Whale Strike Report

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Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 11, 1996 / Rules and Regulations

DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration
15 CFR Part 902
50 CFR Part 230
[Docket No. 960312069–6153–02; I.D.
022796F]
RIN 0648–AI81

Whaling Provisions; Consolidation and
Revision of Regulations; Collection-ofInformation Approval
National Marine Fisheries
Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA),
Commerce.
ACTION: Final rule.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: NMFS revises and updates
regulations pertaining to aboriginal
subsistence whaling by removing
outdated provisions, codifying current
practice, incorporating current term
usage, and reorganizing the remaining
provisions to make the whaling
regulations more concise, better
organized and, therefore, easier for the
public to use. In addition, the
regulations broaden the current
mechanism for regulating International
Whaling Commission (IWC) authorized
whaling by the Alaska Eskimo Whaling
Commission (AEWC) and other Native
American groups. This rule also adds a
reference to an approved collection-ofinformation under the Paperwork
Reduction Act (PRA).
EFFECTIVE DATE: July 11, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Copies of the environmental
assessment (EA) prepared for this action
are available from: Chief, Marine
Mammal Division, Office of Protected
Resources, National Marine Fisheries
Service, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver
Spring, MD 20910.
Comments regarding the burden-hour
estimate or any other aspect of the
collection-of-information requirement
contained in this rule should be sent to
the above individual and to the Office
of Information and Regulatory Affairs,
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB), Attention: NOAA Desk Officer,
Washington, D.C. 20503.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.
Kevin Chu, (301) 713–2276.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background
Consistent with the President’s
Regulatory Reinvention Initiative,
NMFS published a proposed rule on
April 9, 1996 (61 FR 15754) to carry out
the President’s directive with respect to

the regulations implementing the
Whaling Convention Act of 1949 (16
U.S.C. 916 et seq.). This final rule
updates the whaling regulations to be
consistent with current authorities and
usage of terms, eliminates duplicative or
unnecessary text, and reorganizes the
regulations to make the regulations
easier for the public to use and to
reduce the volume and publication costs
of the regulations.
This final rule also replaces outdated
language in the regulations with a
description of current practice (i.e., joint
monitoring and enforcement of harvests
authorized by the IWC) through a
cooperative agreement between NOAA
and a Native American whaling
organization. Government monitoring,
and especially enforcement, has not
been feasible or desirable in the remote
areas in which whaling takes place. The
procedures currently practiced, which
are codified through this final rule, are
considered more reliable and more cost
effective than the outdated procedures
they replace in the regulations.
This final rule also provides a
mechanism for a cooperative agreement
with the Makah Tribe of northwest
Washington State, which has a long
tradition of whaling, for monitoring and
enforcing any IWC-authorized whaling.
This mechanism is similar to the
successful practice with the AEWC.
Additional background and rationale
for these measures may be found in the
preamble to the proposed rule.
Comments and Responses
Three sets of written comments were
received regarding the proposed rule.
All were opposed to its adoption.
Specific comments and responses are
given below:
Comment: All three organizations
making comments opposed allowing the
Makah Tribe to initiate a harvest of gray
whales.
Response: The rule does not in itself
authorize whaling by the Makah Tribe
or by any other Native American
whaling organization. It sets up a
mechanism through which any
aboriginal subsistence whaling would
be managed, provided that the
International Whaling Commission
(IWC) approves a quota for such use. At
its 1996 Annual Meeting, the IWC will
review the questions raised by
commenters, among others, as to the
appropriateness of the Makah request
for a quota of five gray whales. Because
the rule does not authorize whaling
outside the IWC, and does not reflect on
the appropriateness of any whaling
proposal or practice, specific comments
on possible future whaling by the
Makah Tribe are not addressed in this

