Sullivan Hosts Alaska Whalers, Representatives from more than 20 Countries at Capitol Ahead of International Whaling Commission Meeting

08.01.24

WASHINGTON-U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) hosted representatives from the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC), the North Slope Borough, the Biden administration, and more than 20 embassies at the U.S. Capitol Tuesday evening for a reception on the significance of subsistence whaling to the cultures and livelihoods of thousands of Alaska Native people. The reception was held ahead of the 69^th International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting in Peru, where the AEWC and the entire U.S. delegation will seek to renew Alaska's subsistence whaling quota for six more years. Prior to the reception, Senator Sullivan also convened a strategy meeting with the AEWC, the North Slope Borough, and senior leaders at the State Department and NOAA to ensure continued coordination ahead of the upcoming IWC meeting.

In 2018, Sen. Sullivan hosted a similar reception and meeting when the IWC was last about to consider the subsistence whaling quota. At the 2018 IWC meeting, the Alaska delegation secured the automatic renewal of its whaling quota for the first time ever, as long as harvests remain sustainable.

Speakers at the reception Tuesday included Sen. Sullivan, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), North Slope Borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak, AEWC Vice Chairman Crawford Patkotak, AEWC Chairman John Hopson, Jr., AEWC Secretary Herbert Kinneeveauk III, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Director Janet Coit, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Mahlet Mesfin. All remarks can be watched in the video below.

Click herefor images from the event.

Transcript of Sen. Sullivan's Remarks:

"I want to welcome so many people who've traveled thousands and thousands of miles for this very important reception. We do this every six years. It's probably one of the coolest parties on Capitol Hill. Thank you very much for being here. I want to begin by thanking the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission representatives, all the folks from Alaska who came. You're going to hear from a number of them.

"We have so many great representatives from about 25 different embassies here today. How about a round of applause for our representatives? We want to thank all of you for coming. We did this before the IWC meeting in Brazil six years ago. We had this reception. And the big point of this is to enable our Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission leaders, our whaling captains, to tell their story, because it's a really important story. It's an incredible story. It is one of the things that we think makes America such a great country, because we have so many cultures that are respected, and we want to make sure the practices of these cultures, like the Alaska whaling captains and our Inupiat leaders, can continue to do what they've been doing for thousands of years. That is, hunt bowhead whales in a sustainable manner.

"We have many of our leaders here. My wife Julie is also here. Julie and I were just in Utqiagvik on the North Slope of our great state just a couple of weeks ago. We went to what's called Nalukataq, which is a celebration of the whaling harvest and the communities coming together. By the way, if you're from an embassy or your ambassador wants to go see something uniquely American, come on up to the North Slope, come on up to Nalukataq and see this. It just warms your heart. You get it. It's people taking care of people. People taking care of communities.

"Now, we're here for some business as well. We're getting ready for the IWC that's happening in September in Peru. This is part of what we're trying to do: help educate and explain some of the big issues there. A lot of the countries represented here tonight are very aware of this. They've been good allies of the American cause-the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission cause-for a number of years.

"For other countries, we just want to help educate them on what's happening. This is one of the most sustainable practices of subsistence whaling. It's been going on for thousands of years. And, again, the goal of tonight-have a drink, have some food and meet a whaling captain, meet one of our leaders, meet someone from another embassy. This is for everybody to mix and understand our issues. We're going to have a couple other folks say a few words, talk a little bit about some of the issues."

Background:

As the ranking member of the Senate Commerce Oceans, Fisheries, Climate Change and Manufacturing Subcommittee-which has jurisdiction over our nation's oceans, fisheries, and marine mammals, including whales-Senator Sullivan has relentlessly championed the efforts of Alaska Native whalers to continue the subsistence harvest of whales.

• In the lead up to the 2018 IWC meeting in Brazil, Senator Sullivan kept in close communication with senior leadership at the U.S. State Department and NOAA, and sent his legislative director to the IWC meetings in Brazil to serve on the U.S. delegation.
  • In August 2018, the Alaska delegation sent a letter to embassies of IWC member countries, reiterating our commitment to subsistence whaling.
  • In July 2018, Senator Sullivan convened a strategy meeting in the U.S. Capitol with AEWC, the State Department, and NOAA to ensure continued coordination and foster direct high-level engagement. Afterward, Senator Sullivan led a reception, hosted by the Alaska congressional delegation, for ambassadors and diplomatic officials of IWC member embassies.
• In April 2018, Senator Sullivan, alongside Senator Murkowski, introduced and passed out of the Senate Commerce Committee the Whaling Convention Amendments Act of 2018-which would authorize the Secretary of Commerce to preserve the bowhead whale subsistence harvest and Alaska Native food security under U.S. law if the IWC had failed to act on the bowhead whale quota during their meetings in Brazil.

Subsistence Whaling and IWC Background:

Worldwide whale stocks are managed through the International Whaling Commission, a group of 88 countries that have ratified the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. The Whaling Convention Act of 1949 is the relevant U.S. implementing legislation.

The convention allows for the harvest of certain whale species for nations that certify either a cultural or subsistence need for their aboriginal population. Russia, Denmark (for Greenland), the United States, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are those nations who currently practice Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling (ASW).

The subsistence harvest in Alaska is sustainable, and non-commercial. The IWC has consistently certified that the biological status of Alaska's bowheads is sustainable.

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