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,ALAS~OCS REGION , t j , '

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INFORMATIONUDPArFEMEETING ,I I Prepared for: , I , I '

U$. Department of the Interior'

Minerals

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Management Service

I ·IAlaska DCS Region 1 I 949 E. 36th Avenue

" An~~orage,Alaska 99598

"under'Co~tractNo:J4-35"01~RC-96-30801 , . : I : "I l i

June 2000

Proceedings .III

March 28 and 29, 2000

Iftbpiat Heritage Center

:'.1' Barrow, Alaska 'I

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.,.MBC Applied E~Lronmental Sciences I

. I 3000 Redhill Avenue

Costa M~sa, California 92626 i I I ,iI

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This draft' report has been reviewed by the Alask~,: OCS Region, Mitlerals

Management Service, U.S. Department of the Intehor, and approv~d for

pUblicati~n. Approval, when given, does not signify tha~ the contents necessarily

reflect the views and policies of the Service, nor does nle,ntion oftrade names or

cotnmerctal products constitute ertdotsement or reconuri;~ndationsfor use.:

DISCLAIMER

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Comments Regarding Potential Oil~Spill Impacts to Bowhead Whales,

Thomas F. Albert, V.M.D., Ph.D " '...•.......•. " , 5

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Introduction ; 1;.•••.....•••..•••.• : ;' •. : ; •.•., .': -I- ' ' :.. v

. : i

Acknowledgments ......•..................................... 'j'l'" .:' 'vi

Welcome , I'

Mayor George Ahmaogak, North Slope Borough !••• , •••••••• : ..•••••• 1

John Golli Regional Director, MMS :.; '.';, .j'.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 3 . 1

Bowhead Whale Feeding kthe Eastern Alaskan Beaufort Se~: UpdatJJf Scientific and

Traditioncil Information 'iI

W. John Richardson, Ph.D; and Denis H. Thomson i. i•••••• :............ 4 . ,

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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Fall 1997 Migration of Bowhead Whales Across the Alaskan Beaufort sea as Noted by the

MMS Bowhead Whale Aerial Survey Project with Preliminary Fall 1998-99 Survey . . . 'I

Results " ';

Stephen D. Treacy '.' : . ' :" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 7

Marine Mammal and Acoustical Monitoring Programs'for Industry I I

W. John Richardson, Ph.D. . ;..j. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 8

Monitoring Distribution and Abundance ofRi.rlgedSe~lsin.Northern ~1~Ska .

Kathryn J. Frost and Grey Pendleton ; .1..................... 9

Polar Bear Research in the Beaufort Sea , I

Steven C. Amstrup, Ph.D ", : ; ..t..' ; 10

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Management of Polar Bears in the Southern Beaufort Sea,

Scott L. Schliebe ,' " '.: ; ,..1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 11

Status of King and Common Eider Populations utilizing ~e Beaufort SeJ . Robert Suydam, D. Lynne Dickson, J. B:Fadely, andL. T. QuakenbJsH 12

Population Status and Surveys ofBeauforfSe~Waterfo~land Marine*Jds '

Edward J. Mallek " ; 'l.j "13

The Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Pr6ject (AMMTAP): an A~dti~ Environmental

. Monitoring Resource . ' .. ' . , '. ; .'

G. Weston York, S. C. Amstrup, L. K..Thorstemson, T. K. Rowles, an,d P.R. Becker 14

The Minerals Management Service .Arctic Nearshore Impact Jo~toring.in the· . . ".' . '. I Development Area (ANIMIDA) Program: Phase I of a· Multi-year Monitoring

Program in the Nearshore,Beaufort Sea , ;., .::I .

John S. Brown, P.D. Boehm, andJ. H. Trefry : , : 15 . . '. . '.:'I

Alaska Frozen Tissue Collection: a Resource for NOrth~rn.Biotechnolo9Y1 Gordon Jarrell, Ph.D., ..........•.............. ; :..................... 16

iii
Arctic Cisco in th~ Mid-Beaufort Sea and Colville River Fisheries'

J. Craig George , " . .. 20

Establishing aComputer-accessibleTraditionalKnowledge Datab'~se onthe Alaskan~orth Slope. ' 'J:

Anne Jensen /';' : " 17

Subsistence Economics and Oil Development: Case Studies froJ Nuiqsut and Kak~ovik, Alaska ' j:

Sverre Pedersen, Robert Wolfe, and Richard Caulfield 1, ••. ; •.•.••.•••. : •• • • • • . •• 18 ,

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Reference Manua~ and GIS Ge~spatial Database ofOil-industry a1}d Other HumanActivity

(1979-1998) in the Beaufort Sea ft'

Peter Wainwright , \ . , , 19

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Appendices

A-Agenda

B - List of Attendees

TABLE OFCONTENTS ,

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INTRODUCTION I

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TheMinerals ManagementService (MMS) held aBeaufortSeamiobatioriUpdateMeeting

on March 28 and29, 2000 atthe Ifiuplat Heritage Centerm Barrow, AIJska. Honorable George . ,... '. ,.' . ..1 I . ' Ahmaogak, Mayor of the North Slope Borough andMr. John Goll,Reg~onalDirectorof the MMS

Alaska OCS Region welcomed ov~r 100 attendeesto themeeting. ~ifteen, ~resentations were made

including information on bowhead whales, ringed seals, polar bears,'w4tJrfowi and marine birds,

arctic nearshore monitoring, and social and ,economic studies on sUbsffi~~hce harvests in NUiqsut

and Kaktovik, traditional knowledge computer databases, and a Geogrh~hic Information System

to document recent human activi~ in the Beaufort.sea:":. . '. .' .' . ; I'. '.. ." . The BeaufortSea Information Update Meeting 15 part oIthe Ala~ka EnVIronmental StudIes

Program. The Alaska EnvironmentalStudies Programwas initiated by thk U.S.Department of the

Interior in 1974 in response to the Federal Government's decffiionto p~oposeareas of Alaska for

offshore gas andoildevelopment. Its purpose istodefine informationneeds and implementstudies

to assist in predicting, projecting, assessing, and'managingpotentialeff~cfs on the human,marine,

and coastal environments of the Outer Continental Shelfand coastal'ar~a~thatmay be affected by

gas and oil development. Lease~managementdecisions are enhanced wheh current, pertinent, and

timely information is available. To attain program goals, data on specific~rivironmental,social, and

economic concerns arising from offshore leasing are required. The Envir9rimental Studies Program

then monitors any effects dUring and after oil exploration and developmeJt. It isthe largest, singleagency, mission-oriented, marine-studies program in the Federal Governkent. Sinceits~in~eption

through Fiscal Year (FY) 1998, more than $658 million have been spent ?n! it nationally, with more

than $260 millio~ 0.£ this am.ount~dingAlaskan. studie~. . ! I.. . ... . AsstudIesinformationhas been amassed, lffiproved focus has r~q~ed greaterIntegration

of various scientific disciplines. The MMShas initiatedSynthesis Meetings, Information Transfer

Meetings, and Information Update Meetingsto gatherrrtaxirnUIrt experti.s~ and assess the status of

existing information, toplan the bestpossible approach to a studyWithin1tt}e constraints oftime and

resources, and to disseminate information. The Beaufort Sea Informatioi:1 UpdateMeeting is one of

these meetings. . . .' . ' . ' . 'I . The MMS held an Information Trarisfer Meeting in Anchorage, January 1999. At that

meeting Dr. Thomas Albert, Senior Scielltist, Department of Wildlife Mimagemerit, North Slope

Borough and Mr. ThOmas Napageak, Chairman, Alaska Eskm{ol Whaling Commission

reco~~nded that a follow-1i~~eeting b~held in B~rrow, Alaska. Tl}e!intentof holding ~uch a

meeting InBarrow wasto proVIde informationmore directly to the people ofBarrow, Kaktovik, and

Nuiqsut who have a great interest in thffi information. These Proceedingslsummarize the Beaufort

Sea Information Update Meeting. ; i

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS <

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We espec~ally thank the following persons (in alphabetical orq,er) for providing assistance in the

planning and conduct of the BeaufortSea Information Update Meeting(' , ,.

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Honorable George Ahmaogak, Mayor, North Slope Borough (NSB), meeting planning

Ms. Maggie Ahmaogak,Alaska Eskimo Whaling Cottnnissiori; meeting planning I

:Dr. Thomas Albert, Dept. of Wildlife Management, NSB,meeHng planning

.Mr. Michael Baffrey, MMS, Contracting Officer's Technical R~presentative

Mr. Ronald Brower, Director, Iftupiat Heritage Center, meetirl~ facility

Ms. Jana Barcharek, Inupiat Heritage Center, translationi;

Mr. Tim ijolder, MMS, Contracting Officer's Technical Repre~entative

Ms. Francp'e Hopson Rochon, Iftupiat Heritage Ce.nter i:

Mr. Edward Itta, Barrow Whaling Captains Association, tran~lation

Ms. TeresaJudkins, Alaska Eskimo WhalingCommission, m~tingplanning

Ms. Loretta Kunakana, translation . )1,

'Ms. Kathy Mitchell, MBC, planning, organization, coordinati<?rt and proceedings

Dr. Thom~s Newbury, MMS, Contracting Officer's Technical ~epresentative

Ms. Elaine Patkotak, Iftupiat Heritage Center; registration assfstance

Mr. Kenn~th Toovak, Elder, opening prayer .. . I

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting' Proceedings

WELCOME

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(This is abriefly edited transcript ofthe Mayor's remarks.)

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I am very honored to welcome you here today-all of the staff from Minerals Management Service,

oil and gas industry people,and researchers. We welcome you to the North slopejBorough. Today's meeting

isthe result ofmany requeststhat we had made to the Federal agencies, particularl)j the Minerals Management

Service, to provide us some information. A lot ofinformation has been sponsored py the Federal government

as you can see from the agenda-bowhead whale feeding studies, oil spill impacts to bowhead whales,

migration of bowhead whales across the Alaskan Beaufort Sea, marine mammals and acoustics, comments

on the 1999 fall whale hunt that we will hear from our whalers, monitoring and ~istribution of ringed seals,

and polar bears. Now the Federal government, keep in mind, has been doing and conducting research over

a period of time and has worked with a lot with the scientific community to coin~ up with this information.

But the problem has often been that we left the whalers and the local communitY ten miles down the road.

Meaning that we should hear some of this information to be given to you, whalerS, and the local community.

That is the overall intent of this meeting. The transfer information to you, for ybu~ information. This is nota

"Public Meeting;" this is not a "PublicHearing." There is no reason for anythingtd be debated upon. Nothing

to (speaksin Inupiat) about. They ate here for a purpose-to give you their reseatcft and present their findings

to you. I wanted to make that very clear to everyone of you today in this rootn. There has been a lot of

research that has been conducted. The scientific community has done a lot ofjresearch. That research is

certainly going to be given in a presentation to.you, item by item. Over the years, we never received this

information, I didn't know half of the research that was going on. So keep in inihd that this is not a public

hearing of any sort where you are subject to debate or quarrel or argue or wha'teVer. This is information for

you. That is why we requested that these people to come up here and make this!ptesentation to you, the local

community, rather than holding it in Anchorage. I wanted to make thatperfectl~ clear to everyone of you.

This is only informationfor you. This is not a public debate,public issues, or quJstioning things. This is the

scientific community presenting their findings.·.But anyway, keep that. in mind. I wII ant you to keep that in the

back of your mind. .

There are some issues that we at the North Slope Borough have been'ppunding on. Issues such as

noise out in the ocean. We complain about seismic noise. in.the water, in t1).e iocean, flying over the air,

especially for Kaktovik whalers and Nuiqsut whalers, and it also impacts Barrow whalers. We complain about

noise activity all of the time in the Prudhoe Bay area. This is an impact that weseb from our standpoint. The

reason I am bringing this out is because maybe after the end of the meeting, I Jnderstand, that we will be

discussing some of these issues, especially reparations, but I will touch upon that later.

There are several impacts that I want to make clear to you: noise, .aii and sea traffic out in the

ocean-everybody wantsto be out in the ocean at the same time-there are odors, di~sel engine exhaust, natural

gas flaring, and oil contamination. These are impacts and how can these impactslbe mitigated?

