[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17445-17447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07245]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-ES-2016-N241; FF07CAMM00-FXES111607MPB01]


U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission; Maintenance of Annual Taking 
Limit for the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 17446]]

SUMMARY: On November 18, 2016, the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission 
(Commission), established under the Agreement Between the Government of 
the United States and the Government of the Russian Federation on the 
Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear 
Population (2000 Agreement), unanimously agreed to maintain the annual 
taking limit adopted in 2010 for the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear 
population. In 2010, the Commission established an annual taking limit 
of the number of bears that may be removed from this population as a 
result of human activities, such as bears taken for subsistence 
purposes and in defense of human life. This annual taking limit, which 
corresponds with the annual sustainable harvest level for this 
population, is 58 polar bears per year, of which no more than one-third 
will be females. Under the 2000 Agreement, the annual taking limit is 
to be shared equally between the United States of America and the 
Russian Federation.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Patrick Lemons, Marine Mammals 
Management Chief, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals 
Management Office, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99503; by 
telephone (907) 786-3800; or by facsimile (907) 786-3816. Persons who 
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Relay Service (FRS) at (800) 877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background

    The Agreement between the Government of the United States of 
America and the Government of the Russian Federation on the 
Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear 
Population (2000 Agreement), signed in 2000 and ratified by the United 
States in 2007, provides legal protections for the population of polar 
bears found in the Chukchi and Northern Bering Seas. The 2000 Agreement 
is implemented in the United States through Title V of the Marine 
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and builds upon 
the protections provided to this population of polar bears through the 
Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (1973 Agreement), which 
was a significant early step in the international conservation of polar 
bears. The 1973 Agreement is a multilateral treaty to which the United 
States and Russia are parties with other polar bear range states--
Norway, Canada, and Denmark (on behalf of Greenland). While the 1973 
Agreement provides authority for the maintenance of a subsistence 
harvest of polar bears and provides for habitat conservation, the 2000 
Agreement establishes a common legal, scientific, and administrative 
framework directed specifically for the conservation and management of 
the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population.
    As a shared population, polar bears within the Alaska-Chukotka 
population readily move between the United States and Russian 
Federation. Article 3 of the 2000 Agreement defines the geographic 
boundaries of the Agreement, which correspond to the areas within the 
jurisdiction of the United States and Russian Federation in which the 
joint polar bear population may be found. Under Article 3, the 
geographic boundaries of the 2000 Agreement are ``bounded on the west 
by a line extending north from the mouth of the Kolyma River; on the 
east by a line extending north from Point Barrow; and on the south by a 
line describing the southernmost annual formation of drift ice.'' Thus, 
the 2000 Agreement recognizes the need for a unified, common management 
regime to provide for the long-term sustainability of this shared 
population, while assisting in safeguarding the social, cultural, and 
subsistence needs of Alaska Natives and native people of Chukotka. For 
example, the 2000 Agreement requires the Commission, the bilateral 
authority established under the 2000 Agreement, to determine a 
``sustainable harvest level'' that is based upon reliable scientific 
information, does not exceed net annual recruitment to the population, 
and maintains the population at or near its current level.
    Article 8 of the 2000 Agreement sets forth the composition and 
responsibilities of the Commission. The Commission includes a U.S. 
section and Russian section, with each national section comprising two 
members appointed by their respective parties to provide for the 
inclusion of a member representing the country's native people in 
addition to a Federal representative. Under the 2000 Agreement, each 
section has one vote, and all decisions of the Commission may be made 
only with the approval of both sections. Among other duties under 
Article 8, the Commission must promote cooperation among the parties 
and the native people, make scientific determinations, establish annual 
taking limits, and adopt other restrictions on take of polar bears for 
subsistence purposes within the framework of the established annual 
taking limits. Article 8 further requires the establishment of a 
Scientific Working Group (SWG) to advise the Commission on its 
decisions.
    At its first annual meeting, held in Moscow, Russia, September 23-
25, 2009, the Commission identified members of the SWG and tasked the 
SWG with reviewing the current level of take of polar bears and 
providing recommendations to the Commission on the sustainable harvest 
level. Recommendations from the SWG help guide the research necessary 
to address present and future polar bear conservation issues in the 
shared Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population.
    The second annual meeting of the Commission took place June 7-10, 
2010, in Anchorage, Alaska. During this meeting the Commission reviewed 
the recommendations of the SWG and, consistent with the SWG's 
recommendation, determined that establishing a limit to the total 
allowable take, including subsistence harvest, of polar bears from the 
Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population was needed. Thus, consistent with 
the 2000 Agreement, the Commission adopted an annual taking limit that 
corresponds with, but does not exceed, the sustainable harvest level of 
no more than 58 polar bears per year, of which no more than 19 animals 
may be females, that may be removed from the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear 
population. The Commission determined that all forms of human-caused 
removal of individuals from the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population 
will be incorporated in this annual taking limit (75 FR 65507; October 
25, 2010). Under Section 502(a)(2) of the MMPA, it is unlawful to take 
any polar bear from the Alaska-Chukotka population in violation of this 
annual taking limit adopted by the Commission. At its third annual 
meeting, in 2011, the Commission made no change to the take limit 
established in 2010.
    At its fourth annual meeting, held June 25-27, 2012, in Anchorage, 
Alaska, the Commission adopted a multiyear quota system that would 
allow the Commission to set a sustainable harvest level for a 5-year 
timeframe, and within the 5-year cycle, adjust the annual taking limit 
upward or downward depending on the actual harvest of bears the 
preceding year. For example, if harvest was above the annual taking 
limit in one year, which would constitute a violation of the 2000 
Agreement and Title V of the MMPA, the annual taking limit could be 
reduced by the Commission for subsequent years. Alternatively, if ice 
conditions or other factors limit hunters' abilities to harvest polar 
bears in one year, the Commission could increase the