notice, except where comments
addressed the points in the EA that
accompanied the proposed rule.
Likewise, NMFS took note of comments
that were assertions of differing
viewpoints or conclusions than
reflected in the EA but that did not
provide data to back up the assertion,
but no response is provided here.
Comment: Two organizations objected
to the provision allowing the sale of
native handicrafts from whale products
(§ 230.4(f)).
Response: Under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act (MMPA), Alaska Natives
are allowed to take whales for the
purpose of creating and selling
authentic native articles of handicrafts.
The United States has informed the IWC
of this provision; the IWC has never
declared this practice to be contrary to
the concept of aboriginal subsistence
use. NOAA has provided a letter to the
AEWC acknowledging that the sale of
handicrafts is allowed.
Under the Treaty of Neah Bay, the
Makah Tribe would be allowed to sell
handicrafts made from non-edible whale
parts. This rule thus recognizes the right
of both Native American groups to sell
handicrafts.
Comment: All three commenters felt
that the rule should specify the number
of whales that may be struck.
Response: The IWC does not normally
allocate quotas of whales that may be
struck. The only IWC quota expressed in
terms of strike limits is the U.S. Alaska
bowhead hunt, where ice conditions
substantially increase the chances of
losing a harpooned whale. Any strike
limit allocated by the IWC would be
incorporated into the cooperative
agreement, as is currently the case with
the cooperative agreement between
NOAA and the Alaska Eskimo Whaling
Commission. A cooperative agreement
could also incorporate strike limits,
even if none was set by the IWC.
Comment: There should be no
provision for a cooperative agreement
with Native American whaling
organizations, especially with the
Makah Tribe or any tribe within the
contiguous United States. Commenters
noted that the current part 230 of title
50 of the Code of Federal Regulations
(CFR) requires that Commerce monitor
all aboriginal whaling and to collect all
information directly. These
organizations felt that the proximity and
relatively localized whaling that might
be conducted by the Makah Tribe would
allow for direct oversight by the U.S.
Government.
Response: The cooperative agreement
with the Makah Tribe specifies that U.S.
Government personnel will monitor the
hunt.

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Nothing in any cooperative agreement
for the co-management of whaling
operations relieves the Department of
Commerce of its obligations under the
WCA, the MMPA, the Endangered
Species Act (ESA) or any other statute.
Comment: One organization felt that
arguments supporting replacement of
the current regulations were based on
insufficient support and questionable
assumptions, especially regarding the
statement that Government oversight
would either be unreliable or
excessively expensive. This
organization also expressed concern
over the accuracy of reporting and
success in enforcement of harvests
under joint management with Native
American tribes.
Response: In Alaska, a minimum
requirement of reliable Government
oversight would be placing an
enforcement agent in each of the ten
whaling villages during the whaling
seasons, approximately four months a
year. This level of enforcement would
detract substantially from other
enforcement efforts in Alaska, and could
not guarantee accurate information.
Whaling camps are often miles away
from the villages, and whaling could
still take place without the knowledge
of town-based agents. The only way to
guarantee accurate information would
be to have an enforcement agent at each
whaling camp. This would require the
use of up to 40 enforcement personnel
and would entail large costs for
equipment and supplies as well.
The commenter is correct that there
has been no study which has examined
the accuracy of tribal whaling reporting
or success in enforcement. It would be
difficult to conduct any definitive study
on this matter, since the presence of
outside observers needed to confirm
catch statistics would automatically
change the reporting situation. NMFS
considers it unlikely that whaling
would be able to occur in Neah Bay
without the knowledge of NMFS
officials stationed there (when present)
or other non-Native persons.
Comment: One organization objected
that quotas were not specified in the
rule.
Response: The rule does not set
quotas or authorize whaling outside of
action by the IWC. If the IWC authorizes
an aboriginal subsistence hunt, the
quota will be specified in the
cooperative agreement, as will any
limits on strikes.
Comment: The revised definition of
whaling does not include ‘‘harassment,’’
as it does in the earlier version of 50
CFR part 230.
Response: Regulations concerning
‘‘harassment’’ of whales are covered

