Alaska whalers guaranteed harvest 'in perpetuity'

[Steerpike]

http://www.ktva.com/story/39079817/alaska-whalers-guaranteed-harvest-in-perpetuity

Alaska’s subsistence whaling community gained a significant victory Wednesday at the International Whaling Commission’s annual meeting in Brazil, with the approval of a measure which would allow whalers to automatically receive new quotas.

Sen. Dan Sullivan said in a statement that IWC delegates not only approved renewal of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission’s bowhead whale quota for seven more years, but also “the automatic renewal of its whaling quota as long as harvests remain sustainable.”

"This is a momentous day for all those who reside on the North Slope and Bering Strait regions and I share in the joy that is undoubtedly felt today in villages from Kaktovik to Little Diomede,” Sullivan said. “Today’s decision means that the Alaska Native hunters will be able to continue their traditional cultural practice and provide food security for generations to come.”