[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 8261]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-02681]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XC743]


Whaling Provisions; Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling Quotas

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

ACTION: Notice; notification of quota for bowhead whales.

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SUMMARY: NMFS notifies the public of the aboriginal subsistence whaling 
quota for bowhead whales assigned to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling 
Commission (AEWC), and of limitations on the use of the quota deriving 
from regulations of the International Whaling Commission (IWC). For 
2023, the quota is 93 bowhead whales struck. This quota and other 
applicable limitations govern the harvest of bowhead whales by whaling 
captains of the AEWC.

DATES: Applicable February 8, 2023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mi Ae Kim, (301) 427-8365.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Aboriginal subsistence whaling in the United 
States is governed by the Whaling Convention Act (WCA) (16 U.S.C. 916 
et seq.). Under the WCA, IWC regulations shall generally become 
effective with respect to all persons and vessels subject to the 
jurisdiction of the United States within 90 days of notification from 
the IWC Secretariat of an amendment to the IWC Schedule (16 U.S.C. 
916k). Regulations that implement the WCA, found at 50 CFR part 230, 
require 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 67th Meeting of the IWC, the Commission set catch limits for 
aboriginal subsistence use of bowhead whales from the Bering-Chukchi-
Beaufort Seas stock. The bowhead and other aboriginal subsistence 
whaling catch limits were based on a joint request by Denmark on behalf 
of Greenland, the Russian Federation, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 
and the United States, accompanied by documentation concerning the 
needs of the Native groups.
    The IWC set a 7-year block catch limit of 392 bowhead whales 
landed. For each of the years 2019 through 2025, the number of bowhead 
whales struck may not exceed 67, with unused strikes from the 3 prior 
quota blocks carried forward and added to the annual strike quota of 
subsequent years, provided that no more than 50 percent of the annual 
strike limit is added to the strike quota for any one year. For the 
2023 harvest, there are 33 strikes available for carry-forward, so the 
combined strike quota set by the IWC for 2023 is 100 (67 + 33).
    An arrangement between the United States and the Russian Federation 
ensures that the total quota of bowhead whales landed and struck in 
2023 will not exceed the limits set by the IWC. Under this arrangement, 
the Russian natives may use no more than 7 strikes, and the Alaska 
natives may use no more than 93 strikes.
    Through its cooperative agreement with the AEWC, NOAA has assigned 
93 strikes to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission. The AEWC will in 
turn allocate these strikes among the 11 villages whose cultural and 
subsistence needs have been documented, and will ensure that AEWC 
whaling captains use no more than 93 strikes.
    At its 67th Meeting, the IWC also provided for automatic renewal of 
aboriginal subsistence whaling catch limits under certain 
circumstances. Commencing in 2026, bowhead whale catch limits shall be 
extended every 6 years provided: (a) the IWC Scientific Committee 
advises in 2024, and every 6 years thereafter, that such limits will 
not harm the stock; (b) the Commission does not receive a request from 
the United States or the Russian Federation for a change in the bowhead 
whale catch limits based on need; and (c) the Commission determines 
that the United States and the Russian Federation have complied with 
the IWC's approved timeline and that the information provided 
represents a status quo continuation of the hunts.

Other Limitations

    The IWC regulations, as well as the NOAA regulation at 50 CFR 
230.4(c), forbid the taking of calves or any whale accompanied by a 
calf.
    NOAA regulations (at 50 CFR 230.4) also contain other prohibitions 
relating to aboriginal subsistence whaling, some of which are 
summarized here:
     No person, other than licensed whaling captains or crew 
under the control of those captains, may engage in aboriginal 
subsistence whaling.
     No AEWC whaling captain shall engage in whaling that is 
not in accordance with the regulations of the IWC, NOAA, and the 
cooperative agreement between NOAA and the AEWC.
     No whaling captain shall engage in whaling without an 
adequate crew or without adequate supplies and equipment.
     Crew 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 
American 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: February 3, 2023.
Alexa Cole,
Director, Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-02681 Filed 2-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P