Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 96 / Thursday, May 18, 1995 / Notices 26721

U.S. Commissioner to the IWC and to

the IWC Interagency Committee.

Consistent with these responsibilities,

NOAA develops positions for

implementation of the aboriginal/

subsistence harvest of bowhead whales

under paragraph 13 of the Schedule to

the International Convention on the

Regulation of Whaling, December 2,

1946, 62 Stat. 1716, T.I.A.S. No. 1849

(entered into force, November 10, 1948).

In order to provide for review and

comment by the public of the data upon

which the U.S. positions are based, the

following information is provided: (1)

The IWC catch level available for the

U.S. aboriginal/subsistence bowhead

whale harvest for 1995–98; (2) a

summary of available bowhead

scientific information, including

estimates of current population level

and annual recruitment rates; (3) a

summary of information on the nature

and extent of aboriginal/subsistence

need; (4) the level of aboriginal/

subsistence harvest limits that could be

implemented domestically; and (5)

notice of the availability of those

documents reviewed by NOAA and

relied on by the Under Secretary of

Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere

in making his finding on the range of

harvest limits. NOAA is soliciting

public comment on the proposed

domestic implementation of the IWC

bowhead whale catch limit.

1. Catch Level

At the 46th Annual Meeting of the

IWC in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, May

23–27, 1994, the following catch limit

was established for aboriginal/

subsistence whaling:

For the years 1995, 1996, 1997, and 1998,

the number of bowhead whales landed shall

not exceed 204, and the number of bowhead

whales struck shall not exceed 68 in 1995, 67

in 1996, 66 in 1997, and 65 in 1998, except

that any unused portion of the strike quota

for each year shall be carried forward from

that year and added to the strike quota of any

subsequent years, provided that no more than

10 strikes shall be added to the strike quota

for any 1 year.

It was clarified on the floor of the

meeting that if 15 of the allowed strikes

were not used in 1 year, 10 of those

strikes could be carried over to the next

year and the remaining 5 strikes could

be added to another year.

2. Scientific Information

At the 1994 Annual Meeting of the

IWC, an assessment of the status of

bowhead whales was completed using a

series of relative abundance estimates

and an absolute abundance from

acoustic and visual survey data

collected in 1988. The resulting analysis

suggested that the population currently

is increasing at 3.1 percent annually (95

percent confidence interval 1.4 percent

to 4.7 percent), is at 36 percent of its

pre-exploitation abundance (95 percent

confidence interval 0.27–0.44), and has

a median value for the replacement

yield of 199 (95 percent probability

interval 97–300). A minimum

replacement yield was estimated to be

104 animals per year; 104 is the fifth

percentile replacement yield of the

replacement yield distribution.

Projections of population size under

three levels of takes were made,

suggesting that the population likely

would increase at recent levels of

aboriginal catches. Major uncertainties

identified included: (1) Completing the

analysis of the acoustic survey data from

1993, (2) methods of correcting visual

sighting data for distribution away from

the sighting location, (3) prior

distributions for several input

parameters, and (4) the degree of genetic

interchange between this stock and

other more depleted stocks of bowhead

whales.

3. Aboriginal/Subsistence Need

In 1994, in response to a Federal

Register document soliciting comments

on a proposed U.S. position, the Alaska

Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC)

submitted a recalculation of the

aboriginal subsistence and cultural need

for 9 whaling villages using estimated

populations for 1992 provided by the

State Demographer of Alaska. Based on

the 1992 estimated populations, the

calculated need for bowhead whales in

those 9 whaling villages was 50.

At the 1994 Annual Meeting of the

IWC, the United States sought IWC

recognition that the island of Little

Diomede has a subsistence and cultural

need to land 1 bowhead whale per year.

Together with the 50 bowheads needed

for the other whaling villages, the total

needed is 51. Assuming a target

efficiency rate of 75 percent, this would

require a quota of 68 strikes.

In setting a limit of 204 bowhead

whales landed for 4 years (an average of

51 animals per year), the United States

believes that the IWC implicitly

acknowledged the subsistence and

cultural need of Little Diomede to land

1 bowhead whale per year.

4. Domestic Harvest Range

The IWC management scheme for

aboriginal/subsistence whaling provides

(in Schedule paragraph 13(a)(2)):

For stocks below the maximum sustainable

yield (MSY) level but above a certain

minimum level, aboriginal/subsistence

catches shall be permitted so long as they are

set at levels which allow whale stocks to

move to the MSY level.

Given the above-stated minimum

estimate of replacement yields of 104,

an aboriginal/subsistence catch can be

permitted in 1995.

Therefore, the catch limits for

bowhead whales in 1995 shall be such

that no more than a total of 68 bowhead

whales are struck. For the years 1995 to

1998 combined, the number of bowhead

whales landed shall not exceed 204.

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 916, 1361–1407,

1531–43.

Dated: May 11, 1995.

Gary Matlock,

Program Management Officer, National

Marine Fisheries Service.

[FR Doc. 95–12182 Filed 5–17–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3510–22–F

COMMISSION ON CIVIL RIGHTS

Agenda and Notice of Public Meeting

of the South Carolina Advisory

Committee

Notice is hereby given, pursuant to

the provisions of the rules and

regulations of the U.S. Commission on

Civil Rights, that a meeting of the South

Carolina meeting to the Commission

will convene at 10:00 a.m. and adjourn

at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, June 2, 1995, at

the Adams Mark Inn, Meeting Room,

1200 Hampton Street (Downtown),

Columbia, South Carolina. The purpose

of the meeting is to release the report,

Perceptions of Racial Tensions in South

Carolina; discuss civil rights progress

and/or problems in the State; and

discuss future project plans.

Persons desiring additional

information, or planning a presentation

to the Committee, should contact Bobby

D. Doctor, Director of the Southern

Regional Office, 404–730–2476 (TDD

404–730–2481). Hearing-impaired

persons who will attend the meeting

and require the services of a sign

language interpreter should contact the

Regional Office at least five (5) working

days before the scheduled date of the

meeting.

The meeting will be conducted

pursuant to the provisions of the rules

and regulations of the Commission.

Dated at Washington, DC, May 4, 1995.

Carol-Lee Hurley,

Chief, Regional Programs Coordination Unit.

[FR Doc. 95–12223 Filed 5–17–95; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6335–01–P