[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 240 (Thursday, December 13, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Page 64378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-30827]



[[Page 64378]]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 230

[Docket No. 001120325-1290-03, I.D. 111901B]


Whaling Provisions: Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling Quotas

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

ACTION: Aboriginal subsistence whaling quota.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: NMFS announces a 2001-2002 aboriginal subsistence whaling 
quota for gray whales of five gray whales landed. This quota and other 
management provisions govern the harvest of gray whales by members of 
the Makah Indian Tribe (Tribe).

DATES: Effective for 1 year beginning December 12, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Office of Protected Resources, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Chris Yates, (301) 713-2322.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Aboriginal subsistence whaling in the United 
States is governed by the Whaling Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 916 et 
seq.) and by regulations at 50 CFR part 230. The rules require the 
Secretary of Commerce to publish, at least annually, aboriginal 
subsistence whaling quotas and any other limitations on aboriginal 
subsistence whaling deriving from regulations of the International 
Whaling Commission (IWC).
    At the 1997 Annual Meeting of the IWC, the Commission set quotas 
for aboriginal subsistence use of gray whales from the Eastern stock in 
the North Pacific. This action by the IWC, thus, authorized aboriginal 
subsistence whaling by the Tribe for gray whales and is discussed in 
greater detail in the Federal Register notification of aboriginal 
subsistence whaling quotas for 1999 (64 FR 28413, May 26, 1999).
    On June 9, 2000, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit ruled that the Department of Commerce's environmental 
assessment (EA) under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 
should have been completed before entering into a cooperative agreement 
with the Makah Tribe. The Court ordered the agency to prepare a new 
NEPA document under circumstances that would ensure an objective 
evaluation of the environmental consequences of the gray whale harvest.
    NOAA set the 2000 quota at zero (65 FR 75186, December 1, 2000) and 
set the 2001 quota at zero (66 FR 14862, March 14, 2001) pending 
completion of the NEPA analysis.
    NOAA completed a draft EA on January 12, 2001, and solicited public 
comments. A final EA was issued on July 12, 2001, and selected a 
preferred alternative allowing the take of up to five whales per year 
for the years 2001 and 2002. Following the completion of this EA, NOAA 
and the Tribe entered into a cooperative agreement governing the 
conduct of the hunt.
    The agreement provides that the Makah Tribal Council, in 
cooperation with NOAA, will manage the gray whale hunts under the 1997 
IWC quota and the aboriginal subsistence whaling regulations set forth 
at 50 CFR Part 230, and details inspection and reporting requirements 
and enforcement procedures. In addition, the Council will license and 
regulate Tribal whalers, according to the Management Plan for Makah 
Treaty Gray Whale Hunting for the Years 1998-2002, as amended by 
Council Resolution No. 57-01 on May 30, 2001.

    Dated: December 7, 2001.
William T. Hogarth,
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 01-30827 Filed 12-12-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-S