Mitigation, in my opinion, is to bring back or place back after the dam'age has been done because of

these impacts to try to fix and correct the problem. That is the way I understand mitigati0!l' You try to fix

it-even if it is noise, air traffic, odors, oil contamination, etc. There needs to be sbmemitigation factors that

deal with these things.!! . , I

The last thing thatI want you to understand isthat we have been pounding On the tables at the MMS,

at the Federal government, talking about these impacts: noise, air/ sea traffic, odois, oil contamination. We all

feel it as whalers, Nuiqsut and Kaktovik especially. Nuiqsut is the one that is mo~t heavily impacted because

they are whaling out at Cross Island. Now it is going to be even more wor,se: when Northstar Island is

developed. They ate constructing Northstar right now and the production facilities are going to be continuing.

You can see noise, you are going to see air traffic, odors, oil contamination, and sereral other things. We have

been bringing this to the attention to the Federal agencies as valid concerns. We are talking about Northstar

developing now. Now BP has plansto go after Liberty, right next to Northstar,.a~otherisland. And possibly

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Mayor George Ahmaogak

North Slope Borough

.P.O. Box 69, Barrow, AK 99723

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: "Beaufort Sea I~formation Update Meeting - ProcJ~dings , '

eVen the Phillips P~troleum rightat Cross Island. Then ARCa hasano~heroffshore rig that they would like

toput ov~rthere. Siinultaneously, Northstaris developing and the first offshore facilities are beingcottstructed

for Northstar. But the reason that I am saying this is that,once you get Northstar, once you get Lib~rty, Once

you get Ii'hillips Petroleum nearCrossIsland, then you haveARCa. Th~ point I am trying to make is simply

this: when one starts from Northstar, Liberty, and several others, itstarts creating cumulative impacts. Every

one of these operations is going to create so~e sort of impact thatI just~talked about: noise, air traffic, odors,

oil contamination. tds going to getworse,' , ",Ii' I

!But then when you think about mitigation, how do you plac~ back those things ~o that ~we don't

disrupt the whalers and letthem be allowed to contintle theirwhaling?;$0 thewhales don't divert t? another

location? These are;serious problems and we have been making ityery qlear to the Federal government. How

do we mitigate tMse things? How do we place back those thillgs? Well, weare going to.have tb be able

somehow to conv~ce industry, the operators, the Federal governme~t,to work these iss~es out. But the

bottom line is that we haveto protect ourwhaling. It is very important;for Nuiqsut. It is very imp?rtant for

Kaktovik. It is very important for Barrow and the rest of the whaling c~pununities. That is the whQle reason

why we want mitigation., " t, ' . I

,The last thing that I wanted to point out is when we had the:~e meetings in Seattle with IMinerals

Management Service, BP wasthere,ARCa was there, some oftheir attoweys Were there. We kept m~ntiOning

these issues of impact. It is going to get even worse with cumulativJi:impactswhen Liberty, ARCa, and

Phillips Petroleumistart. And these are all offshore areas. Thatiswhy l'ain saying that this is serious nOw. It

is our c~lture, it is Our lif~.,· '~: . I .

As mayor; that IS what I see that I want to resolve.... I don't w~nt to take an adversanal (speaks m

lfiupiat) role. I thitik that is wrong.I think the way we seriously take these issues to heart ifwe ardgoing to

protect our whaling IS to roll up our sleeves and be able to try somehoVv work those factors in to p~otect our

interest instead of (speaks in lfiupiat) that isn't going to get us anywhdfe. Butwe need some clear language

that is going to protect a lot of theseissues. That is where I come from.ltlon't know what the rest of you think

but the moment that cumulative impacts start, these other islands statt>you know darn well that ithere are

, going to be a lot of;probl~ms if we do~'t dig i~ ~d take care of th.ese a~~ start?iscussing them.. I .

But today: that IS not what thIS meeting IS about. That WIll beC;l,t the tall end. The last fumg that wIll

be talk about and~e are supposed to be making plans. Like I said~e met with MMS, we talkfd about

reparations. Reparations....(speaks in lfiupiat). That is what it means. Dpes BP pay for it because th~y are out

at Northstar? If the pipe bursts, and I know they don't have an oil spili!contingency plan that is VE!ry... I am

not confident in th~ oilspill clean up plan that BP has. But the question~that I raise as a mayor, I d6n't mow

how you guys think, but when that day comes and there is an accident::'and the pipe breaks Who iJ going to

be responsible? when your Whole Eskimolife and culture goes out the door, who is goingto payfor that? BP? :f!.. t

ARCa? MMS? Who? That is what we mean by reparations. Our insurari,ee policy; We need to talk about these

issues. I assume that we will be talking about this at the end of toe meeting. When that day comes,lwhat are

we going topropo~e?;:"

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(The Mayor's theri translated his remarks into liiupiat.)

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Welcorp.e Mayor Ahmaogak, AEWC Chair,thomas Napageak, distinWished 'whaling captains and

every one here in attendance. My name isJohnGoll. I am the Regional Directorof the Minerals Management

Service. I would like to thank Mayor Ahmaogak, the Executive Dire~tor of the AEWC, Maggie Ahmaogak,

and Dr. Tom Albert of the Department of Wildlife Management and othersiP.Jre who have assisted us in

putting this meeting together, both the logistici5andalso more importantly, the ·kgenda. As the mayor said,

this is the first time that we have had a meeting like this here it\Barrow. WeintJnd that it is iwt going to be

the last one; We have had similar meetings in Anchorage but most of you are not ,able to attend those. So we

wanted to come up to Barrow so that yoU can hear about sOme of thereseardh the MMS and others are

funding. We do plan to come back. First wewa~t to see how this one turns ?~t and howwe can improve

future meetings. Also we would like to visit he other villages of Nuiqsut and Kaktovik, not just Barrow.

Again, the purpose of this meeting i~ to pass information on to youk~out the various studies and

research that is being done in your area. We do encourage questions' during the presentations. As Mayor

Ahmaogak wassaying, this is not a debate nor a,jpublic hearing-type" of meetfugbut we do what to hear any

questions you may have for the researchers as tithe allOWS Or during the breaks or at lunch time, or after the

meeting. Please get that dialogue going. We'would like some feedback on the~~diesthat we are doing. Are

there other areas that you think weshould'be looking at,? WewH! be working with the North Slope Borough

and others if we need to make some modifications 6n what weare doing~ ":1 " .

The Mayor mentioned mitigation. We look at it a little differently thari·tHe Mayor described it. In that

we look at mitigation as trying to prevent problems before.they,occuf.Someti,rrtes that is adding more steel

to a pipe or putting in safety systems. SafetY really is the number one priority of our agency. And I know it

, is the number one priority of all the companies-to prevent that Oi(spiH from"t\appening, to prevent other

effects to the Whales or animals. Because i(they do oq:ur that is afailure. What~e try to do is to make sure

that we have safety for people and safety for the animals, and safety for the environment.

So as you are listening to the presenta~ons,i ask you to be thinking ifthbre are thingsthat you or we

can learn from some ofthe research that can be applied to prevent thingsfrom nappening. So the whales don't

. get diverted or that other effects are not happening. So again please keep that~nlmind. Ask questions. If you

see some work thelt we should ~e doing, ;we ~ant to hear abo~t that." ,1 I .

We had'a very good first meeting mSeattle, as Mayor Ahmaogak mentioned..MMS, NMFS, and

several of the companies met to try and go over some ofthese tougher issues, ~the longer term, cumulative

impacts, etc. '/ 'i ;",! .

I think I am going to end here because it is more,irriportant for yo,,+ tb h~at from the researchers.

,Again I ask you to listen. Thank you all for coming. " ' .' ' i I

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Beaufort§~tl1iiJormation Update M~eiir,g ~, Proc~edings

WELCOME

John Goll

Regional Director

Alaska OCS Region

Minerals Martagement Service ,

949 E. 36th Avenue, Anchorage, AK99S08

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting - PToc~edings

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BOWHEAD WHALE FEEDING IN THE EASTERN ALASKAN BEAUFORT SEA:

UPDATE OF SCIENTIFIC AND TRADITIONAL INFORMATION

(

W. John Richardson, Ph.D., and Denis H. Thomson

LGL Ltd., environmental research asso¢iates

22 Fisher Street, P.O. Box 280 )

King City, Ontario, L7B 1A6, Canada

(905) 833-1244, FAX (905) 833-1255, E-mail: ~j ric~ar@idirect.com

t·

The purposes of this MM5-sponsored project are to compile and integrate existing ~aditiLnal and

scientific knowledge about the importance of the eastern Alaskan ~~ufort Sea for feeding by bowhead

whales; to build consensus on the need for and approach to fieldwork to augment this knowledge; td conduct

field studies and analyze the results; to integrate new results with eXistin~ftraditionaland scientific knowledge;

and to report on and publishthe results. Thisstudy is considered necessaryby MMS to support environmental

risk assessments, E~Ss, and decisions regarding potential oil and gas leasing. I

There was concern that a similarstudy done in 1985-86 did not sample sufficient years to fu~ly document use of the afE!~ by bowheads. The present study, involving fieldwork in three more years (19?8-2000),

includes more local coordination. This is intended to ensure that: 1) local knowledge is fully used; 2) local

residents support t~e need for the project, its objectives an'd methods, and the interpretation ofits re~ults; and

3) the project does not interfere with hunting. A Scientific Review Board including both scientists ~nd local

representatives reviews project plans and draftreports. Projectpersohnel attend meetings in Kaktovik at

various times befor~, during, and after the stu~y. A local resident~arti~ipatesin fieldwork. I.

The study mcludes boat-based samplIng of zooplankton m are.as where bowheadsar,e feetlmg and I

areas where they ~re not feeding. The purpose is to estimate the amount and types of food av~ilable to

bowheads,and to define the characteristics of bowhead feeding habitat!>. Plankton nets and an ech~sounder

are used.to sample the plankton. Temperature and salinity profiles are taken with plankton samples, and

continuous measurements of near-surface water temperature are taken as the boat moves.. I

Observers in an aircraft document distribution and numbers ofbowheads, observe whale behavior,

and photograph whalesfrom above. Behavioral observationsshow rates ofmovement of the whales}whether

they are feeding, and how much oftime they spend feeding. Sizes ofwhalesin different parts 9fthe st;udy area

are measured from photographs. Individual whales are identified from whale markings visible on

photographs. Re--sightings are used to determine how much time some;whales spend in the area. I

Whales harvested at Kaktovik are sampled by theAlaska Dept. of Fish and Game, a project participant. These stomach samples, and others prOVided by the North Slope Borough Dept. ofIWildlife

Management from the Barrow harvest, are analyzed to determine what bowheads eat near Kaktovik (fall) and

Barrow (spring and fall). . -: . I

The ratio of carbon isotopes in bowhead food is different in th~:Bering and Chukchi seas th;an in the

BeaufortSea. Isotope ratios in baleen and muscle are analyzed by Univer.sity ofAlaska Fairbanks to d~termine

where bowheads obtain most of their food. Additional chemical analyse~ of fatty acids in bowhead tissue (by

ADF&G and Dalhousie Univ.) may further elucidate prey sources. j I

Based on scientific results available up to autumn 2000, traditional knowledge, and a J;I\odel of

bowhead energetics, the project will seek (in 2001) to estimate the folloWing: 1) how many bowhea4s feed in

the eastern Alaskan Beaufort Sea in different years, 2) how long they spend there, 3) how much ~me they

spend feeding, 4) what kinds of areas are good feeding areas for bOWheads, 5) what kinds of food they

consume, and 6) how much food they consume in the study area vs. elsewhere. Based on these results', we will,

insofar as the data allow, evaluate the importance of the study area as feeding habitat for bowheaq. whales.

Before thereport is:finalized, results will be reviewed by the project's Scientific Review Board and discussed

at a meeting in Kaktovik to ensure that all perspectives are taken into aAcount. I

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COMMENTS REGARDING POTENTIAL OIL SPILL IMPACTS TO BOWHEAD WHALES .

ThomasF. Albert, V.M.D., Ph.D.

