The Alaska Beluga Whale Committe (ABWC) was formed in 1988 to conserve beluga whales (Delphinapterus leucas) and manage beluga subsistence hunting in western and northern Alaska in cooperation with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). When the ABWC was formed, there was no consistently funded research or management programme for belugas in Alaska, and co-management was a new concept. The ABWC brought together representatives from beluga hunting communities; federal, state, tribal and local governments; and beluga researchers to develop and implement a programme to manage belugas. With funding from NMFS and others, the ABWC has collected data necessary for informed management decisions including the following: harvest data; aerial surveys of belugas in Bristol Bay and the eastern Bering and Chukchi seas; beluga tracking studies, including training hunters to attach transmitters; a pioneering genetics study of beluga stock identity that has facilitated collection of >2000 beluga skin samples; and a genetics-based mark–recapture study to estimate beluga abundance in Bristol Bay and validate aerial survey estimates. The ABWC is currently engaged in regional management planning in Kotzebue Sound and the eastern Bering Sea. It produces results that are scientifically valid, locally accepted and cost-effective and is an example of what can be achieved when Native hunters, scientists and managing agencies respect and listen to one another and work together. However, the current NMFS co-management funding process has fundamentally altered the relationship between NMFS and ABWC, with NMFS now acting more like a funding agency than a partner.

中文翻译：

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阿拉斯加白鲸委员会——一种独特的共同管理模式

阿拉斯加白鲸委员会 (ABWC) 成立于 1988 年，旨在与国家海洋渔业局 (NMFS) 合作，保护白鲸 (Delphinapterus leucas) 并管理阿拉斯加西部和北部的白鲸自给狩猎。当 ABWC 成立时，阿拉斯加没有持续资助的白鲸研究或管理计划，共同管理是一个新概念。ABWC 汇集了来自白鲸狩猎社区的代表；联邦、州、部落和地方政府；和白鲸研究人员制定和实施管理白鲸的计划。在 NMFS 和其他机构的资助下，ABWC 收集了知情管理决策所需的数据，包括：收获数据；对布里斯托尔湾和白令海东部和楚科奇海的白鲸进行空中勘测；白鲸追踪研究，包括训练猎人安装发射器；一项开创性的白鲸种群特性遗传学研究，促进了 2000 多个白鲸皮肤样本的收集；以及一项基于遗传学的标记重新捕获研究，以估计布里斯托尔湾的白鲸数量并验证航空调查的估计。ABWC 目前在 Kotzebue Sound 和白令海东部从事区域管理规划。它产生的结果在科学上是有效的、当地接受的和具有成本效益的，并且是当地猎人、科学家和管理机构相互尊重和倾听并共同努力时可以实现的一个例子。然而，当前的 NMFS 共同管理资助流程从根本上改变了 NMFS 和 ABWC 之间的关系，NMFS 现在更像是一个资助机构而不是合作伙伴。