elsewhere in the Code of Federal
Regulations, as noted in § 230.1.
Comment: One commenter expressed
concern that sections previously in 50
CFR part 230 under ‘‘Records and
Reports,’’ ‘‘Prohibited Acts,’’ ‘‘Reporting
by Whaling Captains,’’ ‘‘Records’’ and
‘‘Inspection and Enforcement’’ are
omitted in the new rule. The commenter
specifically recommended that a more
thorough examination and
consideration of these sections be made
(possibly by a task force) and evaluated
prior to excluding them from the new
rule.
Response: The above sections and
others that are eliminated from the
previous version of 50 CFR part 230
referred only to commercial whaling.
Many sections had not been amended
for 25 years. Commercial whaling is not
allowed in the United States so there is
no need to keep these archaic
regulations on the books.
Comment: The definition of ‘‘calf’’
should be any offspring still dependent
on behavior and nutrition and in the
physical dependence of a parent female.
Response: The proposed definition of
‘‘calf,’’ i.e., any whale less than 1 year
old, allows for an objective
measurement of whether an infraction
has occurred when a carcass is being
examined. While behavioral aspects and
the presence of a parent female define
a calf from a biological point of view,
these characteristics cannot be used
after the fact to determine whether a calf
was taken. An exception to this is the
presence of milk in the stomach as an
indicator of nursing. Therefore, the
definition of ‘‘calf’’ is amended to read
‘‘any whale less than 1 year old or
having milk in its stomach.’’
Comment: One organization requested
that the term ‘‘person’’ be defined using
IWC criteria of cultural and subsistence
need. The organization specifically felt
that it was not appropriate for U.S.
regulations to allow commercial vessels
and crew to whale on behalf of
aboriginals.
Response: Commercial whaling is
prohibited in the United States. While it
seems unlikely that commercial whaling
vessels or crew would offer to whale on
behalf of U.S. aboriginals or that Native
American whaling organizations would
welcome such an offer, the definitions
in the rule of ‘‘whaling captain’’ and
‘‘whaling crew’’ can be amended to
clarify that whaling is only allowed by
Native Americans. The revised
definitions are as follows:
‘‘Whaling captain or captain means
any Native American who is authorized
by a Native American whaling
organization to be in charge of a vessel
and whaling crew.’’

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‘‘Whaling crew means those Native
Americans under the control of a
captain.’’
Comment: The term ‘‘wasteful
manner’’ should include the use and
waste of whale products after landing.
Response: NMFS agrees. The term has
the same meaning as the definition at
§ 216.3: ‘‘Wasteful manner means any
taking or method of taking which is
likely to result in the killing of marine
mammals beyond those needed for
subsistence or for the making of
authentic native articles of handicrafts
and clothing or which results in the
waste of a substantial portion of the
marine mammal and includes, without
limitation, the employment of a method
of taking which is not likely to assure
the capture or killing of a marine
mammal, or which is not immediately
followed by a reasonable effort to
retrieve the marine mammal.’’
Comment: Whaling villages should be
specifically listed, as they are in current
regulations.
Response: The list of U.S. whaling
villages for which the IWC quota is
authorized is available from NMFS.
Comment: The definition of ‘‘whaling
village’’ should be changed to read ‘‘
* * *any U.S. village * * *having a
cultural and subsistence need for
whaling’’ instead of ‘‘having a cultural
and/or subsistence need for whaling’’.
Response: NMFS believes that the
current language more accurately
reflects the interpretation of the IWC of
the requirements for aboriginal whaling.
Comment: The prohibition on sale
should be amended to include
prohibitions on barter, give for free, and
trade, in order to recognize noncurrency exchanges of value that may
escape being subject to violations of the
Convention.
Response: The above practices,
particularly ‘‘give for free,’’ are essential
to the cultural value of whaling. A
whaling crew cannot consume an entire
whale, at least not without significant
waste. The gifting of whale meat and
muktuk between families and villages is
a central ritual of whaling in Alaska.
Likewise, the Makah tradition of
potlatch is still a key part of the Tribe’s
social fabric. Prohibiting such practices
would be counter to the concept of
aboriginal whaling.
Comment: Penalties for violations
should be listed in the rule.
Response: The absence of specific
penalties does not imply that there are
no penalties for violations of the rule.
The WCA and the MMPA both contain
specific penalties in terms of fines,
imprisonment or other sanctions for
violation of their provisions. Penalties
are not listed in this rule because the