Departnlent of Wildlife Management

-North Slope Borough

P.O. Box 69, Barrow,AK 99723 I

(907) 852-0350, FAX (907) 852-0350, E-mail: ta1bert@co.north~slope.ak.us

, Bowhead whales traveling through oil-fouled waters are li~ely to be aqverselyimpacted. The nature

and extent of impacts will be affected by the degree .of contact, duration ofcoiltact, whether or not feeding,

.etc. (Albert 1981). There is ample evidence ofthe toxicity of oil to mari~e mamm~ls (Loughlin 1994).Itis iikely

that those areas of the skin which come abov~the surface during breathing will b.e repeatedly contaminated.

The remainder of the skin and the eyes are likely!o be ~,ontacted by dissolved Fomponents (and "globules")

in the water column. Presented here area few comments regarding potential impacts to the skin, digestive

tract, and eyes.. . .

. Possible Effects of;Oil Contact on ~kin.~The bowhead has many s~all eroded areas on its skin

surface. In all of the bowhead Whales examined by me, theiehave been dozef\ to hundreds of small (1-3 cm

diameter) eroded areas-on the otherwise smootJ;t skin surface, particularly the head. These are characterized

by a very rough .surface with much micro relief, usually some erosion, and by the presence of large numbers

~f bacteria and diatoms down in the tiny pits and crt:vices of the rough areas of:skin (Haldiman et al. 1984;

Henk and Mullan,1996; Mullan 1991). In many of these eroded areas, blood vessels (capillaries) are just

beneath the surface. These eroded areas provide a microhabitat for many bacteria (Shotts et al. 1990). As the

whale swimsthrough oil-fouled waters, oilinight adhere to these rough surface~.If any ofthe bacteria present

in these lesions are pathogenic or potentially'pathogenic and flourish as a resu)t of oil contact, then the stage

is set for increased skin irritation. This could lead to further skin damage ,md possibleuker formation, with

associated localized irtflammation.Thismightresult in b.aeteria entering theblood at thissite and/or enhanced

absorption of petroleum components. .,. -; .

Possible Effects onDigestive System. If the 'animal were taking in o~l along with prey items, some

of the oil would'surely be swallowed. In the mouth the oilwould have the opportunity to foul the baleen and

reduce its filtering efficiency'(Braithwaite 1980). ..,. '. : ,

Another "problem" could arise fromthe inadvertent engulfment of t~rballs or large "blobs'! ~f oil,

along with prey items.If such globular material would not liquefy due to body heat and/or digestive acids

and enzymes,itmight well contribute to a mechanical blockage in the stomach 'at;the connecting channel. The

connecting channel is quite narrow and is that part of the stomach th,at serves~oconnect the fundic chamber

with the pyloric chamber (Tarpley 1985; Tarpleyet at 1987). Mechanical blockage could result from the

swallowing of broken off baleen"hairs" which have matted together into small"balls" due to the oil.

Possible effects on the eyes. Directcontactof the whale's.eyesWrithoil isnotlikely to have a

beneficialeffect. If the oil were to get on the eye surface it w'illlikely get under the eyelids and thereby enter

the extensive conjunctivalsac ofthe bowhead whale.Theconjunctivals.ac in the,bowhead isfar more extensive

than in animals such as man. In the bowhead this sac extendsmore than one-half the way around the globe_

(Zhu 1996, 1997) andthe~efore presents an extenSive s'urface fot an irritant to ~amage the eye surface.

REFERENCES

Albert, T.1981. Some thoughts regarding the possible effect of oil contamination on the bowhead whale, Balaena

mysticetus. In: Tissue Structural Studies and OtherInvestigations on the aiologyofEndangered Whalesin.

the Beaufort Sea,T. Albert, (Ed.), pp. 945-953. Report to the Bureau ofpnd Management; Anchorage~

Alaska from the Department ofVeterinary,Science,University ofMaryland; College Park, MO, 20742,953

pp.

Braithwaite, L. 1980. The effects of oil on feeding mechanismofthe bowhead whale. In: Proceedings ofInteragency

Meeting toReview,Coordinate, andPlanBowheadWhaleResearch;Othe'rCetaceanResearch, andRelated

Research l3earing Upon the Conservati~nand Protection of &;ldanger~ Marine Species iil Alaska and

Elsewhere. T. Sullivan (ed.) Meeting held at NMFS inSeattle, WA. Nov~mber 12-14, 1980.

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting - Pro~~edings

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Haldiman, J., W. Hertk, R. Henry, T. Albert, Y. Abdelbaki and D. Duffield.: 1985. Epidennal and papillary dermal

chara~tics of the bowhead whale, Balaena mysticetus. Anatonpcal Record 211:391-402. I

Henk, W. and D. Mullan. 1996. Common epidennallesions of the bOWh~d whale,Balaena mysticetus.SCanclng

Microscopy 10(3):905-916. jl , ,~

Loughlin, T. 1994. Marine Mammals and the Exxon Valdez. Academic pr~, NY, NY. pp. 395. ':" "

" Mullan, D. 1991. Al=lassification of epidermal lesions observed on the bo~head whale, Balaena mysticetuf, and the

irn'tial steP,'S in the development of a prObe, for the identifi,CatiOnl.o.f lesion aSsociated ba,cteria. 'IMaster of ·SCience Thesis. Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA. pp.l84. . , , ,"Ii ,

Shotts, E., T. Albert,R Wooley and J. Brown. 1990. Microflora associated with the skin of the bowhead whale

. (Balaena 'ysticetus). Journal ofWildlife Diseases 26 (3):351-359::1, . . I.

Tarpley, R.1985. GrOss and Microscopic Anatomy ofthe Ton~eand Gas*ointestinal Tract ofthe Bowht;adWhale

(Balaenamysticetus). DoctorofPhilosophyDissertation.TexasA&N,1University,CollegeStation,TX.141 pp.

! "Ii' I

Tarpley, R., R. Sis, ,T. Albert, L Dalton and J. George. 1987. ObservatioI')S on the anatomy of ,thestOJ;nach and

I duodenurp of the boWhead whale, Balaena mysticetus. American Jbumal of Anatomy 180:295-322.

Zhu, Q. 1996. Studies.,on the Eyes of the Bowhead Whale' (Balaena mys~),Ringed Seal (Phoca hJida), and

Caribou(Rangijer tarandus).Doctor ofPhilosophyDissertation, Institute ofOceanology,Chinese'Academy

·ofSCiences;Qingdao,China 382 pp.(This dissertation alSo serveS~ a report to the Departnnent6fWildlife

·Management, North Slope Borough, Box 69, Barrow, AI< 99723:),:- . \.,

. "}I

Zhu, Q. 1997b. Some remarks on the structure of the visual, system of the bowhead whale (Balaenamysticetus).

Submitted as paper SC/49/AS14 to the SCientific Committee of the International Whaling Co1nmission,

October 1997. pp7.;'

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting· Proceedings .1

~'~;.f.~:~i":' . ,;." ..J _ , ""-,,', :,;~~,_•••

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FALL 1997 N1IGRATION OF BOWHEAD WHALES'

ACROSS THE ALASKAN BEAUFORT SEA AS NOTED :BY . J_'

THE MMS BOWHEAD WHALE AERIAL SURVEYPROJECf

wrrH PRELIMINARY FALL 1998-99 SURVEY RESulTS

Stephen D. Treacy

Alaska oes Region

Minerals Management Service

946 East 36th Avenue,Anchorage, AK 99S08 ' .. I I

(907) 27Hi603, FAX (907) 271-6805, E-mail: Steve.Treacy@Irims.gov

. .' ..1 ..

.Each yearsince 1987, the Minerals ManagementService (MMS) BOwheadWhale Aerial Survey Project has

used MMS personnel to monitor the fall migration ofbowhead whales across the.Alaskan Beaufort Sea. The goals

of the ongoing program are to: 1) provide rea1~tiine data to MMS and National Marine Fisheries Service on the

general progress ofthe fall migration of bowhead whales across the Alaskan BeaufortSea, for use in implementing

overall limitations on seasonal drilling andgEk>IOgical/geophysical exploration; 2) monitor temporal and spatial

trends in the distribution, relative abundance, habitat, and behaviors (e.g., feeding) of endangered whales in arctic

wa,ters; 3) provide annual analyses of long-term interyear trenc:is in the distance frqm shore and water depth of

. migrating bowhead whales; 4) provide an objective wide--areacontext for managerp,ent interpretation of bowhead

migrations and slte--specific study results; and 5) map beluga whale distribution and incidentalsightings of marine . t

mammals. . I

General ice cover during September and October 1997was extremely light!The pack icewasmore than200

miles north of the shoreline during most of theSeptember-october field season. The very high number of both

bowhead Whale groups (n=437) and individual bowheadWhales counted (n=1,655) l,ikely resulted from favorable

sighting conditions and the preseIi.ce of prey. Also, there might have been some rJpeat counting betWeen days of

large aggregations of feediri.gahd/or milling whales which appeared to remain irithe same area forseveral days.

The project also observed 398beluga whales, 9 gray whales, 8 bearded seals, 311 nnged seals, 50polar bears, and 8

sets of polar bearJracksin 1997 during123.62 total survey hours.' i

Power analyses of the among~yearANaVA for distance from shore in ~o regions of the study area (a =

0.05, = 0.01) showed there was a.tninimum detectable difference of4.8 statute nines in the East Region and 6.03

miles in the West. The between-year Tukey HSD test showed that East Regiqn bowheads In 1983 migrated

significantly (P<0.05) farther offshore than in any other yeare?,cept 1989. BoWheads in 1989 and 1991 were

significantly farther offshote whereas whales in 1997,wete significantly nearer to spore, than most other years. For

the West Region, theTukey HSDtest shOWed that distancesfrc>m shore in 1983 and,1Q88 were significantly (P<O~05)

greaterthan in 1986,1987, 1989, 1993, and 1997. Other results of the 1997 study wJre generally within the range of

resultvaluesfrom previousMMS-sponsoredbowheadwhcile aeriaIsurveymonitorihgconduetedduringSeptember

and October in the Beaufort Sea. .... ," i

DuringFall of1998, the pack ice wasagainfar offshore and the total ntunb~rofbowheadscounted was high

(n=1,05O) possibly due to similar conditions as in Fall 1997. During Fal11999, a preliminary total of 397 bowheads

was observed. . " :.

(Presented by Dr. Cleve Cowles, MMS.)

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MARINE MAMMAL AND ACOUSTICAL MONITORING PROGRAMS FOR INDUSTRY

I I:

,: W. John Richardson, Ph.D. I

.J;

LGL ltd., environmental research assoCiates

22 Fisher Street, P.O. Box 280i

King City, Ontario,L7B lA6, Cana4a

(905) 833-1244, FAX (905) 833-1255, E-mail: wjricl\i:tr@idirectcom

. . .~

. . . . r .II I . Reactionsofbowhead whales andsealsto underwatersoundsfro~'oilindustryactivitieshavebeen studied

in theBeaufortSea s~ce 1996.LGLand acousticalsubcontractor, Greenerid~eSciences,Inc., have conduc¥several

studies on behalf of BPExploration(Alaska), me. and Western GeophYS~Sal. Most of thiS work was pJanned in

conjunctionwith the NationalMarineFisheriesService (NMFS), AlaskaEskiinoWhalingCommission (AEWC), and

North Slope Borough (NSB) to ensure that itsatisfied monitoring req~entsof all stakeholders. m a~dition to

various meetings on the North Slope, annual peer/stakeholder review mee!:jngs are cOnvened by NMFS, including

AEWC and NSB representatives. At these meetings, monitoringplansfor future work and draftreports cbncerning

previous. work are reviewed. Plans and reports are finalized. after the~ual meeting taking accoJnt of the

comments. . .' .. . 'r j .:.1 . - Open-Water SeismiC Exploration: During the open-water,seasor;iSof 1996 to 1999, a smgle 5e1SInlC boat

has operated at an~giventimein shallow water near Prudhoe Bay. In 1996-98, seismic work continueH into the

Whaling ~n. Mohitoring work included biologist and Iftupiat observ~',;onwatch from the seismicv~ at all

times during air~ operations (summer and. fall), aerial surveys for bo~l1eads during fall, and severaltypes-of

acousticalmeasurements andmonitoring. AerialsurveysshOWed thatalmoSt all bowheadsremained atleJst 12 land F ' f.: !

