North Slope communities report successful whaling season

ExpandAutoplay

Image 1 of 7

People help moving a butchered whale in Utqiagvik (previously Barrow) Thursday, Oct. 5, 2017. (John Callahan)

North Slope communities are nearing the end of a successful fall whaling season in which hunters landed three whales a day on three occasions in Utqiagvik, including one taken under the guidance of a new female co-captain.

Seventeen bowhead whales have been landed by North Slope subsistence hunters this season, including 10 in Utqiagvik since Oct. 1, residents said.

Only three whales can be landed in Utqiagvik per day, to make sure there are enough volunteers in the town of 4,300 to divide and distribute the meat, said Arnold Brower Jr., executive director of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission.

Mary Patkotak said she was one of about 15 volunteers on Monday who helped butcher a 30-foot whale, one of three landed for the day. She helped peel away slabs of blubber and skin using a rope affixed to a hook, and prepared the intestines to be cut up and boiled.

"A lot of people love them," she said. "They're a delicacy."

By the time Patkotak was done, the whale had been split into big piles for distribution, including one set aside for community events on Thanksgiving and Christmas.

"It was a lovely smell," she said of all that meat. "You go home at the end of the day really tired, but you're happy because you worked your butt off for good food."

The whales landed in Utqiagvik have typically been about 30 feet, a "perfect" size because the whales are relatively easy to pull onto the beach, said Brower. Cooling temperatures marked by snow on the ground and new ice on lakes help keep the meat cool while it's shared in the town, he said.

The brand-new Utqiagvik crew landed its first whale on Thursday, a 29-foot, 5-inch animal. Utqiagvik crews also landed a trifecta of whales that day.

The crew was formed in September, said Quincy Adams, co-captain. Aaluk is a family name for his wife and co-captain, Bernadette Adams.

In 2014, Bernadette made headlines as the first known woman in Utqiagvik (formerly called Barrow) to take a whale, though other women have captained crews, residents said.

[Female whaler makes history]

The husband and wife and two other crew members pursued the whale Thursday, with Bernadette serving as a lookout as the boat approached, said Quincy.

Quincy harpooned the whale. He said it had distinct white markings in places, including around the eyes, a trait that's typically found on larger, older whales.

"This was unusual on a 29-footer," he said.