The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has announced the quotas and rules for aboriginal subsistence whaling of bowhead whales for 2025. The Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) has been assigned a quota of 93 strikes for the year. These quotas are based on regulations from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which governs the sustainable harvest of bowhead whales by native groups in the United States and Russia. The IWC has set specific rules, including a prohibition on hunting whale calves, ensuring the hunt is not wasteful, and preventing the sale of whale products, except for authentic Native handicrafts.
Simple Explanation
In 2025, the people in Alaska who hunt whales for food are allowed to catch 93 big bowhead whales. They follow special rules to make sure they hunt in a way that's fair and doesn't hurt the whales too much.