Bowhead whales Balaena mysticetus were once common in the Arctic and Subarctic Seas until they were severely depleted by commercial whaling. Currently, 4 different bowhead whale subpopulations are recognized based on their geographic distribution: (1) Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas; (2) East Canada-West Greenland (3) East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents Sea; and (4) Okhotsk Sea (Cooke & Reeves 2018). The Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas and the East Canada-West Greenland subpopulations appear to be increasing after having been greatly reduced by commercial whaling in the 1600s to 1800s (e.g. George et al. 2004, Heide-Jørgensen et al. 2007, Cooke & Reeves 2018). The East Greenland-Svalbard-Barents Sea subpopulation (henceforth referred to as the 'Svalbard subpopulation') was originally by far the most abundant in an area that extended eastward from East Greenland, including

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