miles(20 km) from the operating airguns,with some avoidance out to 18 miles(30km). The 1996-98 results showed

that migrating bowheads deflect away from a seiSmic vessel at longerd,istances and lower sound l~els than

demonsb;'ated illpreviousscientificstudies, although not asfar away as propPsoopyhunters. Bowheadsm6vedback

into the 12-milezon~within 12-24hours afterseismicworkended. During th~ 1996-98whalingseasons, ~micwork

waslimited to areas west ofCrossIsland. This avoided interferencewith thebowheadhunt. Becausemost})owheads

avoid at long distances, it is unlikely that they receive airgun sounds'strong enough to affect their hearlhg;

Seals show only slight avoidance of operating airguns. they do:hot consistently avoid the zJne where

receivedlevels might be strong enoughto affect seal hearing. Whenever bo£t~basedobserverssaw seals Jithin this

"safety zOne" in 1996-99, the airgunswere shut off immediately. There is ¥~eed for hearing studies to determine

whether present safetY criteria are necessary (and adequate) to protect ~. .' . I

Vibroseis pperations on Floating Ice: m'early 1.998, NMFS rene~edtheregulatibns concerning "taking"

and monitoring ofringed seals during winter/ spring vibroseis seismic ope~ations on floating ice. NMFS convened

two workshops, in May 1998 and October 1999, to plan how effectsofvibr&eis and other on-ice operatidns can be

studied. Monitorin~studies l.I!'der the new proVisions have begun. ~,;,,, - I

OffshoreOil Developments: Studies ofmarine mammals, soundS and vibrations are being done as part

of BP's Northstar<:>il development off Prudhoe Bay. Some studies aIs6: concern the potential futute Liberty

development. ~g winter/spring, four. tYPes of studies have been dori¢: 1) on~ice monitoring of rihged seal

structures (breathing holes and lairs) in construction areas and buffer wrtes during 1999 and 2000; 2) ~coustical

measurements durmg construction in 2000; 3) spring fixed-wing aerial sWyeys since 1997 to assess n~bers and

distribution ofseals on the ice in relation to year (before vs. duringconstru.qtion) and distance from acti'1ties, with

allowance for environmental factors; and 4) helicopter survey in 1999 td::assess abandonment of seal holes vs.

distance from ice r~ds. During the 2000 open·waterseason, BP plans to: 1) m¢asure soundsfrom constructi6n in open

water conditions; 2),monitor seals near Northstar island as construction P~9ceeds; and 3) use acOustic l~tion

methodsto document the bowhead migration corridor past Northstar in relation to received soundsfrom Northstar

activities. . 1

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Beaufort Sea Inforlnation Update Meeting - Proceedings

-, ,. ',. , ',i(~"ir~'(', - , , ',_ 1#'" ;','~';'.'~' 1,1

MONITORING DlSTRIi3UTION AND ABUNDANCE OF RINGEl) SEALS

IN NORTHERN ALASKA ':

Kathryri J. Frosf and Grey Pendleton2

,1 Alaska DeptFish and Game

1300 College Road, Fairbanks, AK 99701 i

(907) 459-7214, FAX (907)452-6410, E-mail: kathy~frost@fishg~e.state.akus

2 Alaska Dept Fish and Game " . f

" Box 240020, Douglas, AI< 99824 :

'(907) 465-4634, FAX (907) 465-4272

Aerial surveys of ringed seal.!> (Phoca hispidJ:l) were conducted in theBeaJ.,tort,Sea from Point Barrow to

Barter Island during late May-earlyJune 1996-1999 using previously established ~Ul"Vey protocols. We surveyed

approximately 13,500 linear km of transects covering an area oill,105 km2

, and sig~ted9,935 seals in 5,833 groups.

Estimated observed densities ranged from 0.36-seals/km2 in sector Bl to 1.54 sealslkm2 in sector B4. Sector B4 had

the highest density oftotal seals on both fast and pack ice in all four years, except fot pack ice in 1996 where B? was

higher but based ona very ~mall sample. ' , ,." ' ,t','

Only sectorsB3 andB4were surveyed in allfour years, making among"yecu: comparisonspossible.Insector

B3, the raw density of ringed seals on fast ice, based on standard strip transect analysis, was highest in 1999 (0.95

" seals/km~ an<;l lowest in 1996 (0.57 seals/km2). In seCtor 8:4, the densityon fast ise -Was also lowest in 1996 (0.67

seals/km~, similarin1997and 1998 (1.17seals/km? and 1.16seals/krn~,and slightly higher in 1999 (1.77 seals/km~.

On pack ice, ,the estimated. del1sities were similar in three offouryears in sector B3(O.81 to 0.92 seals/km2

) and

somewhat higher m1999 (1.16 seals/km~. Pack ice densities wereqtiitevarlable in skctorB4 (1.17 seals/km2 in 1996;

2.37 seals/km2 in 1997; 1.57 seals/km2 in 1998; 1.35 seals/km2 in 1999). Densities for sectors B3 and B4 in 1996-1999

generally fell within the range of estimated densitiesfor 1985--1987.," ::: '

Preliminary covariate analyses viere conducted to examine the effects ofweather and habitat variables on

seal counts. Ice type and deformation, meltwater, time of day, distar\ce from shore:an? from t:I:te'fast ice edge, and

longitude, date and cloud coverwere all found to affectthe observed density. Seal coitntsdeclined asice deformation

increased. Pre,dicted density was greatest when surveys began atlO:OO,a,pt "sun tmie" and declined throughout the

day. Observed seal density was fairly constant within about 30km of Shore, and increased beyond that to the edge

ofthe fast ice, where it onceagain decreaseet'With distance into the pack ice.Itislikely that the interaction of distarice

from shore and distance from the edge complicates this relationship. abundance increased with date, and

generally increased from west to east within the survey area. Predicted density wk highest with moderate cloud

cover, which minimized glare for observers. ' , . :

We recommend that future surveys be conducted using standard strip trbkct methods described in the

previous MMS-ADF&G protocol. Effortsto developrnethods for covariate analysiS should be continued.

This is a cooperative project' funded primarily by the U.S" Department' of the Interior, Minerals

Management Service, with additional support being contributed byi:he Alaska DepartmentofFish and Game, the

National Marine Fisheries Service, the University of Alaska:, and the North 5lope¥rough.'

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Polarbears (Ursus maritimus) occur year-round in northern and n,orthwestern Alaska. Recent ailalyses of

datacoll~tedfrom ;bears followed by satellite radio telemetry have sh0Wt that polar bears occurring between

Wrangel Island,:R~iaandBanksIsland, Canada may actuallybe'mem~ersof four somewhat separate stocks.

DUring the past year, we built a new model of polar bear movements and kustribution that allows tiS to Assign the

relative probabilityfuat a bearfromeach group might occur at any geograph,It location. Pregnantfemale pplarbears

occupy dens from early November to early April in orderto provide a milt! microclimate fornecinates. Half of the

population occupi~ widely scattered dens on land. Although we still cartnotpredict where any iJrtdividual may

choose taden; we now have a digital map of the highest probabilityderu?Jng habitat. We used charactkristics of

previously observed dens and aerial photosto identify 1782 km ofbank hab~tatssui~blefor denning. Thes!ehabitats

comprised 0.18% of the coastalstudy area between the Colville River and tll,e Tamyariak River in norther,n Alaska.

The final'map, id~tified 88% of bank deMing habitat in this region, an~will help minimize the pot~tial for

disruptions ofmaternal dens by winter exploration activities. In limited testS, ForwardLooking Infrared (FLIR) has

been 100% successfUl in seeing denned beatS through the sUrface of thJ'snow. This method may beIthe most

important managenient tool ever developed to protect denned polar bears.1However,extensive efforts to'test FUR

capabilities this win~r have, thus far; been prevented by poor weather. A t\~w model for estimating nu.n\bers was

completed in the las;tyear. ThiS model provides the most consistent annu# estimates and the tightest c{mfidence

intervals of any estimates derived thus far. Early results suggesUarger.rnumbers of bears and a faster rate of

population growth through the 1980sthan previous estimates. In the 1990Sithe ntimbers appear to ilevel bff,butat

higher numbersthaJ\ previously suspected. Although the neW method of atWysis is encouraging, samplJ sizes are

stilllimi~g, an~ th~ age of our best datacontirtues, to ~ve us causet6 ho14lres:rvati~hsregarding the o*tcome. It

becomes mcreasmgly dear that dependable current estiInatescan only be!denved WIth a new focused Mark and

Recapture effort. Polar bears may bean indicator of the overall health of the'kctic marine ecosystem. They may, for

example,.be amongthe first species affected byhabitatchanges'due tJ>. global warming Of other large-scale

phenomeh.a.Newstu.diesevaluatingchangesinrecruitmentofpolarbearsaAdinditesofproductivityinrin'gedsea1s,

their principal prey,lare being started to assess future large-scale changes,I:· f : ~:!

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Steven C. Amstrup, Ph.D.

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting - PToc~edings . r

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POLAR BEAR RESEARCH IN THE BEAufoRT SEA

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U.S. Geological Survey, Biological Resource~ Division

Alaska Biological'Science Centert'

1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK9§503

(907) 786-3424, .E-mail: steven_amstrup~gs.gov

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l Beaufort Sea InJomuition Update Meeting· Proceedings

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MANAGEMENT OF POLAR BEARS IN THE SOUTHERN BEAUFORT SEA

Scott L. Scltliebe

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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maril'le Mammals Management

, 1oilE. Tudor Road, AnChorage, AK 99503 !

.(907) 786-3812, E-mail: scott.sChliebe®usfws.gov i

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The U.S. Fish and Wildlif~Service (Service), under terms ofthe MarineMainxhal Protection Act; continues

to monitor the harvest of polar bearS taken byNatives for subsistence purposes. Sirtce 1980 the statewide harvests

have ranged from 46 to 297 bears per yeaund averaged 108 bears peryear. In theSouthem Beaufort Sea annual

harvests during this period haverangeelfrom 20 to 62 bears peryear and averaged 36 bears per year. Hunters

presentskulls and hides of harvested polar bearsto a tagging representative withiri 30 days of kill and the Service • . ... • ." .' .! ,

compiles harvest statistics on. the.annualtake. In 1988 the Iftupiat Dfthe North ~lopeand the Inuvialuit of the

Northwest Territories developeda conservation agreement for the polar bears of the Southem Beaufort Sea. This .

management agreement provides for 'annual harvest quotas, protection of female!, and cubs and denmng bears,

,among other provlsio'hs,and has operated to maintain harvests at sustainable level,s dUring ¢,e past 12 years. The

Serviceparticipates m.·.. this.'agreeme.ntastechnical advlsorsto the JointCommissionetsresponsible for reviewing and . ..... I .

implementing managementprograms.. " .

TheServicesupportspopulationsurveysand inventory assessments and pl~toconductapolarbearaerial

survey ofthe EasternChukchi Sea area frornthe U.S. Coast Guard vessel. Polar Star during July and August, 2000.

Primary objectives are todevelop aerialsurvey detection functions,to test the feasibility ofconducting future surveys,

.and, if feasible, to eStimate :thenumbers of bears occupying this area during a seri~ of consecutive years. Also, the

Service, in cooperation with BP-Exploratiort and the U.S. Geological Survey, isdesigmng a polar bear aerial survey

ofcoastal andbarrier island areasto beconducted during theopenwater and freeze:.tip:phase during a series ofyears

in order to gain a better understanding of the timing, location, and relative numberS which are present. the Service

also participates in reviewing' oil and gas deVelopment programs, such as for Northstar, and for authorizing

incidental take of marine mammals through a separate regulatory program. Regul~tipnsare expected to be issued

in the near future. Cum,wative effects of expanding offshc>re arid onshore development on polaibears are an issue.

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King and tornmon eiders wintering pff western North~erica!trngratenorth through :he~ring Strait

in the spring and either head west toRussia or east to northern Alaska andyanada. Those heading east migrate past

Point Barrow, Alaska, and mostly nest on or adjacent to Banks and Victoria islands~ In the summer and ffall, eiders

migrate back to the west and again pass cloSe to Point Barrow as they ~teturn to molting and' wintetmg areas.

Migration counts ~ere conducted at Point Barrow by various researchers 01953, 1970, 1976, 1987, 1994J and 1996.

