The Eastern North Pacific stock of gray whales migrates from calving grounds in Mexico to summer feeding grounds in the Bering Sea where they are harvested in the waters adjacent to Chukotka, Russia. This population was severely depleted by exploitation during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and has been recovering since at least the 1930s.

The Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock of bowhead whales was first harvested commercially in the middle of the 19th century, and population sizes were reduced rapidly. This population is also recovering under limited harvests by Alaskan intuits.

The MPAM group conducts assessments of these two stocks fitting age- and sex-structured population dynamics models using Bayesian and maximum likelihood methods.

The MPAM group is involved with the Scientific Committee of the International Whaling Commission to identify Strike Limit Algorithms for cetacean populations subject to aboriginal harvest. This research involves constructing candidate Strike Limit Algorithms as well as developing and implementing the protocols for testing candidate Strike Limit Algorithms.

Funding for this research is provided by the National Marine Mammal Laboratory of NOAA Fisheries (formerly the National Marine Fisheries Service).