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cooperative agreements may delegate
some enforcement functions to the
Native American whaling organizations.
Nevertheless, the Department of
Commerce has specific responsibilities
under the law. If the cooperative
agreement is not succeeding in fulfilling
those responsibilities, the Department
will, after consultation with the relevant
Native American whaling organization,
assert its federal management and
enforcement authority.
Comment: In § 230.4(g)(1), the word
‘‘quota’’ should be preceded by the
words ‘‘struck or landed’’.
Response: In this context, ‘‘quota’’
means either the quota of strikes or
quota of landed whales, or both.
Comment: In § 230.4(h), the words ‘‘or
crew’’ should be inserted after the word
‘‘captain’’.
Response: This suggestion does not
appear to improve the management of
whaling. It only adds an additional
requirement without gaining any
substantive improvement in monitoring
or controlling the hunt. Therefore, the
suggestion is rejected.
Comment: In § 230.5(a), the phrase
‘‘after written concurrence from the
Assistant Administrator’’ (AA) should
be inserted after ‘‘whaling captains’’.
Response: This provision constitutes
the granting of a license by NOAA; an
additional endorsement by the AA
would not gain any substantive
improvement in monitoring or
controlling the hunt. Therefore, the
suggestion is rejected.
Comment: Tallies of struck and
landed whales should be in real time,
with daily reporting to prevent overharvesting.
Response: In current practice, the
AEWC reports in nearly real time,
reporting every few days and sometimes
daily during the whaling seasons.
Toward the end of the season, each
whale catch is reported as it is logged
in by the AEWC. The quota has never
been exceeded.
Comment: If the Native American
whaling organization fails to close the
whaling season after the quota has been
reached, the rule should require the
Assistant Administrator to close it by
filing a notice in the Federal Register.
The Assistant Administrator should be
required to notify the whaling
organization within one business day
that the season has been closed.
Response: The current wording of the
rule allows some discretion for unusual
circumstances (such as an ambiguity
about whether a quota has been met),
but clearly gives the Assistant
Administrator the authority to close a
season after a quota has been reached.

Comment: The names and villages of
members of the whaling crew should be
required.
Response: This requirement would
add a regulatory burden without
obviously improving the management of
whaling.
Comment: Please clarify the statement
in the Environmental Assessment
asserting that past aboriginal whaling
levels were higher than they are today.
Response: The Soviet Union took
approximately 169 gray whales a year
from the 1970s until 1990. Alaska
Eskimos occasionally took a few gray
whales (fewer than 10) during that time
as well. The current quota for gray
whales is 140 animals.
Comment: The whale-watching
industry could be affected by consumer
boycotts in Washington State or by
changes in behavior of whales due to
hunting. Therefore, the economic
impacts described in the Environmental
Assessment have a potential negative
side.
Response: Any possibility of a
consumer boycott of whale watch
industries in Washington State is highly
speculative.
It is possible that a resumption of
whaling by the Makah Tribe would
affect the behavior of gray whales
around boats in general. It may prove
difficult to demonstrate that whales
change their behavior in response to
whaling, even if observers believe that
such a change does occur. Furthermore,
if changes in behavior can be
demonstrated, it would be difficult to
attribute them to any particular cause,
since whale behavior is not well
understood. Nevertheless, NMFS will
initiate research this summer on gray
whales in the Makah area and in Puget
Sound. This research is intended to help
differentiate resident whales which may
swim near Seattle and other local whale
watching areas, from whales that are
migrating past Neah Bay. It may provide
information on effects of whaling, if it
resumes, on whale behavior.
Comment: One organization disagreed
with the Environmental Assessment’s
conclusion that there would be no
economic or social impacts from this
revision to the whaling regulations.
Therefore, it called for a Supplemental
Environmental Impact Statement to
address issues raised in its testimony.
Response: Because these regulations
do not directly alter the status quo,
NMFS does not see a need for an
Environmental Impact Statement. It
will, however, take note of the issues
raised, particularly of the possible
impact of whaling on whale watch
operations. If the IWC authorizes
whaling by the Makah Tribe, NMFS will

