Data from: Species composition of First Nation whaling hunts in the Clayoquot Sound region of Vancouver Island as estimated through genetic analyses

Deepening our understanding of whale hunting practices is important from both cultural and biological perspectives. Many cultures practice whaling activities, including the Nuu-cha-nulth Nations of the Pacific Northwest. Nuu-cha-nulth cultural lifeways and laws include great care and respect for these animals that provide so much wealth to their communities. The disruption of this culture by colonial governments, combined with the decimation of whale populations through industrial whaling, led to the loss of traditional whaling activities and a gap between contemporary and historical knowledge and practices. From a scientific perspective, knowledge of current whale populations is compromised by lack of data with regards to abundance and distribution of these populations prior to colonial industrial whaling. Analysis of whale bones from First Nation whaling sites are valuable for addressing both these issues by identifying the species landed by communities in traditional hunts, and by providing a sample of the presence and distribution of whale species before colonial industrial whaling. Genetic analyses of 95 bones collected from 7 traditional whaling sites of Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations in the Pacific Northwest were conducted, as well as 11 bones from a colonial industrial whaling site in the area that operated from 1905 to 1918. Specifically, we sequenced a portion of the mitochondrial control region and cytochrome-b gene to identify what species were taken, and in what proportions. We found that 45.4% of the bones were from grey whales (Eschrictius robustus), 43.0% were from humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae), 8.1% were from North Pacific right whales (Eubalaena japonica), and the remaining 3.5% were from fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). These results reveal catch compositions of historical hunts, and therefore help to inform our understanding of historic practices and preferences, and provide information on which species were present in these areas.

从文化与生物学双重视角出发，深化对捕鲸活动的认知均具有重要意义。包括太平洋西北地区的努查努尔特族（Nuu-chah-nulth Nations）在内的诸多文化群体均保有捕鲸传统。努查努尔特族的文化生活方式与律法中，饱含对这类为社群带来丰厚福祉的动物的珍视与敬重。殖民政府对该文化的破坏，叠加工业捕鲸导致的鲸种群大规模衰减，不仅致使传统捕鲸活动彻底消亡，更造成当代与历史上的捕鲸认知及实践之间出现断层。从科学研究视角来看，由于缺乏殖民时代工业捕鲸之前的鲸种群丰度与分布数据，学界对当前鲸种群状况的认知受到了极大限制。对第一民族（First Nation）捕鲸遗址出土的鲸骨开展分析，可同时解决上述两大问题：一方面能够确定传统狩猎中社群捕获的鲸类物种，另一方面可提供殖民时代工业捕鲸前当地鲸类物种的存在与分布情况样本。本研究对太平洋西北地区努查努尔特族第一民族的7处传统捕鲸遗址出土的95块鲸骨，以及该区域1905年至1918年间运营的一处殖民时期工业捕鲸遗址出土的11块鲸骨开展了遗传分析。具体而言，研究人员对线粒体控制区及细胞色素b基因的部分片段进行测序，以确定捕获的鲸类物种及其占比。分析结果显示，45.4%的鲸骨来自灰鲸（Eschrictius robustus），43.0%来自座头鲸（Megaptera novaeangliae），8.1%来自北太平洋露脊鲸（Eubalaena japonica），剩余3.5%来自长须鲸（Balaenoptera physalus）。上述结果揭示了历史狩猎的捕获物种组成，有助于学界进一步理解当时的捕鲸实践与偏好，并为明确该区域历史上存在的鲸类物种提供了关键数据支撑。