[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 23, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 16388]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-6889]



[[Page 16388]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XA309


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 provides notification of the aboriginal subsistence 
whaling quota for bowhead whales that it has assigned to the Alaska 
Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC), and other limitations deriving from 
regulations adopted at the 59th Annual Meeting of the International 
Whaling Commission (IWC). For 2011, the quota is 75 bowhead whales 
struck. This quota and other limitations govern the harvest of bowhead 
whales by members of the AEWC.

DATES: Effective March 23, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Office of International Affairs, National Marine Fisheries 
Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ryan Wulff, (202) 482-3689.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Aboriginal subsistence whaling in the United 
States is governed by the Whaling Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 916 et 
seq.). Regulations that implement the Act, found at 50 CFR 230.6, 
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 59th Annual 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 catch limits were based 
on a joint request by the United States and the Russian Federation, 
accompanied by documentation concerning the needs of two Native groups: 
Alaska Eskimos and Chukotka Natives in the Russian Far East.
    This action by the IWC thus authorized aboriginal subsistence 
whaling by the AEWC for bowhead whales. This aboriginal subsistence 
harvest is conducted in accordance with a cooperative agreement between 
NOAA and the AEWC.
    The IWC set a 5-year block quota of 280 bowhead whales landed. For 
each of the years 2008 through 2012, 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 2003 through 
2007 quota, may be carried forward. No more than 15 strikes may be 
added to the strike quota for any one year. At the end of the 2010 
harvest, there were 15 unused strikes available for carry-forward, so 
the combined strike quota for 2011 is 82 (67 + 15).
    This arrangement ensures that the total quota of bowhead whales 
landed and struck in 2011 will not exceed the catch limits set by the 
IWC. Under an arrangement between the United States and the Russian 
Federation, the Russian natives may use no more than seven strikes, and 
the Alaska Eskimos may use no more than 75 strikes.
    Through its cooperative agreement with the AEWC, NOAA has assigned 
75 strikes to the Alaska Eskimos. The AEWC will allocate these strikes 
among the 11 villages whose cultural and subsistence needs have been 
documented, and will ensure that its hunters use no more than 75 
strikes.

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) contain a number of other 
prohibitions relating to aboriginal subsistence whaling, some of which 
are summarized here. For example:
    <bullet> Only licensed whaling captains or crew under the control 
of those captains may engage in whaling.
    <bullet> They must follow the provisions of the relevant 
cooperative agreement between NOAA and a Native American whaling 
organization.
    <bullet> The aboriginal hunters must have adequate crew, supplies, 
and equipment.
    <bullet> They may not receive money for participating in the hunt.
    <bullet> No person may sell or offer for sale whale products from 
whales taken in the hunt, except for authentic articles of Native 
handicrafts.
    <bullet> 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: March 18, 2011.
Jean Pierre-Ple,
Acting Director, Office of International Affairs, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2011-6889 Filed 3-22-11; 8:45 am]
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