Factors Affecting 2001-2007 Cross Island Whaling Seasons Weather and ice conditions greatly affect fall subsistence whaling as well as other maritime activities, and limiting conditions increase the probabilities of commercial maritime activities adversely affecting subsistence whaling. Whales may migrate closer to shore in the fall in ice-free conditions, and thus may be more sensitive to disruption in such conditions.