[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 26, 1999)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 28413-28414]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-13206]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

CFR Part 230

[I.D. 012099C]


Whaling Provisions: Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling Quotas

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notification of aboriginal subsistence whaling quotas.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces aboriginal subsistence whaling quotas and other 
limitations deriving from regulations adopted at the 1997 Annual 
Meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). For 1999, the 
quotas are 75 bowhead whales struck, and 5 gray whales landed. These 
quotas and other limitations will govern the harvest of bowhead whales 
by members of the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) and the 
harvest of gray whales by members of the Makah Indian Tribe (Tribe).

DATES: Effective May 26, 1999.
ADDRESSES: International Fisheries Division, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Catherine Corson, (301) 713-2276.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Aboriginal subsistence whaling in the United 
States is governed by the Whaling Convention Act, (16 U.S.C. 916 et 
seq.) which requires the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) to publish, 
at least annually, aboriginal subsistence whaling quotas and any other 
limitations on aboriginal subsistence whaling deriving from regulations 
of the IWC.
    At the 1997 Annual Meeting of the IWC, the Commission set quotas 
for aboriginal subsistence use of bowhead whales from the Bering-
Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock, and gray whales from the Eastern stock in 
the North Pacific. The bowhead quota was based on a joint request by 
the United States and the Russian Federation, accompanied by 
documentation concerning the needs of 2 Native groups, Alaska Eskimos 
and Chukotka Natives in the Russian Far East. The gray whale quota was 
also based on a joint request by the Russian Federation and the United 
States, again with documentation of the needs of 2 Native groups, the 
Chukotka Natives and the Makah Indian Tribe in Washington State.
    These actions by the IWC thus authorized aboriginal subsistence 
whaling by the AEWC for bowhead whales and by the Tribe for gray 
whales. The harvests will be conducted in accordance with cooperative 
agreements between NOAA and the AEWC, and between NOAA and the Makah 
Tribal Council (Council); these agreements are the means by which NOAA 
recognizes the AEWC and the Tribe as Native American whaling 
organizations under 50 CFR part 230.

Quotas

    The IWC set a 5-year block quota of 280 bowhead whales landed. For 
each of the years 1998 through 2002, the number of bowhead whales 
struck may not exceed 67, except that any unused portion of a strike 
quota from any year, including 15 unused strikes from the 1995-1997 
quota, may be carried forward. No more than 15 strikes may be added to 
the strike quota for any 1 year. At the end of the 1998 harvest, there 
were 15 unused strikes available for carry-forward, so the combined 
strike quota for 1999 is 82 (67 + 15).
    The United States and the Russian Federation are concluding an 
arrangement to ensure that the total quota of bowhead whales landed and 
struck will not exceed the quotas set by the IWC. So that the 1999 
quota of bowhead strikes is not exceeded, the Russian natives may use 
no more than 7 strikes, and the Alaska Eskimos may use no more than 75 
strikes. Each side will ensure that the numbers specified in this 
paragraph for its native group are not exceeded. The two sides plan to 
confer on monitoring of the 2000 quota, including any strikes that may 
be carried forward from 1999. The AEWC will allocate these strikes 
among the 10 villages whose cultural and subsistence needs have been 
documented in past requests for bowhead quotas from the IWC.
    The IWC also set a 5-year block quota (1998 through 2002) of 620 
gray whales, with an annual cap of 140 animals taken. The IWC 
regulation does not address the number of allowed strikes. The 
requested quota and accompanying documentation assumed an average 
annual harvest of 120 whales by the Chukotka people and an average 
annual harvest of 4 whales by the Makah Indian Tribe.
    The United States and the Russian Federation are concluding an 
arrangement to ensure that the block quota and annual cap for gray 
whales are not exceeded. So that the 1999 quota of gray whales is not 
exceeded, the bilateral arrangements concluded that the Makah Indian 
Tribe may take no more than five gray whales, and the Russian natives 
may take no more than 135 gray whales. Each side will ensure that the 
numbers specified in this paragraph for its native group are not 
exceeded. The two sides plan to confer on monitoring of the 2000 quota.
    Thus, in accordance with this bilateral arrangement and the 
agreement between NOAA and the Council, the Makah hunters will take no 
more than 5 gray whales in any 1 year. The Council will manage the 
harvest to use no more than 33 strikes over the 5-year period, and will 
take measures to ensure that the overall ratio of struck whales to 
landed whales does not exceed 2:1. Because the U.S. request for a gray 
whale quota was not based on the needs of separate whaling villages, 
but rather on the needs of the Tribe as a whole, the Council will 
allocate the quota among whaling captains to whom permits have been 
issued.

Other Limitations

    The IWC regulations, as well as the NOAA rule at 50 CFR 230.4(c), 
forbid

[[Page 28414]]

the taking of calves or any whale accompanied by a calf.
    NOAA rules (at 50 CFR 230.4) contain a number of other prohibitions 
relating to aboriginal subsistence whaling, some of which are 
summarized here. Only licensed whaling captains or crew under the 
control of those captains may engage in whaling. They must follow the 
provisions of the relevant cooperative agreement between NOAA and a 
Native American whaling organization (the AEWC or the Council). The 
aboriginal hunters must have adequate crew, supplies, and equipment. 
They may not receive money for participating in the hunt. No person may 
sell or offer for sale whale products from whales taken in the hunt, 
except for authentic articles of Native handicrafts. Captains may not 
continue to whale after the relevant quota is taken, after the season 
has been closed, or if their licenses have been suspended. They may not 
engage in whaling in a wasteful manner.

    Dated: May 18, 1999.
Andrew A. Rosenberg,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 99-13206 Filed 5-25-99; 8:45 am]
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