[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 216 (Thursday, November 9, 2023)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 77245-77246]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-24829]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

50 CFR Part 216

[RTID 0648-XD169]


Marine Mammals; Subsistence Taking of Northern Fur Seals; 
Pribilof and Aleutian Islands

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

ACTION: Notification of receipt of petition for rulemaking; request for 
comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the receipt of a petition for rulemaking under 
the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). The Aleut Community of St. Paul 
Island (ACSPI), the Traditional Council of St. George Island (TCSGI), 
and the Aleut Marine Mammal Commission (AMMC) have petitioned NMFS to 
revise regulations governing the subsistence taking of northern fur 
seals. The revisions requested include: changing the current hunting 
season on St. Paul Island, Alaska to begin on October 15, creating an 
annual hunting season on St. George Island, Alaska to begin on October 
15 and end on May 31, and creating an annual hunting season in the 
Aleutian Islands in Alaska to begin on November 1 and end on April 30, 
with an upper take limit for the Aleutian Islands of 100 non-breeding 
male fur seals. NMFS solicits public comments on this request. NMFS 
will consider all comments and available information when determining 
whether to proceed with rulemaking.

DATES: Comments must be received by December 11, 2023.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments on this document, identified by 
NOAA-NMFS-2023-091, by any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public 
comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Go to https://www.regulations.gov and enter [NOAA-NMFS-2023-091] in the Search box. 
Click the ``Comment'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Submit written comments to Anne Marie Eich, NMFS 
Alaska Regional Office, 709 W. 9th St., P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 
99802.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
https://www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address), confidential business information, 
or otherwise sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender 
will be publicly accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter 
``N/A'' in the required fields if you wish to remain anonymous).
    Electronic copies of the petitions and letters are available at: 
https://www.regulations.gov/docket/NOAA-NMFS-2023-091 or the NMFS 
Alaska Region website: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/marine-mammal-protection/northern-fur-seal-subsistence-harvest-estimates-and-reports#subsistence-harvest-estimates.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael Williams, NMFS Alaska Region, 
907-271-5117, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    The subsistence use of northern fur seals on the Pribilof Islands 
is governed by regulations established under the Fur Seal Act in 50 CFR 
216.71-74. These regulations were most recently revised on October 30, 
2014 (79 FR 65327, November 4, 2014), and September 27, 2019 (84 FR 
52372, October 2, 2019), to increase food security, consistent with 
traditional and cultural practices, and deregulate aspects of the 
subsistence use of northern fur seals on the Pribilof Islands. ACSPI, 
TCSGI, and AMMC report that Alaska Native subsistence users have 
experienced the direct effects of climate change through unprecedented 
storm frequency, timing, and duration. This has resulted in the 
reduction of the availability of and opportunity to obtain subsistence 
resources. As a result, the ACSPI, TCSGI, and the AMMC submitted 
requests to NMFS to change the regulations to expand fur seal hunting 
and harvesting opportunities to meet their customary and traditional 
needs and practices, as well as their subsistence needs. NMFS considers 
these requests to be a formal petition for rulemaking under the APA. 
The requests are as follows:

[[Page 77246]]

1. Change the Current Hunting Season on St. Paul Island

    On November 2, 2022, ACSPI requested in a letter to NMFS that 
representatives from NMFS and ACSPI investigate the feasibility of 
changing the duration of the hunting season on St. Paul Island. 
Subsequent discussions by the St. Paul Island Marine Mammal Co-
Management Council (which includes both NMFS and ACSPI representatives) 
identified regulatory changes to create greater food security and 
subsistence use opportunities on St. Paul Island.
    Current regulations at 50 CFR 216.72(e)(1) allow subsistence 
hunting of northern fur seals with firearms from January 1 through May 
31, annually. ACSPI requests NMFS modify regulations to allow the 
annual hunting season with firearms to begin October 15 and end 
consistent with the provisions at 50 CFR 216.72(g)(1)(i). This would 
result in a northern fur seal hunting season with firearms on St. Paul 
Island from October 15 through May 31, or when the overall quota for a 
calendar year is reached (2,000 juvenile male fur seals). ACSPI did not 
request any change to the overall quota of 2,000 juvenile northern fur 
seal males or the female mortality limit of 20 northern fur seals. 
Therefore, NMFS is not considering any changes to the quota or female 
mortality limit at this time.