re-assess its obligations under the
National Environmental Policy Act.
Comment: The Finding of No
Significant Impact in the EA ignores the
cumulative effect of a possible
resumption of whaling by other Native
groups if the Makah Tribe is allowed to
hunt for whales.
Response: The Makah proposal must
be judged on its own merits. We have
no information that other American
Native groups are interested in resuming
whaling.
Changes from the Proposed Rule
The definition of ‘‘calf’’ is amended to
read ‘‘any whale less than one year old
or having milk in its stomach.
The definitions of ‘‘Whaling captain’’
and ‘‘Whaling crew’’ are amended to
clarify that whaling is only allowed by
Native Americans by replacing the word
‘‘person’’ with the words ‘‘Native
American’’.
Section 3506(c)(B)(i) of the PRA
requires that agencies inventory and
display a current control assigned by the
Director of OMB for each agency
information collection.
15 CFR 902.1(b) identifies the location
of NOAA regulations for which OMB
approval numbers have been issued.
This final rule adds the OMB approval
number for an approved collection-ofinformation requirement to the table in
15 CFR 902.1(b).
Under NOAA Administrative Order
205-11, 7.01, dated December 17, 1990,
the Under Secretary for Oceans and
Atmosphere has
delegated authority to sign material
for publication in the Federal Register
to the Assistant Administrator for
Fisheries, NOAA.
Classification
NMFS prepared an EA for this action
and the AA concluded that there will be
no significant impact on the human
environment as a result of this rule. This
revision of the whaling regulations will
have no impact on the status of any
endangered species, as these revisions
have no affect on the quotas for
aboriginal subsistence whaling
authorized by the IWC. A copy of the
EA is available from NMFS (see
ADDRESSES).
This final rule has been determined to
be not significant for the purposes of
E.O. 12866.
The Assistant General Counsel for
Legislation and Regulation of the
Department of Commerce certified to
the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the
Small Business Administration that this
rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. This final rule

Federal Register / Vol. 61, No. 113 / Tuesday, June 11, 1996 / Rules and Regulations
does not change the regulations that
allow whaling only for subsistence and
cultural use. Only two Native American
groups have expressed an interest in
whaling; this rule broadens, rather than
restricts, the opportunities for Native
American groups to renew whaling
traditions if the IWC grants the U.S.
request for a quota. As a result, a
regulatory flexibility analysis was not
prepared. If the IWC authorizes whaling
by the Makah Tribe, NMFS will reassess its obligations under the National
Environmental Policy Act.
This rule contains collection-ofinformation requirements subject to the
PRA that have been approved by OMB
under OMB control number 0648-0311.
The average burden for these collections
is estimated to be approximately 0.5
hours per response for whaling captains’
reports and 5 hours per response for
Native American whaling organizations
to report whaling activity to NMFS.
These estimates include the time for
reviewing instructions, searching
existing data sources, gathering and
maintaining the data needed, and
completing and reviewing the collection
of information. Send comments
regarding these reporting burden
estimates or any other aspect of the
collections of information, including
suggestions for reducing the burdens, to
NMFS and OMB (see ADDRESSES).
Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, no person is required to respond
to, nor shall a person be subject to a
penalty for failure to comply with, a
collection of information subject to the
requirements of the PRA unless that
collection of information displays a
currently valid OMB Control Number.
The AA determined that this final
rule will not affect any endangered or
threatened species or critical habitat
under the ESA and that whaling
activities conducted under this rule will
have no adverse effects on marine
mammals, beyond what is authorized by
the IWC.
List of Subjects
15 CFR Part 902
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
50 CFR Part 230
Fisheries, Indians, Marine mammals,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Dated: June 4, 1996.
Gary Matlock,
Program Management Officer, National
Marine Fisheries Service.