Analysisofmigrati9ncountswasst<iIldardized toexaminepopulatioi)trenclf. Basedonthis standardized~rocedure,

the King Eider popUlation appeared stable thrOugh 1976 but by1996 had(declined by 56% (from 802~ eidersin

1976 to ~,835in1?96).TheCommon Eider population had declined by $3.% by 1996 (from 156,081 eiders in 1976

to 72,606 in1996).Aerialsurveysfor eidersonBanks and Victoria islands prb}ride additional evidenceofa Population

decline ofKing Eid~rs. Reasonsfor the declines are unknown. . ,Ii' 'I

Molting and wintering areas for King Eiders thatutilize the Beawort Sea are poorly known IJ;11997 and

1998, sat~te transinitters were implanted into 10 King Eiders onVictoria Island; These eiders were tracked for up

to nine months. Molting locations were scattered. along the RUSsian east coJstfrom the Bering Strait to the northeast

end ofthe Kamchat;ka Peninsula, near Bristol Bay; Alaska, near Point Lay,~aska,andnear nesting ar~ (forsome

females); Wintering ,areas were located along the'eastem Chtikotka Peni;r;tsula, the southeast side of Kamchatka

Peninsula, in BristoJ Bay and near Kodiak Island, Alaska. 'l:

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting •pJ~eding5 ,,'

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STATUS OF KING AND COMMON EIDER POPULATIONS , , " - , I

UTIUZING THE BEAUFORT SEA' ~! , , n

,Robert Suydamt, D. Lynne Dickson2

, J.B. Fadely3, an~ L.T. Quakenbush4 , ' I

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INorth Slope Borough, Department of Wildlife;~anagement

Box 69, Barrow, AK 99723 'Ii •

~907) 852-0350, FAX (907)852-0351, E-mail: rsuydam~~o.north-slope.ak.us ,

; ~adian Wildlife Service, Environment Canada, Room 200 . f .. . ••': .. ' I':!

4999-98 Avenue, Edmonton, AD T6B 2XE ,Canada

(780) 951-8681, E-mail: lynne.dickSon@ekgc.ca

3D.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, EcoI9gical!Services, ',~.

605 West 4thAvertue, Room G-62, Mchorage,AK 99501

E-mail:janey_fadely@fws:gov;; •

4u.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northern Alaska Et\)logical Services

101 12th Avenue: Box 19 FairbankS; Al<~701

(907) 474-7026, E-mail: loriq@in\s.uafJedu . .; . .' ~' ~i~

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.';....

Beaufurt Sea Information Update Meeting· Proceedings

" . i .rlt~-~,.,-~,_ . '. .. :'. .-."t~·_ji.' . _ . ,:

POPULATION STATUS AND SURVEYS OF BEAUFORT SEA

WATERFOWL AND MARINE BIROS

Edward J. Mallek

Waterfowl Management

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1412 Airport Way, Fairbanks, AI< 99701

(907) 456-0341, FAX (907) 456-0346, E-mail: Ed_Mallek®fws.gov ":: \

The Outer Continental ShelfLands Act and its amendments include provisionsforpost-lease monitoring

studies designed to identify changesin quality and productivity ofleased environments, establish trendsin the lease

areas, and design experiments to identify the causes of any changes. Industrial development in the Northstar unit

in the BeaufortSea began in winter 2000. A significant increase in iIidustrialactivity is anticipated at the east end of

Simpson Lagoon associated with the development of Northstar..Thus, the"overall ~bjectives ofthis study represent

a series ofinterrelated studies designed to answer questionsregarding the effects of.disturbance on distribution and

abundance of waterfowl and· marine birds. The primary focus involves aerial s1.ltVeys designed to describe

abundance and distribution of Oldsquaw (OLDS) using several lagoons (near-s~ore surveys). Additionally, we

surveyed offshore areasforseabirds and conducted ground-based studies designed to enhance the interpretation of

the aerial surveys. ' .

Thenear-shore surveys were conducted in.Simpson Lagoon as an indJ,strial area, an unnamed lagoon

formed by the Stockton, Maguire, and Flaxman iSland complexes as a comparable control area, and the near-shore

.. watersbetween these two lagoons.Sixnear-shore aerialsurveyswere conductedbetween22July 1999to 8September

1999 from Oliktok Point east to Brownlow Point. A total of five transects were flown on each survey consisting of

three transects shoreward of the barrier islands and two transects seaward the barrier islands. The most cornmon

waterbirds observed (mean) on the near-shore'surveys were; OLDS (9;191), COIIUfibnEider (890),smallshore birds

(513), and Glaucous Gulls (332). All of these species were most commonly observed just shoreward of the barrier

islands.

The offshore surveys were conducted seaward oftheprimary study area induding additional areasto the

west. The offshore survey area extendsroughly SO km offshore depending on ice conditions. Three offshore surveys

were conducted between 28 June 1999 and 1September 1999.ThemostCOIIUfion waterbirds (mean) observed were;

OLDS (1701), King Eider (1367),SurfSeoter (165), and COIIUfion Eider (108). Further analysis ofsurvey data will be

conducted after the 2000 field season. ". '. I • .

Ground~based studieswere conductedonBodfishlsland inSimpsonLagqon and onFlaxmanlsland. After

significant modification ofmaterials andapproaches, 430 OtDS were banded at Flaxman (77% male) and 74 OLDS

inSimpsonLagoon (82% male)fOr analysisofsurvival and fidelity tomoltinglocations.Bloodsampleswere collected

from a sub-sampleofcapturedbirdstodetermineexposure tocontaminants.Oldsqt:mwwere collectedfromSimpson

Lagoon and Flaxman Island for labOratory analysis, planned for winter and spring 2000. Analysis will include

measuring wing surface area, mass ofspecific muscle and organ groups related to nutrient reserve dynamics, and

determination of nutrient composition.

Aerial surveys and ground-based studies will be continued in 2000.

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting- Proc~edings

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THE ALASKA MARINE MAMMAL TISSUE ARCHIVAJ:PROJECf<AMMTAPl:

, AN ARCfIC ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING RESOURCE I,;

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G. Weston Yorkt, S.c. Arttstrupt, L.K. Thorsteinson2

, T.K. R~wles3, ana P.R. Becker4

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I U.S. Geological Survey, 1011 E. Tudor Road, AncJi'6rage, AI< 99503

, E-mail: geofLyork@USgs.gov Ii 2 U.S. Geological Survey, Seattle, WA

3NationalMarine Fisheries Service, Silver Spring, MD

4 National Institute of Standards and Technology,!~harleston,SC

F 1M

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The cryog~carchival ofenvironmentalspecimensfor retrospectit:eanalysiscanbe an impo~tresource

inenvironmental monitoring programs and for both present and future rese:¥ch oil population genetics, Bathology,

'systematics, and toxicology..The Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archiv~project (AMMTAP) is a joint project

conducted by threeiU.S. government agencies to collect and archive tiSsu~ from Alaska marine mam6aIs. The

projectemphasizesfueusebfstandardizedsampliilgand archival protocols,~tocedu,resthatminimizecontkunation

ofsamples during collection, and maintaining a detailed record ofsample ~tory.·Most of the animalssafupled are

fromAlaska Native~ubsistenceharvests;thetefore, theprojectrequitesc~tionandcollaborationwith~umerous

Alaska Native or~tions and local governmental agencies. Through'iAMMTA!', samples areco~ected for

contaminant monitoring in the Marine Mainmal Health and Stranding Response Program. In addition, the project

has provided samples andI or data for many research progr~, both insi#e and outside the U.S., on a :variety of

subjects, including: genetics research, the circumpolar distributionof chlorinated hydrocarbons in beluga whales,

baseliile levels of trace elements in tissues, theidentification of,arsenic ada merCury species in marine' mammal

tissues, biomarker tesearch, nutritional studies,and studies on potential human health effects pf Alaska Native

subsistence foods..jl

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(Due to Urne constraints, presentation was not given orally.)

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting - Proceedings

John S.Bro~t,P.D.Boehm1

; and}.H. Ttefry2 I

. '. f ' THE MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE ARCTIC. .

NEARSHORE .' i IMPACT

MONITORING IN THE DEVELOPMENT AREA (AN'IMIDA) PROGRAM: ,',' . . . ...-.-... .....,... I

PHASE I OF A MULTI~YEAR MONITORING PROGRAM IN

THE NEARSHORE Bf:AUFORT SEA 1

Both offshore and onshore oil and gas development and production activities are planned for the coming

years at the Northstar and Liberty sites in the nearshore Beaufort Sea, There is conceinabout the long-term effects

ofthesedeveloprnents as we~ aslong-termeffectsofany development associatedwith'offshore lease sales.Historical

data in the region have been: collected over several decades. However, the sensi,tivity of the region adjacent to

Northstar and Liberty, and the highly variable and complex environmental condipqns, make furthermonitoring

necessary. In response to interagency reviews of related environmental impact stat~ments(EISs) and development

and production plans,the US. DepartmentofInterior, Minei'alsManagementService (MMS) initiatedPhaseI ofthe

ANIMlDA Prograrn as a comp!ehensive long-term program for monitoring pote,ntial i:irtpactsof Northstar and

Liberty. ANIMIDA phase] was started in June 1999, and will continue through FY2000, During Phase I,

hydrocarbon and metals chemistry,'as well as acoUstic measurements, were perfonried in the open water season

adjacent to the Northstar andLiberty sites, A winter meaSUrement program is pl~ed underPhase I to collect data

under ice-covered conditions. ' . .

\~.D.Litt1e,lnc. ,

Acorn Park, Oimbridge, MA 02140-2390 .'

(617) 498-5388, FAX "(61'7)498-7040, E~mail: broWn.john@adl~tt1e,com

, 2Florida Institute of Technology I

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Gordon Jarrell, Ph.D.

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Beaufort Sea Infoimation Update Meeting - Prodeedings

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, ALASKA FROZENTISSUE COLLECTION:

A RESOURCE FOR NORTHERN BIOtEcHNOLOGY \::

F

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Coastal Marine Institute'and the~ University of Alaska Museum I:'

Fairbanks, AI< 99775:

(907) 474-6947, E-mail: fnghj@uaf.e4!J

..The Nasl<a Frozen TissueCollection (AFTC) isthe primaryregio~~archive for frOtal~logicksamples'

anda major contributor to biotechnology studies of the North Pacific and Arctic oceans. It has become the world's

third largestfrOtal ~uecollection for wildmammals. These specimens sp~fourdecadesoffield worktiy Alaskan

biologistsfrom vari~us universities andgovernment agencies, and include ~ples,fromthroughoutAlasKa'swaters.

It is the l,argest collection of western Arcticand North Pacific seals worldW1de. " . , . I

Cooperative agreements have been developed or continuedwithjtndividual collectors and org~tions,

including the Alaska Native Harbor Seal Commission, the NationalMarirte Fisheries Service, the U. S. FiSh and

Wildlife,Service, th~ North Slope Borough, and the Alaska Marine Tissue Archival Proje<..'i (AMMrAP).

,Projects sJlpported use DNA-sequencing methods; stable-~t~~ analyses of ecological pathways, and

immuno..assaysforvarious pathologies:Asthesemethods havebecome incr¢asinglypowerful,frozen tissJe samples

have become increasingly useful for examining long-term changes in Alaslfa's marin~ ecosystems. ]

,The p~tdatabase structure is being m~edto facilitate repot,ting on the status of projects ~upported

by the Collection. SOOn, the database will becongrueritwith architecture engmeered at the University ofCalifornia's

MUseum of Vertebrate Zoology thereby facilitating the sharing and joint qevelopment of programs. 1

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! Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting" Proceedings I I

.~~~'t. ~:.:: J;(t '.> .j

ESTABLISHING A COMPtJTER.-ACa:SSIBLE TRAorrioNAL KNOWLEDGE DATABASE

.,ON THE ALASKAN NORTH SLOPE '. f .

Anne Jensen

Ukpeagvik liiupiat Corporation - Science Division

P.O. Box 577, Bari'ow, AI< 99723 .'

(907) 852-3050, FAx (907)852-4882, E-mail: ajensen@barrow.com

I

, • 1

Thistalk will cover the currentstatus ofthe North Slope IftupiatTraditionM Knowledge Project. The main

thrust of the project as a whole is the construction of a traditional knc.:>wlE;dgedatapase (TKDB)containing North

Slope Iftupiat traditional knowledge. The TKDBwillbeused by individuals and enqties within and outside ofMMS

.seeking to combine the information contained in the database With other tYPes offufbrmation.