[[Page 17447]]

annual taking limit in subsequent years, as long as the sustainable 
harvest level over a 5-year period is not exceeded.
    Therefore, in 2012, based on the recommendation of the SWG, the 
Commission agreed upon a 5-year sustainable harvest level of 290 polar 
bears (i.e., the annual sustainable harvest level of 58 bears x 5 
years), with no more than one-third being female. Under this multiyear 
quota system, the 5-year sustainable harvest level would be allocated 
over a 5-year period and would include the identification of annual 
sustainable harvest levels for consideration by the Commission in 
setting annual taking limits. The Commission, at each of its subsequent 
annual meetings held in 2013, 2014, and 2015, was advised by the SWG 
that new biological information considered at the meeting did not 
suggest the need to change the sustainable harvest level established by 
the Commission. The Commission, therefore, at each of those meetings in 
2013, 2014, and 2015 adopted the SWG's recommendation that no change be 
made to the existing sustainable harvest level of up to 58 polar bears 
per year to be shared equally between the United States and Russia, of 
which no more than one-third will be female.
    At the eighth annual meeting of the Commission, held November 17-
18, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska, the SWG recognized that new biological 
information considered at the meeting did not suggest the need to 
change the sustainable harvest level established by the Commission and, 
therefore, it recommended no change to the current annual sustainable 
harvest level of 58 polar bears per year to be shared equally between 
the United States and the Russian Federation, of which no more than 
one-third will be female, or to the multiyear quota system previously 
adopted by the Commission. The Commission unanimously adopted this 
recommendation. Additionally, the U.S. Commissioners discussed their 
collaborative efforts over the past year to lay the foundation for 
effective implementation of the annual taking limit, and expressed 
their commitment to continuing that work together to achieve the goal 
of a sustainably managed polar bear subsistence harvest.
    As discussed in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service) 
recent advance notice of proposed rulemaking (81 FR 78560; November 8, 
2016), the Service is currently working with the Alaska Native 
community to identify a new co-management partner. To allow time for 
this co-management partner to be identified and to establish a program 
of locally enforceable ordinances for polar bear harvest, it is 
appropriate to delay issuance of regulations to administer the annual 
taking limit, which were originally anticipated to be put into effect 
on January 1, 2017. The Service believes additional work in 
establishing local, on-the-ground co-management structures will greatly 
improve compliance with the annual taking limit.
    We now anticipate issuing regulations in 2019, with an anticipated 
effective date of January 1, 2020. The Service will continue conducting 
consultation with federally recognized tribes, providing outreach and 
education to affected communities, and evaluating biological 
information. During this interim period, the Service will use its 
enforcement discretion with respect to any take that exceeds the annual 
taking limit established by the Commission in 2010. Currently, the 
Service's MMPA implementing regulations at 50 CFR 18.23(f) require 
Alaskan natives who harvest any polar bears for subsistence purposes or 
for purposes of selling authentic Native articles of handicrafts and 
clothing to report such take to the Service and present the skin and 
skull to Service personnel or the Service's authorized local 
representative. Under these regulations, an Alaskan native may possess 
the unmarked, untagged, and unreported polar bear for a period of time 
not to exceed 30 days from the time of taking for the purpose of 
transporting the skin and skull to Service personnel or the Service's 
authorized local representative for marking, tagging, and reporting. 
These regulations remain in effect.

Determination of the Commission

    Pursuant to section 507(b) of the MMPA, we are publishing in the 
Federal Register this notice of the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission's 
determination concerning the annual taking limit for the Alaska-
Chukotka polar bear population. As detailed above, at its 2016 annual 
meeting, the Commission agreed to maintain the limit on the annual 
harvest of polar bears from this population to no more than 58 animals, 
of which no more than one-third may be female, to be shared equally 
between the United States and the Russian Federation.

    Dated: February 1, 2017.
James W. Kurth,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-07245 Filed 4-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P