For the reasons set out in the
preamble, 15 CFR chapter IX and 50
CFR chapter II are amended as follows:

15 CFR Chapter IX
PART 902—NOAA INFORMATION
COLLECTION REQUIREMENTS UNDER
THE PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT:
OMB CONTROL NUMBERS
1. The authority citation for part 902
continues to read as follows:
Authority: 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

2. In § 902.1, paragraph (b), the table
is amended by adding in the left
column, under 50 CFR, in numerical
order, the entry ‘‘230.8’’, and in the right
column, in the corresponding position,
the control number ‘‘-0311’’.
50 CFR Chapter II
3. Part 230 is revised to read as
follows:
PART 230—WHALING PROVISIONS
Sec.
230.1 Purpose and scope.
230.2 Definitions.
230.3 General prohibitions.
230.4 Aboriginal subsistence whaling.
230.5 Licenses for aboriginal subsistence
whaling.
230.6 Quotas and other restrictions.
230.7 Salvage of stinkers.
230.8 Reporting by whaling captains.
Authority: 16 U.S.C. 916 et seq.
§ 230.1

Purpose and scope.

The purpose of the regulations in this
part is to implement the Whaling
Convention Act (16 U.S.C. 916 et seq.)
by prohibiting whaling except for
aboriginal subsistence whaling allowed
by the International Whaling
Commission. Provisions of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16
U.S.C. 1361 et seq.) and the Endangered
Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et
seq.) also pertain to human interactions
with whales. Rules elsewhere in this
chapter govern such topics as scientific
research permits, and incidental take
and harassment of marine mammals.
§ 230.2

Definitions.

Aboriginal subsistence whaling means
whaling authorized by paragraph 13 of
the Schedule annexed to and
constituting a part of the Convention.
Assistant Administrator means the
Assistant Administrator for Fisheries of
the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration.
Authorized officer means:
(1) Any commissioned, warrant, or
petty officer of the U.S. Coast Guard;
(2) Any special agent or enforcement
officer of the National Marine Fisheries
Service;
(3) Any officer designated by the head
of a Federal or state agency that has
entered into an agreement with the

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Secretary of Commerce or the
Commandant of the Coast Guard to
enforce the provisions of the Whaling
Convention Act; or
(4) Any Coast Guard personnel
accompanying and acting under the
direction of any person described in
paragraph (1) of this definition.
Calf means any whale less than 1 year
old or having milk in its stomach.
Commission means the International
Whaling Commission established by
article III of the Convention.
Convention means the International
Convention for the Regulation of
Whaling signed at Washington on
December 2, 1946.
Cooperative agreement means a
written agreement between the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration and a Native American
whaling organization for the cooperative
management of aboriginal subsistence
whaling operations.
Landing means bringing a whale or
any parts thereof onto the ice or land in
the course of whaling operations.
Native American whaling
organization means an entity recognized
by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration as
representing and governing Native
American whalers for the purposes of
cooperative management of aboriginal
subsistence whaling.
Regulations of the Commission means
the regulations in the Schedule annexed
to and constituting a part of the
Convention, as modified, revised, or
amended by the Commission from time
to time.
Stinker means a dead, unclaimed
whale found upon a beach, stranded in
shallow water, or floating at sea.
Strike means hitting a whale with a
harpoon, lance, or explosive device.
Wasteful manner means a method of
whaling that is not likely to result in the
landing of a struck whale or that does
not include all reasonable efforts to
retrieve the whale.
Whale products means any
unprocessed part of a whale and
blubber, meat, bones, whale oil, sperm
oil, spermaceti, meal, and baleen.
Whaling means the scouting for,
hunting, striking, killing, flensing, or
landing of a whale, and the processing
of whales or whale products.
Whaling captain or captain means
any Native American who is authorized
by a Native American whaling
organization to be in charge of a vessel
and whaling crew.
Whaling crew means those Native
Americans under the control of a
captain.
Whaling village means any U.S.
village recognized by the Commission as

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having a cultural and/or subsistence
need for whaling.
§ 230.3

General prohibitions.