The project hasseveral parts. The follOWing is a summaryoftheresearch ptoductsthatwill resultfrom this

study effort j

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Keyword Listing

Keywords are tools for querying the annotated bibliography and traditional knowledge database. The

entries in these data sets·are keywotded to facilitate searcheS for specific content. The keywords are a: series of

shortCuts a:l1owing users to find categories6f traditional ,knowledge infortnation that are required for

environmental!resoi.!Iceresearchonthe NorthSlope ingeneral, andwithintheMMS envir,?nmental assessment and

socioeconomic research effortsin particular. This will help in ma:kingtraditionalkn~W:ledgedata available for.direct

use in integrated analyses of social and enviroIunentalissues ratherthan having ,t appear as stand-alone data in

appendices.

Annotated Bibliography

This can be conceived of as a broad,shallow portioriof the traditio~;UknoWledge database, or as abroader

set of SOurces ofwhich the TKDB comprisesaspeci£ic subset. The goal of the annotated bibliography is to make the

. user aware of as full a range of potential sources of traditiofull knoWledge aspbssible, and to provide enough

information to enable the interested person to track down those sources. l' , .

TraditionalKnowledge Database

(.". "

.''Lessons Learned" Report " i';

This report will be prOduced at the end of the proj~.It WiJlinclude id~~cation of areas where more

traditional knowledge shoul<i be recorded, and information regarding the mtegration of Iftupiat traditional

•knowledge and other types of knOWledge. '. . i .

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This database can be conceived of asa deeper, narrower portion ofthe information about traditional

knowledge assembled dUring the course ofthe NorthSlope IftupiatTraditional KnowledgeProject. That is, the items

in the databaseitselfwill comprise a subset ofthe entriesin the artnotated bibliography. The database will consist of

thatsubset ofresources noted in the annotated bibliography thatcanbe incorporatooin whole orin part directly into

the database. The database will be available on CI).ROM. . ! .

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Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting - Pro~eedings

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SUBSISTENCE ECONOMICS AND OIL O~OPMENT:

CASE STUDIES FROM NUIQSUT AND KAKT9VII<. ALASKA

Sverre Pedersen!, Robert Wolfel

, and Richard Caulfield2

1 Division of Subsistence

Alaska Depamnent of Fish and Game

1300 College Road, Fairbanks, AI< 99701

(907) 479-6211, E-mail: spedersen@fishgame~state.ak.us

2College.of Rural Alaska,. University of Alaska,. Fm:rbClllb, AI< 99775

1M

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Results frpm an investigation focusing on evidence of harvest diSruption effects from expan~g oil and

gas deVelopment OIl the mixed subsistence-cash economies of two northern Alaska Iftupiat communitie;s, Nuiqsut

and Kaktovik, is presented. Systematic household and key respondent iriformation collected by the Division of

Subsistence, Alaska Department ofFish and Game, in 1985, 1986,1992, 1993, and 1998 supplied the analYtic basis of

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Harvest effects from increasing industrialization on subsistence'harvests were documented in the two

communities through study. Comparisons with similar data fromlSW Alaska communities indicate that

variability in resourceharvestsbetween yearsislessstrong inNuiqsutand~tovik.Unsuccessful harvestofamajor

subsistence resource in Kaktovik in 1985, and harvest area displacementin the Nuiqsut area in 1993 (and 1994),

recorded in community harvest data sets, are eventsfirmly connected to artthropogenic effectsrather t:ha'n seasonal

or population variations asisthe case SW Alaska community data sets. i I

Recent changes in timing of Nuiqsut bowhead whale harv~t processing and transportation are

documented as taking placedue to industry safety concernsin the nearshore area ofthe mid-Beaufortsea. Harvest

and transportation regulationslimiting subsistence huntingoptionsinportions ofthe industrializing area:and other,

moresubtle,subsistenceharvesteffectsresultingfromincreasingindustrialiilfrastructure,industrysupp0r;tactivities,

and personnelwithin traditional resource harvest areas ofboth Nuiqsut atj.d Kaktovik will also be di.scui;sed.

We recommend steps be taken to devise improvedwaysfor communities near industrial develbpment on

Alaska's North Slqpe to be meaningfully involved in land use planning and evaluation of proposed industry

activitieS. In addition, long-term systematic monitoring, assessment, and evaluation of·effectiveness ofsubsistence

protection and mitigation measures now in common use must be undertaken. Finally, increased lefforts by

government and 4ldustry are needed to develop a functional understanding of cumulative impact· effects on

subsistence resources, harvester access, harvesting activities and piOOuctivity resulting from continuing

industrialization in northern Alaska. ~, I "

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Beaufwt Sea Information Update Meeii!!g,; Ptoceedj~g5 1r

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REFERENCE MANuAL AND GIS GEOSPATIAL DATAI3ASE OF OIL-INDUSTRY

AND OtHER HUMAN ACTIVITY (1979-1998) IN THE BEAUFORT SEA , ' i'

Peter Wainwright

'LGL Ltd., 'environmental research associates,

9768 Second Street, Sidney,BC, V8L 3Y8,Canada:

(205) 656-0127, FAX (205), 655-4761, E-mail: pwWnght@lgl.com

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We have incorporated all available infonnation:from dally drilling rePorts and geohazard studies at

proposed drilling locatiortsinto the database and, compiled infonnation from soUrGes such as public records of

seismic permits,U.S. GeologicalS1.lrvey seismic surveys,side'SCarlsonarsurveys oftheBoulderPatch, aerialsurveys

of seals and whales, reports of ice road and artificial island construction, and veSsel locations recorded in aerial

surveys. , ,,'

Howev¢r, we did notreceive authoritationto acceSS detailed information a\,outseismic surveys conducted

under permit. Orily one oil company to date has authorized the release of this Wormation. Therefore, with the

exception of thegeohazard stUdies the information on seismic surveys la~ksdetl.il! Typically, thebest available

information identifies a large geographic area (sometimes the entire Beaufort Sea) ahd a wide time period (often the

entire open waterseason).' "

An important objective is the ability' to' use this database,to' analyze ~hether noise and disturbance

associated with drilling, seismic surveys, andice-breaking is affecting the bowhead:whale ritigration route. Such an

analysisrequireS that the human activity database (1) describes all oftheset)ipes of ~~t!-vitieswhich occurred during

the periodswhereBowheadWhaleAerialSurveyPr?iect(BWASP),or NavalOceanScienceCenter (NOSC)collected

data on the whale migrations; and (2) provides an adequate level ofdetail.,For exlunple, it should identify where

these activities actually occurred'to withinSOO meters during ~ach6--hourperiod q.uiing the whale migrations.

For drilling activity ~e database is complete arid provides a high leyelof detail. For seismic surveys, the

geohazard surveys are completely described with adequate detail. Forseismic surVeys conducted under permit, the

database is complete/but lacks adequate detail. Forice-breaking activity, the databciseis very incomplete. Incidental

observatiorts of ice-breaking activity were often reported, but no compreheilsi~e:sourcesof infonnation were

identified.

There seems to be little value in proceedirig with the,GIS applicatio~ the database is not sufficiently

complete. Therefore, it wouldbe appropriate to,reallocate effort towards compiling'the information required for the

BWASP/NOSCdata analysis. Obtaining complete irtfonnation on seismic 'activiti~ 'is the top priority.

Itisproposed tocompile the ffifonnation furseismic surveys conducted urtderpermitbetween1990 to 1998

from MMS's confidential files. This information would be remain confidential, [but would be available for the

proposed analysis of the BWASP/NOsc data.bataonice-breaking activity will likely be compiled as the number

oficebreakerssupporting eaCh drilling location per day. The acoustic components'of the GIS application that were

originally proposed would be eliminat~.It is anticipated that the study will be c?mpleted in Fall 2000..

(Presented by Dr. W. John Ri£hardsOn.)

19
Beaufort Sea Information Update Meeting - Proc~edings

1:

ARCTIC CISCO IN THE MID-B~UFORTSEA AND COiVILLE RIVER FISHERIES I

J. Craig George

Deparbnent of Wildlife Management

North Slope Borough 1,

P.O. Box 69 Barrow, AK 99723 ;

(907) 852-0350, FAX (907) 852-0351, E-mail: jgeorge~orth-slope.ak.us

In this talk I will address some of the concerns of Nuiqsut residents about poor catch~ofA~CtiC cisco

(Qaaktaq) in recent years and discuss the life history of this species in the rtud-Beaufortsea region. Th~ has been

this concern about Qaaktaq since the late 1970s and mid-198Os when the vyest Dock and Endico~causeWays were

constructed. A tremendous amountofresearch toaddressthe questionwas conducted in the mid-Beaufort~area.Fyke

nets (fish traps) used for research were set up from the MacKenzie River area all the way to the Colvill~ River. A

tremendous amount ofdata was gathered and we think the life history of th~ fish is reasOnably well worke? out. The

interesting thing is that even though the Arctic cisco are abundant in the Colville River and support an important

subsistence and commercial fishery, researchers almost neversee gravid females in the Colville or any of the other

mid-Beaufort drain~ges.So the current understanding is that all the spawiring for this species all takes place in the

MacKenzie River drainages. The life-history pattern is the following: the Y9ung-<>f-the-year(YOY) move:down the

MacKenzie in the spring, become entrained in the wind-driven currents along the Beaufort coast, and d~dingon

the strength of those currents, move to the west. If the east winds are consistent and sufficient, they will bake it to

the Colville. If not, they don't make it there. This mechanism is so predict~ble that Colonell and Gallatay could

actually predictwhen the yaywould arrive at differentstations along theBepufortcoastbased solelyonwind speed

and direction. . : I .Once theyay Arctic cisco become established in the Pnidhoe area, they grow to catchable size i[t five, six,

orseven years.Their growth rates are variableso they don't necessarilyhit ttte fishery atone specific age. In,fact, there

issomeevidence thatin the "heavy" recruitmentyearsthere are somedensity:-dependent effectsthatslowfulh growth.

Incatch data for theHelrnerickscommercial fishery and at Nuiqsut, and we see tremendous variability. Yye believe

that this variability is explained by good recruitment years and poor recruitment years. Variation in the abundance

of yay Qaaktaq ca'ught at Prudhoe in fish traps also demonstrates the vanable nature of the recruitment. Larry

Moulton found that fyke net catches at specific stations can be used to predict the following year's catch in the

Colville.BennyGallawaynotedthat yaycatchestranslate topotential catchin NuiqsutmanyyearslaterbVt densitydependent survival can "muddy" these long-range predictions. Some years a tremendous number of yay Arctic

cisco make it. ; I

Ifyou examine all the yay recruitment data since the early 198Os,you'1l note that there isfairly consistent

recruitment through the 1980sand then in 1990it was veryhigh. From 19916n yay recruitmenthasbeen Jpotty and

there are actually several year classes essentially absent. The thinking is that these gaps now reflected in the low

catchesinNuiqsut. PreviousworkonQaaktaqwasmainly associated with penrutrequirementsfor theEn!:llcott and

West Dock causeways. The North SlopeBoroughScientific AdvisoryComrilittee spent yearsreviewing the reports.

The generalfeeling wasthat the key question thatdrove the research, which'waswhether these fish could get around

the causeways, was answered. Thistime seriesis nowbroken and we don't have this type ofrecruitmentinformation

and do not know if the young fish are reaching the Prudhoe-Colvillearea.. . I

Wemight expect to see the 1995year classin the Fa1l 2000 catch an<fharvest levelsmight pickup. But,based

on the reCruitment of yay Qaaktaq, really it may not be unti120020rso before Nuiqsuthas good catches again. But

again this is speculation and test netting is needed to nail down the magnitude of the year classes in the'PrudhoeColville system. .'

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APPENDIXA

! ,'FINAL AGENDA t)I
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. STUDIES OFl'ROTECTED SPECIES

Beaufort Se~1.tfiJohnatioil UpaafeM~eting

Barrow, AlaskCi ~March 28-29,20PO,

lfiupiat Heritage Center

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Minerals Management Service (MMS) - AlasJa . f·O~SRe~iO~ .~

OPENING SESSION f

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Dr. Tom Albert, Department afWildlife Management) NSB, Barrow, AK

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Dr. W.lohnRichardsoii,LGL environmental research :associates, King City, Ontario

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Honorable Geo~ge ~h~og~k, Mayor, North Slope BQ~ough (NSB! .

