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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 115 (Thursday, June 14, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 27756-27757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-12734]

[[Page 27756]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XF600

Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Issuing Annual Catch 
Limits to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission

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

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft Environmental Impact 
Statement; request for comments.

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SUMMARY: NMFS announces the availability of a draft environmental 
impact statement (EIS) pursuant to the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (NEPA), in order to assess the impacts of issuing annual 
catch limits for the subsistence harvest of bowhead whales by Alaska 
Natives from 2019 onward. The official 60-day comment period for 
comments on the draft EIS began on June 1, 2018 and will end on July 
31, 2018.

DATES: Comments on this draft EIS must be received no later than July 
31, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments on this draft environmental impact 
statement, by including NOAA-NMFS-2017-0098 by either of the following 
methods:
     Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0098. Click the 
``Comment Now!'' icon, complete the required fields, and enter or 
attach your comments.
     Mail: Carolyn Doherty, Office of International Affairs and 
Seafood Inspection, NOAA Fisheries, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver 
Spring, MD 20910. Instructions: NMFS may not consider comments if they 
are sent by any other method, to any other address or individual, or 
received after the comment period ends at 11:59 p.m. eastern time on 
the date of comment period closure.
    Instructions: All comments received are a part of the public record 
and will generally be posted to www.regulations.gov without change. For 
posted comments, all personal identifying information (e.g., name, 
address, etc.), confidential business information, or otherwise 
sensitive information submitted voluntarily by the sender is publicly 
accessible. NMFS will accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the 
required fields if you wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to 
electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, 
WordPerfect, or Adobe portable document file (PDF) formats only.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Carolyn Doherty, Office of 
International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, NOAA Fisheries (phone: 
301-427-8385 or email: [email protected]).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NMFS is preparing an EIS in order to 
comprehensively assess impacts of the subsistence harvest of Western 
Arctic bowhead whales by Alaska Natives from 2019 onward. The draft EIS 
is posted on the NOAA Fisheries' Alaska Regional Office's web page at 
https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/whales-bowhead.

Background

    Alaska Natives have hunted bowhead whales for over 2,000 years as 
the whales migrate in the spring and fall along the coast of Alaska. 
Their traditional subsistence hunts for these whales have been 
regulated by catch limits and other limitations under the authority of 
the International Whaling Commission (IWC) since 1977. Alaska Native 
subsistence hunters from 11 northern Alaskan communities take less than 
1 percent of the stock of bowhead whales per year. Since 1977, the 
number of whales struck by harpoons has ranged between 14 and 72 
animals per year, depending in part on changes in IWC management 
strategy due to higher estimates of both bowhead whale abundance and 
increased hunter efficiency in recent years. The IWC sets an overall 
aboriginal subsistence catch limit for this stock, based on the request 
of IWC member countries on behalf of the aboriginal hunters. The IWC's 
catch limit for bowhead whales includes a limit on the number of landed 
whales and a limit on the number of whales that may be struck. In the 
case of Alaska and Russian Native subsistence hunts, the United States 
and the Russian Federation make a joint request to the IWC for 
subsistence catch limits for bowhead whales.
    NMFS must annually publish a notice of aboriginal subsistence whale 
hunting catch limits and any other limitations on such hunting in the 
Federal Register (50 CFR 230.6). The subsistence hunt is directly 
managed by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC) and the catch 
limits are issued through annual amendments to a cooperative agreement 
between the AEWC and NOAA, consistent with the mandates codified in the 
Whaling Convention Act, 16 U.S.C. 916-916l.
    In order to comprehensively assess the effects of these annual 
removals, this proposed action would extend from 2019 onward, subject 
to IWC-set catch limits. IWC-set catch limits are, in turn, based on 
IWC Scientific Committee advice on the sustainability of proposed catch 
limits using a population model, referred to as a Strike Limit 
Algorithm. The Strike Limit Algorithm used by the IWC is specific to 
this population of bowhead whales and is the IWC's formula for 
calculating sustainable aboriginal subsistence whaling removal levels, 
based on the size and productivity of a whale population, in order to 
satisfy subsistence need. The Strike Limit Algorithm also allows for an 
inter-annual variation of strikes up to 50 percent of the annual strike 
limit in order to provide flexibility for the hunt while meeting the 
Commission's conservation objectives.

