Barrow marks close of successful whaling season
“I’m just thankful that this fall season ended good and everybody came home safely and now we’ll have food for the long winter that’s coming."
The fall whaling season is officially over in Barrow and community members and whaling crews alike are now preparing for the months to come before the spring season starts again, Alaska Dispatch News writes.
Herman Ahsoak is the captain of the Quvan boat and crew which harpooned the final bowhead on Oct. 4, about 12 miles offshore from Point Barrow.
“I’m just thankful that this fall season ended good and everybody came home safely and now we’ll have food for the long winter that’s coming,” said Ahsoak.
Unpredictable hunting weather has been characteristic over the last several years, with thinner sea ice in the spring, which can be dangerous for crews maneuvering on it, and little to no ice in the fall, which means not much protection from the powerful waves, the newspaper reports.