Mr. John Goll,ReglOnal Dl~ector, MMS, Anchorage: . '", ": ..... ; -, ,

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Dr. W. John Richanjson, LGL'environm(!nti:l1 research associates, King City, Ontario

Questions and Answers (Richardson)

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Mr. Steve Treacy; MMS,Anchorage; AK

Questions and Answers (Treacy)

Marine Mammal an.d Acousti~al.MonitoringProgiam Pertaining to Recent Offshore

IndustrialActivity , ,

BREAK

-' • , .' - "1 I

Fall 1997 Migration of~owhead Whales across the AlasJ,<an Beaufort Sea as Noted

During the MMS BowheadWh~leAeriar~urveyProjec\ with Preliminary Fall 1998-

99 Survey Results . .' . , '

Questions and Answers (Albert)

Comments Regarding Potential On-Spill Impacts to BO*headWhales , ....' .

Questions and Answers (Thomson and Richardson)

BoW-head Whale Feedirtg in the J::~stem Alaskan Beaufo~ Sea:

Update of Scientificand Traditio~alKnowledgei

Welcome

Registration. and ·coffee

11:05 am

11:25 am

10:55 am

9:40am

10:35 am

10:20 am

9:50am

10:10 am

Final Agenda

TUESDAY, 28 MARCH 2000'

9:00am

8:30 am

'9:20am

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OTHER BIOLOGICAL STUDIES

2

Mr. Ed Mallek, U. S. FWS, Fairbanks, AK

End of Day One

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Dr. Steve Amstrup, BRD/USGS, Anchorage, AK

'.

Questions and Answers (Amstrup)

Questions and Answers (Mallek) .

Alaska Marine Mammal Tissue Archival Project (I\MMTAP):

An Arctic Environmental Monitoring Resource ,

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Population Status and Surveys of Beaufort Sea W~terfowl and Marine Birds

BREAK

Ms. Kathryn Frost, Alaska Dept. ofFish and Game, Fairbanks, AK

t'l

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Status of King and Common Eider Populations Ut~lizing the Beaufort Sea j.,

Questions and Answers (Suydam)

Mr. Robert Suydam, DWM, NSB, Barrow, AK;

Questions and Answers (Amstrup and Schliebe)

Pola" Bear Research in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea and Management of Polar Bears in

the Southern Beaufort Sea . .; i I

Dr. Steve Amstrup, Biological Resources Division/U.S. Geological Survey

(BRD/USGS), Anchorage, AKand .:,

Mr. Scott Schliebe, US Fish .and Wildlife Servic.e(FWS), Anchorage, AK ;

Questions andAnswers (Frost)

l Mr. Thomas Napageak and Mr. Archie Ahkivia#a; Nuiqsut, AK;

Mr. Fred Kanayurak, Mr. Harry Brower, Jr., Mr. Edward Itta, Barrow, AK;

Mr. Eddie Rexford and Mr. Charles Brower, Ka~tovik, AK I

LUNCH

Comments on the 1999 Fall Bowhead Whale Harvtst (Continued)

Questions and Answers (Napageak, Ahkiviana, Kanayuiak, H. Brower, Jr., Itta, Reiford, and

CM. Brower) j' I

Monitoring of Distribution and Abundance of RiI!ged Seals inNorthern Alaska

Comments on the 1999 Fall Bowhead Whale Harvest ~;

4:40pm

4:10pm

4:20pm

5:00pm

3:50pm

3:20pm

2:50pm

3:40pm

3:00pm

2:20pm

2:00pm

2:30pm

1:50pm

1:30pm

12:00 noon

11:35 am
SOCIAL ANDECONOMIC STUDIES

MONITORING STUDY

FROZEN TISSUE COLLECTION

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WEDNESDAY, 29 MARGH2000

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Mr; Sverre Pedersen, ADF&G Division of Subsistence, Fairbanks, AK . .' '. -: r·· . I

END OFTHE MEETING

. ",.', "', . .., l

Arctic Cisco in themid~BeaufortSea and Colville River Fisheries

. ,

Establishing a ComputerAc<:essible Traditional Knowledge Database on the Alaskan ~. - - . . . ,

N~rth Slope: ., ' .,' '

. i

Ms..Anne.,]ensen, Ukpeagvik liiupiat Coryoration, Ba~row, AK

Questions and Answers (Pedersen)

Development of Geographic'Information Systems (GIS) to Document

HUlfian Activity (1979-1998)in th,e ~e,aufoi1 Sea t .•

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Dr. W.John Richardson, LGLenvironmental research associates, King City, Ontario , . I . '. I

Questions andAnswers (Richardson) I,

,- ..

J. Crai~ George, DWMINSB .

Dr. Gordon/arreU, UniversitY ofAlaska Museum, Fairbanks, AK .. .

BREAK

Questions and Answers (Jarrell)-

"

Questions and Answers (Jensen) "

"

Subsistence'Harvests and Oilo~velopment:Case Stud4s from Nuiqsut and

'Kaktovik .,

Questions.'and Answers.(Brown)

Arctic Near$hore ImpactMonitoringin Oe~elopmentAiea (ANIMIDA) . .. , . I

Mr. John Brown; A.D. Little, Cambridge, Massachusetts . I

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Registration and coffee

11ieAlask~>Fro~enTissue Collection and Associated Electronic Database: , . • .' I.

A Resoutce for NorthemBiotechnology . . , . ;.. '" , . .r

12:00 noon

11:40 am

11:35 am

11:15 am

10:45 am

11:05 am

10:35 am

10:15 am

9:50am

9:30am

10:00 am

9:20am

9:00am

8:30 am

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APPENDIXB

~IST.OF ATTENDEES
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LIST OF ATTENDEES

MINERAI;$ MANAGEMENT SERVICE i

BEAUFORT iNFORMATIONUPDATE MEETING' " , " '. I

28 AND 29 MARCH 2000 .. BARROW, AK 1

(*denotes speaker)" I

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George Adams, Sr.,

Barrow, AK 99723

(907)852-5499

Herbert Ahkivgak

P.O. Box 485

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852~5611

Archie Ahkiviana*

N\.!iqsut Whaling Captains Assn.

P.o, Box 22

Nuiqsut, AK 99789

(907) 480·6626

George Ahmaogak*

Mayor

North Slope Borough

P.o, Box 69

Barrow, AK 99723

Lawrence S. Ahmaogak

Barrow Whaling Captain

Box 411

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-8330

Maggie Ahmaogak

, Executive Director

Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission

P.o, Box 570

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-2392, FAX (907) 852·2303

aewc@barrow;com

Roy E. Ahmaogak

P.O. Box 411

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852·2457

Carl T. Ahsoak

P.O. Box 352

Barrow, AK 99'/'23,'

(907) 852-2859

Barry P. Akpik

P.O. Box 154

Barrow, AK 99723

(907)852·6773

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Dr. Thomas Albert*' I

NSB - Dept of Wildli(e Management

P.O. Box 69 -

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-0350, FAX (907) 852-0351

talbert@co.north-slop~.ak. us , , ,

Dr. Steve Amstrup* :

Biological Resources ?ivision

"U.S. Geological Survey

1011E. Tudor Road :

Anchorage, AK 99503

(907)786-3424

steve_amstrup@usgs.~ov

Ned T. Arey, Sr.

NSB - Permitting Division

P.O. Box 69

Barrow, AK 99723

(907)852-0440, FAX (907) 852-5991

ntarey@co.north-slop~.ak. us

Michael Baffrey , I

Office ofthe secretary

U.S. Dept of thelnterior

1689 C Street,Suite 100 , , Anchorage, AK 99510

(907) 271-5485, FAX (907) 2714102

MichaeLBaffrey@doi.gov

CindyBailey

BP E:xplol'ation

P.O. Box 196612

Anchorage, AK 99519

FAX-(907) 5644124

baileyce@bp.com

Albert Barros

Alas~a OCS Region,;

Minerals Management service

949E.'36th Avenue ' ,

Ancho~age, A.K 99508 , "" I- . . [ .

Julia L. Belli

BP Exploration

P.O. Box 196612

Ancho~age, AK99519

. (907) 564-5615

,bellijl@bp.com
Daniel Bevington'

senior Analyst

P.O. Box 69

Barrow, AK 99723.

(907) 852-0333, FAX (907-852-5991

dbevington@co.north-slope.ak.us

Richard·Bodfish

AEWC

P.O. Box 362

Barrow,AK 99723

(907) 852~8244

Stephen Braund

Stephen R. Braund and Associates

P.O. Box 1480

Anchorage, AK 99510

(907) 276-8222, FAX (907) 276-6117

srba@alaska.net

Larry Bright

U.S. Fish and Wildlife service

101 12th Avenue, Box 19

Fairbanks, AK 99701

(907) 456-0324, FAX (907) 456-0208

larty_bright@fws.gov

Arnold Brower, Sr.

Barrow Whaling Captains Assn.

P.O. Box 351

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-5562

Arnold Brower, Jr:

lCAS

P.O. Box 934

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-4227, FAX (907) 852-4246

ajrbrower@co.north-slope.ak.us

Charles D.N. Brower

North Slope Borough

Dept. of Wildlife Management

P.O. Bo,,69

Barrow,AK 99723

(907) 852-0350, FAX (907) 852-0351

cbrower@co.north~slope.ak.us

Charles M. Brower*

Kaktovik Whaling Captains Assn.

P.O. Box 41

Kaktovik, AK 99789

(907) 640~6516

Gordon Brower,

North Slope Borough

Planning and Permitting Division

P.O. Box 69

. Barrow,AK 99723

(907) 852-0440, FAX (907)852~5991

2

Harry Brower, Jr.

AEWC,

P.O. Box 570.

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-0350, FAX (907) 852-0351

Jens Brower',

North Slope ,Borough

Planning an<il Permitting Division

P.O. Box 69•

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-0440, FAX (907) 852-5991 t Johnny Brow~r

P,O. Box 628

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-60~3

Lewis BrowEir

P. O. Box 14~6

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-5604

Ibrower@Webtv.net

Ronald H. Brower, Sr.

liiupiat Heritage Center

P.O. Box 79l

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-4594, FAX (907)852-4224

ronbrower@so.north-slope.ak.us

Thomas C. Bfower, III

Native Villag~ of Barrow

P.O. Box 1139

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-4411, FAX (907) 852-8844

John S. Browfi*

A.D. Little, Ihc.

Acorn Parki. Cambridge, MA 02140-2390

(617) 498-5388, FAX (617) 4984040

brown.john@)adlittle.com

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Geoff Carroll:

Alaska Dept::of Fish and Game

P.o. Box 1284

Barrow, AK ~9723

(907) 852-3464, FAX (907) 952-3465

geofCcarroll@fishgame.state.ak.us

Marie Carroll

Alaska Beluga Whale Committee

P.O. Box 101~

Barrow, AK ~9723

(907)852-939$, FAX (907) 852-2763

mcarroll@asria.alaska.ihs.com

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Rodney E. Cluck

Minerals Management Service

381 Elden Street

,

Herndon, VA 20170

(703)787·1087, FAX(907) 787-1053

rodney.cluck@mms.gov

Cleve Cowles"

Alaska OCS Region

Minerals Management Service

949 E. 36th Avenue

Anchorage, AK 99508

(907) 271·6617

cleveland.cowles@mms.gov

Vernon Edwarden

Native Village of Barrow

P.O. Box 1139

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 8524411

Kevin Frank

Arco Alaska, Inc.

700G Street

Anchorage, AK 99508

(907) 265-6834

kfrank@mail.arco.com

Kathryn Frost"

Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game

1300 College Road

Fairbanks, AK 99701

(907) 459-7214, FAX (907) 452-6410

kftost@fishgame.state.ak.us

Michael Galginaitis

Applied Sociocultural Research

P.O. Box 101352

Anchorage, AK 99510-1352

(907) 272-6811, FAX (907) 222-6023

msgalginaitis@gci.net

John C. George"

North Slope Borough

Dept. of Wildlife Management

P.O. Box 69

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852- 0350, FAX (907) 852-0351

cgeorge@co.north-slope.ak.us

Scott Goldsmith

UniverSity of Alaska Anchorage

5331 Sillary Circle

Anchorage, AK 99508

(907) 786-7720, FAX (907)786-7739

afosg2@uaa.alaska.edu

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JohnGol1*

Regional Director

Alaska OCS Region

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Minerals Managemen~ Service

949 E. 36th Avenue

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Anchorage, AK 99508;

(907) 271-6010, FAX (~O7) 271-6805

Allison Graves

North Slope Borough,

Planning/GIS.:

P;O. Box 69

Barrow, AK 99723I

(907) 852-0333, FAX (907) 852-5991 I

agraves@co.nbrth-slope.ak.us

Mark Hanley,

Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

3201C Street, Suite 6q3

Anchorage, AK 9950~

(907) 563-9519, FAX (907) 563-9479

matk_hanley@anadatko.com !

