The Aiken crew butcher their nine metre, four year old, whale, caught during the Inupiat autumn whale hunt. “Ten years ago all people were against offshore drilling. Now it is different, but the majority are still saying no,” says captain Johnny Aiken, executive director of AEWC (Alaska Eskimo Whaling commission).

Royal Dutch Shell's plans to drill offshore in the Alaskan Arctic in 2012 has caused a split among the native communities who have traditionally hunted whales for subsistence. Alaska's Arctic people now stand at a crossroads between continued benefits from oil industry generated revenues and protecting the marine environment they have depended on for thousands of years.