[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 8 (Tuesday, January 14, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3185-3186]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-00554]
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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
[RTID 0648-XE567]
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
2025, the AEWC quota is 93 bowhead whales struck. This quota and other
applicable limitations govern the harvest of bowhead whales by licensed
whaling captains of the AEWC.
DATES: Applicable January 14, 2025.
ADDRESSES: Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce,
National Marine Fisheries Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madison Harris, (202) 480-4592.
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 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 NOAA's Assistant
Administrator for Fisheries 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 in 2018, the Commission set catch
limits for aboriginal subsistence use of bowhead whales from the
Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock for the years 2019-2025. The
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 1 year. For the 2025
bowhead harvest, there are 33 strikes available for carry-forward, so
the combined strike quota set by the IWC for 2025 is 100 (67 + 33).
Both Alaska and Russian Natives hunt the bowhead whale, and thus
the IWC quota for the bowhead whale is shared between the two Native
groups. To account for the shared quota, the United States and Russia
established a cooperative arrangement to monitor the quota.
NOAA has assigned 93 strikes to the AEWC through its cooperative
agreement with the AEWC, accounting for bowhead whales that may be
hunted by Russian Natives. 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 an automatic
extension 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
[[Page 3186]]
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. At its 69th meeting in September 2024, the IWC reviewed
the aboriginal subsistence whaling extension criteria and determined by
consensus that all of the conditions had been met, and thus agreed to
extend the ASW strike/catch limits for 6 years, for the period 2026-
2031.
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, shall engage in aboriginal
subsistence whaling.
No whaling captain shall engage in whaling that is not in
accordance with the regulations of the IWC, NOAA, and the relevant
cooperative agreement.
No whaling captain shall engage in whaling without an
adequate crew or without adequate supplies and equipment.
No person may 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
handicrafts.
Captains cannot continue to whale after the relevant quota
is reached, after the season has been closed, or if their licenses have
been suspended.
No captain shall engage in whaling in a wasteful manner.
Dated: January 7, 2025.
Alexa Cole,
Director, Office of International Affairs, Trade, and Commerce,
National Marine Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-00554 Filed 1-13-25; 8:45 am]
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