Jana HarcharekI

lfiupiat Heritage Center

P.O. Box 79

Barrow,'AK99723.

(907) 8524594, FAX (907)852-4224

TaqulikHepa

North Slope Borough,

Dept. of Wildlife Management

P.O. Box 69I

Barrow,AK 99723:.

(907) 852-0350, FAX (907) 852-0351

Tim Hblder

MeetingCoordinator:

Alaska OCS Region

I

Minerals Management SerVice

949E. 36th Avenue ,t

Anchorage, AK 99508

(907) 271"6625, FAX (907) 271-6507

tim.holder@mms.go~

Adelihe Hopson

BP Exploration

P.O; Box 172

'

,Barrow; AK 99723

I

(907) 852·5025, FAX (907) 852-2601

eskirno@barrow.coIl'\'

Charles Hopson

Nortll Slope Boroug~

Fish and Wildlife Mgmt.

p.n Box 172

Barrow, AK 99723f '." - _. _. 4

(907) 852"5523, FAX (907) 952-8213 , '
·I Francine Hopson ~ochon

Iftupiat Heritage Center_

P.O. Box,79

t.

Barrow, AK 99723,

(907) 852-4594, FAX (907) 852-4224

flhopson@co.north~slope.akus

Hubert Hopson

P.O. Box 146

Barrow, AK 99723.

(907) 852-4871, FAX (907) 852~251

EdwardItta

Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission

P.O. Box 570

Barrow, AK99723

(907) 852-4556, F!,<' (907) 852-4557

Noah Itta

P.O. Box264

Barrow,AK 99723,

(907) 852-4418

Rosanne Jacobsen

Eide and Miller

/ ARCO

425G Street, #930

Anchorage, AK 99$01

(907) 265-1338,F~(907) 265-6998

rjacobs@maiLarco.com

Gordon Jarrell"

Mammal Collection Manager

University of Alaska Museum

Fairbanks, AK 99775-6960

(907) 474-6947, FAX (907) 474-5469

fnghj@uaf.edu

AnneJensen*

VIC Science Division

P.O. Box 577

Bartow, AI< 99723

(907) 852-3050, FAX (907) 852-4882

ajensen@barrow.com

JeffreyK Kaleak

P.O. Box 173

Barrow, AK 99723'

'(907) 852-7822

Steven A. Kaleak, Sr.

P.O. Box 378

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-3880

Fred King

Alaska DCS Region

Minerals ManagementService

949 E. 36th Avenue'

Anchorage, AK 99508

4

Earl Kingik I!;

NSB-Fish and~Game Commission

Point Hope, A:K 99766

g.

Carl Kippi !,:'

P.O. Box1377,'

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-2678

1:

Loretta Kunaknana

P.O. Box 287i:'

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-604~ , 'Ii

Simeon Kunaknana

P.O. Box 287 I:'

Barrow, AK ~9723

(907) 852-6048F

David Leavit~

P.O; Box 3021:

Barrow,AK 9.9723

(907) 852-636~

I,;

Edward LeaVitt

P.O. Box302!

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-636~!,

:

Johnny Leavitt

P.O. Box 204::

Barrow, AK 99723

ii

Todd Liebl;

Anadarko Pe'ttoleum Corp.

P.O. Box 1330,

Houston, TX;77251-1330

(281) 874-883~, FAX (281) 874-8850

todd liebl@ahadarko.com - ,I';

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Robert Lozal10

P.O. Box 1133

Barrow, Ak 99723

(907) 852"2627

Ed Mallek*t

U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1412 Airport;Yvay

Fairbanks, AK 99701

(907) 456-034~1

ed_mallek@Ws.gov ,

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Warren Marumeak

Barrow, AK 99723 r

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Gladys M. Mekiana

North Slope Borough-Wildlife

P.O. Box 21073

Anaktuvuk Pass, AK 99721

(907) 661-3128

aqivgaq@hotmail.com

John D. Miller

North Slope Borough

Fish and Game Commission

P.O. Box 921

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-0449, FAX (907) 852"{)245

Charles T. Mitchell.

MBC Applied Environmental ScienCes

3000 Redhill Avenue

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714)8504830, FAX (714) 8504840

mitchellmbc@Worldnet.att.net

Kathryn L. Mitchell

MBC Applied Environmental Sciences

3000 Redhill Avenue

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

(714)8504830, FAX'(714) 8504840

.

mitchellmbc@worldnet.att.net

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Anne Morkilll

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

. 10112th Avenue, Room 236

Fairbanks, AK 99709

(907) 456-0549, (907)456~0506

anne_morkill@fws.gov

Thomas Napageak*

Chairman

Alaska Eskimo Whaling COInmission

P.o. Box 112.-

Nuiqsut, AK99789

(907) 480-2648, FAX (907) 480-3548

Raymond Neakok

Native Village of Barrow

P.O. Boxt139

Barrow, AK 99723.

'(907)8524411, FAX (907) 852-8844

.Michael Nelson

Phillips PetroleumCo.

6089 Laurel DrIve

Kenai, AK 99611

(907) 776-6030,

mjne@ppco.com

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Eli NukapigakJ.. North Slope Borough:

Fish and GameCommission . ,

P.O. Box 100

Nuiqsut, AI< 99789

Don A. Nungasak

I

Barrow Whaling Cap~ainsAssn.

P.O. Box 1034i

Barrow, AK 99723.i

(907) 8524114

George Olemaun

P.O. Box 278

Batrow,AK 99723

(907) 8~2-3795

Thomas Olemaun

. North Slope Borough.

-Dept. of Wildlife Management

P.O. Box 69

i

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Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-0350

John'Oyagak

P.O. Box 141

Barrow, AK 99723

'(907) 852-6399,FAX (907) 852-6419

mmoyagak@brw.c0n1

.JamesPatkotak

North Slope Borough!

Permitting and Zoning Dept.

P.o. Box 716

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852·0440

Sverre Pedersen*

.

AlaSka Dept. ofFish and Game

1300 College Roa~

I

Fairbanks, AK 99701;

(907) 479-6211..:

spedersen@fishgameJstate.ak.us f ' Eddie Rexford* i

Kaktovik Whaling Captains Assn.

P:O,Box103'

Kaktovik,AK 99747

I

(907) 640-6025

JuiiusM. Rexford

North Slope Borough

Fish and Wildlife

.

P.O. Box 5901C

P~in.t Lay, AK 99729:

(907) 8334592

jrexford@co.north-slbpe.ak.us . ... ~.' -,. I'" ", . l ',.. • I1

.-
Carver Richards

'

Phillips Petroleum Co.

700G Street

Anchorage, AK 99510

(907) 265-6847, FAX (907) 265~6838

jcricha@ppco.com

W. John ,Richardson"

LGL Ltd., environmental research associates'

P.O. Box 280

King City, Ontario'CANADA L7B 1A6

(905) 833-1244, FAX (905) 833-1255

wjrichar@idirect.com

Mark Schindler

Clear Water Environmental, Inc.

1029 W. 3'd Avenu~.

Anchorage, AK 99501

(907) 277-4611, FAX (907) 277-4717

rnschindler@takas.com

Scott Schliebe"

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

1011 E. Tudor Road

Anchorage, AK 99503

(907) 786-3800, FAX (907) 786-3816

scott.schliebe@fws.gov

Jimmie Sikvayuga~

P.O. Box 754

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-5023

Marie L. Simmonds

P.D. Box 545

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 85~~6821

Brad Smith

National Marine Fisheries Service

222W.~Ave.

Anchorage, AK 99513

(907) 271-5006, FAX (907) 271-3030

brad.smith@noaa.gov

Oliver Smith

Arco Alaska, Inc.

P.O. Box 100360

Anchorage, AK 99510-0360

(907) 265-6123, FAX (907) 265-1502

oliversmith@mail.arco.com

Frank C. Snyder

Phillips PetroleumCo.

6330 West Loop South

Bellaire, TX 77401

(713) 669-3404, FAX (713) 669-7004

fcsnyde@ppco.com

6

Thomas Soldmon

P.O. Box 235,

Barmw, AK99723

(907) 852-2703:

Paul Stang,

Regional Sup~rvisor

Leasing and [Envimnment

Alaska OCS Region

Minerals Management Service

949 E. 36th Avenue

Anchorage, AK 99508

(907) 271-6570, FAX (907) 271-6825

paul.stang@mms.gov

,,'

Susan Stover

MBC Applied Environmental Sciences

3000 RedhillAvenue

Costa Mesa,CA 92626

(714)850-4830, FAX (714) 850-4840

information@mbcnet;net

Robert Suydam"

Dept. of Wil~Ffe Management

North Slope ~orough

P.O. Box 69I

Bartow, AK 99723J

(907) 852~350, FAX (907) 852~351

rsuydam@acil.com

j,

Clara D. Tagarook

P.O. Box 1159-354

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-3438LI

James Taala~.

City of Nuiq~ut

P.O. Box 148"

Nuiqsut, AK'99780

(907) 480-6429"

Eric J, Taylofl

U.S. Fish andWildlife Service

101 12th Ave~ue, Box.l9, Room 110

Fairbanks, N< 99701

(907) 456~323, FAX (907) 456-0208

erictaylor@fWs.gov.0

Bob Welch,

Phillips Petroleum Co.

6330 West Lopp South

Bellaire, TX 77401

(713) 669-2942, FAX (713) 669~7004

mwelch@ppco.com ,

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Erin White

North Slope Borough

Law Dept.

P.O. Box 69

Barrow, AK 99723>

(907) 852-0484, FAX (907) 852-5678.

eWhite@co.north~slope.ak.us

Don Williams

P.O. Box4

Barrow, AK 99723

(907) 852-2604

Frank Willingham

Ilisagvik College.

P:O. Box 749.

Barrow, AK 99~23

(907) 852-1803, FAX (907)852-1805

fwillingham@co.north-slope.ak.us

Dave Yokel

Bureau of Land Mimagement

1150 University Ave.

Fairbanks, AK 99709

(907) 474-2314, FAX (907) 474-2282

dave_yokel@blm.gov , .

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As the Nation's principal,conserVation agency, the.Department of the'lnterior hC\ls responsibility.. ' ,

: for most o(our'nationally owned public lands and natlJr13lresources~' This inclydes'fosteririg'

· sound use ot 9urlandand 'water re.sol,Jrces; protecting our fish, wildlife, an~ biological diversity; ". .',. ,

". 'preserving the environmental and cultural values,ofour·riational parksand historical 'places;' '

• > and prOviding ·for the enjoyment ,of-life thrOugh'outdoor 'recreation,'The, Department assesses

,':our energy andminerah'esourcesand workS to'enslll'e that their-dev~lopmerit'isinthe best: .

'" intere~ts of alt.our people byencol;lraging stewardship and :citiz~n participation in their, care.' ,

A The Departmenl.also has a major responsibility for American Indian' rese'"'1ation 'communities' .,

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As 'a bureauOfthe Department of the h,terior,'the;Mihera'ls Management SerVice~s (~MS)

· primary responsibilities are tb.mahage·the mineral resources located on the'Nation's Outer ,

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,~":, ,M~;~over, i~ working to'~~~t'it~, r~s~6~Sibilities, ,~h~: O~hor~' Min'erals Mfan~~em~~~ ~rog:ram .'..~' ,administers the oes ~ompetitive,leasing program and oversee,s thesaf~andenvironmentally,

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efficient, timely and accurate cbllection and disbursementofreveriue from mineralleasirig and ,"

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" , ,",' affected p,arties'and (2) carrying ollt'its programs with an'emphasis 'on working toenhance the

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