Monitoring efforts were initiated in 2009 and focused on offshore subsistence hunting for key marine mammals (bowhead and beluga whales, walrus, seals, and polar bears) in the two communities, Point Lay and Wainwright, that are most proximate to recent Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) oil and gas leases and to currently anticipated offshore exploration and development in the Chukchi Sea. The Chukchi Offshore Monitoring in Drilling Areas (COMIDA) study was begun to establish updated subsistence baseline information in the Chukchi Sea area and monitor on an annual basis any significant changes in offshore subsistence harvest activities over time in the communities of Point Lay and Wainwright during the 2010, 2011, and 2012 boating seasons (i.e., March through October).
