[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 49 (Monday, March 14, 1994)] [Unknown Section] [Page 0] From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] [FR Doc No: 94-5891] [[Page Unknown]] [Federal Register: March 14, 1994] ----------------------------------------------------------------------- DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE [Docket No. 940256-4055; I.D. 011494A] Information Relating to Bowhead Whales; U.S. Implementation of Bowhead Whale Strike Quota for 1994 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), NOAA, Commerce. ACTION: Notice of information and request for public comment. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY: Information is published by NOAA for use in the development of the U.S. position before the International Whaling Commission (IWC) on the aboriginal/subsistence take of bowhead whales and in the domestic allocation of the existing IWC quota for bowhead whales to U.S. natives. NOAA is soliciting public comment on the proposed allocation of the IWC bowhead whale catch limit in 1994. DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 13, 1994. ADDRESSES: Written comments may be mailed to the Office of International Affairs, National Marine Fisheries Service, 1335 East- West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910. A list of documents reviewed for this action may be obtained on request, and the documents examined during business hours (9 a.m. to 5 p.m.) at this address. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin Chu, (301) 713-2276. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: NOAA is responsible for implementation and enforcement of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 1361-1407), the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C 1531-1543) and the Whaling Convention Act 16 U.S.C. 916-916l). In addition, it provides staff support to the 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 1992-1994; (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 which could be implemented domestically; and (5) notice of the availability of those documents reviewed by NOAA and relied on by the Under Secretary 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 for 1994. 1. Catch Level At the 43rd Annual Meeting of the IWC, Reykjavik, Iceland, May 27- 31, 1991, the following catch limit was established for aboriginal/ subsistence whaling: ``The taking of bowhead whales from the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas stock by aborigines is permitted, but only when the meat and products of such whales are to be used exclusively for local consumption by the aborigines and further provided that: For each of the years 1992, 1993, and 1994 combined, the total number of whales struck shall not exceed 141, except that: (A) Any unused strikes up to ten percent of the total strikes allowed in the years 1989, 1990, and 1991 combined shall be carried forward from those years and added to the combined total of strikes for the years 1992, 1993, and 1994; and (B) in any one year no more than 54 whales shall be struck and no more than 41 shall be landed. (Schedule to the Convention, Paragraph 13(b)(1)(i).) 2. Scientific Information At the 1991 IWC meeting, the Scientific Committee agreed that the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Sea population of bowhead whales is between 6,400 and 9,200 animals, with a most likely estimate of 7,500 whales. A minimum estimate of the replacement yield (RY) was calculated to be 92 whales per year, and the most likely replacement yield for the population size of 7,500 is 254 whales per year. The replacement yield defines the number of new whales annually joining the adult population, and it is assumed that, all other things being constant, up to this number could be taken from the population without causing it to decline. 3. Aboriginal/Subsistence Need The Department of the Interior (DOI) conducted its analysis of the nature and extent of aboriginal/subsistence need for bowhead whales and whaling in 1983, and the IWC adopted this method for quantifying need in 1986. DOI contracted for a new study on the quantification of subsistence and cultural need for bowhead whales in 1987, which was presented at the 1988 meeting. The new study presented the cultural and subsistence need of nine Alaska Eskimo whaling villages to take 41 landed bowhead whales. This quantification of need used the same method of calculation accepted by the IWC in 1986. This method derives the mean annual number of bowhead whales landed per capita during a specified historical period and multiplies this mean by the current Eskimo population of nine Alaska Eskimo whaling villages. The result of this calculation is the total number of bowhead whales these Eskimo whaling villages need to land each year in order to meet their cultural and subsistence need. When the IWC adopted this method of quantifying need, members of the IWC Aboriginal Subsistence Subcommittee noted that the quantification was based on a large but incomplete series of data on historical bowhead landings. It was also noted that the quantification used an inconsistent data base period. The DOI study was initiated to correct these deficiencies. To complete the series of data on historical bowhead whale landings to the extent possible, the study undertook a comprehensive review of available published and unpublished sources of bowhead landings. Remaining gaps are unlikely to be significantly reduced with further searches for historic data on bowhead landings. The data resulting from this study also permitted the use of a consistent historical base period for the calculation of need. In the prior analysis, the base periods varied from 1940 to 1970 and 1950 to 1970. The base period now begins in 1910, the year following the cessation of commercial whaling in the Arctic, and ends in 1969, prior to the period of unusually high bowhead harvests in the unique economic circumstances of the 1970s. Therefore, applying the additional landed bowhead data and the longer period to the accepted method of quantifying need, results in a current cultural and subsistence need of 41 landed whales. 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 estimates of replacement yields of 92 (lower bound) to 254 whales for the point estimate recruited into the population annually, an aboriginal/subsistence catch can be permitted in 1994. The catch limit for bowhead whales for the years 1992-1994, established by the IWC, is 141 strikes plus 13 strikes carried over from the previous block quota with no more than 54 whales struck and no more than 41 landed in any one year. Of the 154 total strikes for 1992- 1994, 50 bowhead whales were struck and 38 were landed in 1992, and 52 were struck and 41 landed in 1993. Therefore, the number under consideration for allocation to the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission for the 1994 catch limit is 52 strikes or 41 landed whales. 5. Documents Reviewed A list of the documents reviewed for this action may be obtained on request (see ADDRESSES). The documents are available for public inspection during the 30-day public comment period at the same address. (Authority: 16 U.S.C. 916, 1361-1407, 1531-43) Dated: January 14, 1994. D. James Baker, Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. [FR Doc. 94-5891 Filed 3-11-94; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 3510-22-P