2. Create a Hunting Season on St. George Island

    Current regulations at 50 CFR 216.72(d) do not allow subsistence 
use of northern fur seals with firearms on St. George Island. The 
regulatory changes in 2014 (79 FR 65327, November 4, 2014) and 2019 (84 
FR 52372, October 2, 2019) did not contemplate a hunting season to use 
firearms to take fur seals for subsistence on St. George Island.
    The TCSGI submitted a letter to NMFS on June 8, 2023, requesting 
equitable subsistence hunting opportunities for the community of St. 
George by creating a hunting season using firearms annually from 
October 15 to May 31, similar to that proposed on St. Paul Island. The 
letter requested no change to the overall quota of 500 juvenile males, 
150 male pups, or the female mortality limit of 3 northern fur seals. 
Therefore, NMFS is not considering any changes to the quota or female 
mortality limit at this time.

3. Create a Hunting Season and Associated Upper Take Limit in the 
Aleutian Islands in Alaska

    On May 1, 2023, AMMC submitted a letter to NMFS outlining their 
interest in resuming their traditional subsistence practices of taking 
fur seals. Harvesting fur seals on land in the Aleutian Islands is not 
practical, as the only breeding location is the uninhabited Bogoslof 
Island. However, northern fur seals migrate through the AMMC region 
(i.e., the Aleutian Islands and Alaska Peninsula), which if authorized 
for subsistence use, could provide an additional subsistence resource 
for AMMC member communities. The 2019 Alaska Marine Mammal Stock 
Assessment Report (SAR) indicates declining availability of harbor 
seals over the past decade in the Aleutian Islands (Muto et al., 2020). 
The 2019 SAR for the Western Distinct Population Segment (DPS) of 
Steller sea lion, which includes most sea lions in the Aleutian Islands 
where hunting may occur, also notes historically low abundance and 
availability in this region (some Eastern DPS animals may occur in the 
area, but it is unclear to what extent) (Jemison et al., 2013; Jemison 
et al., 2018; Muto et al., 2020). Both harbor seals and Steller sea 
lions are important subsistence resources in the Aleutian region, and 
hunting of northern fur seals for subsistence would improve food 
security for AMMC member tribes. The AMMC letter requests a revision of 
the regulations at 50 CFR 216.72(b) to allow a total take of 100 non-
breeding male fur seals by hunting with firearms from November 1 
through April 30 in the AMMC region from their 11 member tribes in the 
communities of Atka, Belkofski, Akutan, False Pass, Agdaagux, Nelson 
Lagoon, Nikolski, Pauloff Harbor, Qagan Tayagungin, Unalaska, and Unga.

Request for Information

    The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, has determined that the 
petition contains enough information to enable NMFS to consider the 
substance of the petition. NMFS solicits public comment on these three 
related requests to modify regulations that govern the taking of fur 
seals for subsistence purposes by Alaska Native residents of the 
Pribilof and Aleutian Islands. NMFS is particularly interested in 
information that would allow an evaluation of the effects these 
potential changes may have on food security, the fur seal population, 
and the temporal and spatial distribution of hunting effort. NMFS will 
consider public comments received in determining whether to proceed 
with the requested regulations revisions. Upon determining whether to 
initiate the requested rulemaking, the Assistant Administrator for 
Fisheries, will publish in the Federal Register the Agency's notice of 
proposed rulemaking with a request for public comment.

References

Jemison, L.A., G.W. Pendleton, L.W. Fritz, K.K. Hastings, J.M. 
Maniscalco, A.W. Trites, and T.S. Gelatt. 2013. Inter-population 
movements of Steller sea lions in Alaska with implications for 
population separation. PLoS ONE 8(8):e70167.
Jemison, L.A., G.W. Pendleton, K.K. Hastings, J.M. Maniscalco, and 
L.W. Fritz. 2018. Spatial distribution, movements, and geographic 
range of Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) in Alaska. PLoS ONE 
13(12):e0208093.
Muto, M.M., V.T. Helker, B.J. Delean, R.P. Angliss, P.L. Boveng, 
J.M. Breiwick, B.M. Brost, M.F. Cameron, P.J. Clapham, S.P. Dahle, 
M.E. Dahlheim, B.S. Fadely, M.C. Ferguson, L.W. Fritz, R.C. Hobbs, 
Y.V. Ivaschenko, A.S. Kennedy, J.M. London, S.A. Mizroch, R.R. Ream, 
E.L. Richmond, K.E.W. Shelden, K.L. Sweeney, R.G. Towell, P.R. Wade, 
J.M. Waite, and A.N. Zerbini. 2020. Alaska Marine Mammal Stock 
Assessments, 2019. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service, 
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle, WA, July 2020. NOAA 
Technical Memorandum NMFS-AFSC-404, 395 pp.

    Dated: November 6, 2023.
Samuel D. Rauch, III,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Regulatory Programs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2023-24829 Filed 11-8-23; 8:45 am]
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