Alternatives Considered

    NMFS considered five alternatives in the draft EIS:
    Alternative 1 (no action): Do not grant the AEWC a catch limit.
    Alternative 2: Grant the AEWC an annual strike limit of 67 bowhead 
whales, not to exceed a total of 336 landed whales over any 6-year 
period, with no unused strikes from previous years added to the 
subsequent annual limit as carry-forward.
    Alternative 3: Grant the AEWC an annual strike limit of 67 bowhead 
whales, not to exceed a total of 336 landed whales over any 6-year 
period, with unused strikes from previous years carried forward and 
added to the annual strike limit of subsequent years (subject to 
limits), provided that no more than 15 additional strikes are added to 
any one year's allocation of strikes. This alternative would maintain 
the status quo for any 6-year period with respect to management of the 
hunt.
    Alternative 4 (Preferred Alternative): Grant the AEWC an annual 
strike limit of 67 bowhead whales, not to exceed a total of 336 landed 
whales over any 6-year period, with unused strikes from previous years 
carried forward and added to the annual strike quota of subsequent 
years (subject to limits), provided that no more than 50 percent of the 
annual strike limit is added for any one year. This alternative would 
maintain the status quo for any 6-year period with respect to 
management of the hunt for landed whales and employ the Commission's 
agreed-upon 50 percent carryover principle. The agency has identified 
Alternative 4 as its preferred alternative because it best meets the 
purpose and need of this action, and it achieves the socio-cultural 
benefits of the subsistence hunt at minimal environmental cost.

[[Page 27757]]

    Alternative 5: Grant the AEWC an annual strike limit of 100 bowhead 
whales, not to exceed a total of 504 landed whales over any 6-year 
period, with unused strikes from previous years carried forward and 
added to the annual strike quota of subsequent years (subject to 
limits), provided that no more than 50 percent of the annual strike 
limit is added for any one year. This alternative would increase the 
harvest levels by 50 percent and employ the Commission's agreed-upon 50 
percent carryover principle. Under this alternative, NMFS would 
authorize a higher level of harvest, given: (1) The timeframe for 
NMFS's proposed action, i.e., from 2019 onward, where it is likely that 
the AEWC's subsistence need for bowhead whales will increase over this 
timeframe; and (2) the increasing size of the Western Arctic bowhead 
whale population. As with the other alternatives, NMFS's issuance of 
any future catch limits will be subject to IWC requirements, which, in 
turn, will be based on IWC Scientific Committee advice on the 
sustainability of those catch limits.
    NMFS decided to prepare an EIS rather than an EA in order to assess 
the impacts of issuing annual quotas for the subsistence hunt by Alaska 
Natives from 2019 onward. This decision was not based on any new 
determination that significant effects occur as a result of the bowhead 
subsistence hunt, but rather to take advantage of the greater 
transparency and public involvement in decision-making afforded through 
an EIS process.
    Major issues addressed in this draft EIS include: The impact of 
subsistence removal of bowhead whales from the Western Arctic stock of 
bowhead whales; the impacts of these harvest levels on the traditional 
and cultural values of Alaska Natives, and the cumulative effects of 
the action when considered along with environmental conditions and 
past, present, and future actions potentially affecting bowhead whales.

Public Comment

    The publication date of the Environmental Protection Agency's 
Notice of Availability of the draft EIS, June 1, 2018, 83 FR 25451, 
constitutes the start of the comment period under NEPA for the draft 
EIS. The public comment period will end on July 31, 2018, per 83 FR 
26665. NOAA encourages all parties with an interest in or who are 
affected by the Alternatives described in the draft EIS to provide 
suggestions and comments. Comments are specifically requested regarding 
the range of alternatives assessed, scope of analysis, and assessment 
of direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts.
    The official public comment period is 60 days, from June 1, 2018 
until July 31, 2018. The draft EIS is posted on the NOAA Fisheries' 
Alaska Regional Office's web page at https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/whales-bowhead.

Authority

    The preparation of this draft EIS was conducted under the authority 
and in accordance with the requirements of NEPA, Council on 
Environmental Quality Regulations (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), other 
applicable Federal laws and regulations, and policies and procedures of 
NMFS for compliance with those regulations.

    Dated: June 8, 2018.
John Henderschedt,
Director, Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, 
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2018-12734 Filed 6-13-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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