(a) No person shall engage in whaling
in a manner that violates the
Convention, any regulation of the
Commission, or this part.
(b) No person shall engage in whaling
without first having obtained a license
or scientific research permit issued by
the Assistant Administrator.
(c) No person shall ship, transport,
purchase, sell, offer for sale, import,
export, or possess any whale or whale
products taken or processed in violation
of the Convention, any regulation of the
Commission, or this part, except as
specified in § 230.4(f).
(d) No person shall fail to make, keep,
submit, or furnish any record or report
required of him/her by the Convention,
any regulation of the Commission, or
this part.
(e) No person shall refuse to permit
any authorized officer to enforce the
Convention, any regulation of the
Commission, or this part.
§ 230.4

Aboriginal subsistence whaling.

(a) No person shall engage in
aboriginal subsistence whaling, except a
whaling captain licensed pursuant to
§ 230.5 or a member of a whaling crew
under the control of a licensed captain.
(b) No whaling captain shall engage in
whaling that is not in accordance with
the regulations of the Commission, this
part, and the relevant cooperative
agreement.
(c) No whaling captain shall engage in
whaling for any calf or any whale
accompanied by a calf.
(d) No whaling captain shall engage in
whaling without an adequate crew or
without adequate supplies and
equipment.
(e) No person may receive money for
participation in aboriginal subsistence
whaling.
(f) No person may sell or offer for sale
whale products from whales taken in an
aboriginal subsistence hunt, except that
authentic articles of Native handicrafts
may be sold or offered for sale.
(g) No whaling captain shall continue
to whale after:
(1) The quota set for his/her village by
the relevant Native American whaling
organization is reached;
(2) The license under which he/she is
whaling is suspended as provided in
§ 230.5(b); or
(3) The whaling season for that
species has been closed pursuant to
§ 230.6.

(h) No whaling captain shall claim
domicile in more than one whaling
village.
(i) No person may salvage a stinker
without complying with the provisions
of § 230.7.
(j) No whaling captain shall engage in
whaling with a harpoon, lance, or
explosive dart that does not bear a
permanent distinctive mark identifying
the captain as the owner thereof.
(k) No whaling captain shall engage in
whaling in a wasteful manner.
§ 230.5 Licenses for aboriginal
subsistence whaling.

(a) A license is hereby issued to
whaling captains identified by the
relevant Native American whaling
organization.
(b) The Assistant Administrator may
suspend the license of any whaling
captain who fails to comply with the
regulations in this part.
§ 230.6 Quotas and other restrictions.

(a) Quotas for aboriginal subsistence
whaling shall be set in accordance with
the regulations of the Commission.
Quotas shall be allocated to each
whaling village or captain by the
appropriate Native American whaling
organization. The Assistant
Administrator shall publish in the
Federal Register, at least annually,
aboriginal subsistence whaling quotas
and any other limitations on aboriginal
subsistence whaling deriving from
regulations of the Commission. These
quotas and restrictions shall also be
incorporated in the relevant cooperative
agreements.
(b) The relevant Native American
whaling organization shall monitor the
whale hunt and keep tally of the
number of whales landed and struck.
When a quota is reached, the
organization shall declare the whaling
season closed, and there shall be no
further whaling under that quota during
the calendar year. If the organization
fails to close the whaling season after
the quota has been reached, the
Assistant Administrator may close it by
filing notification in the Federal
Register.
§ 230.7

Salvage of stinkers.

(a) Any person salvaging a stinker
shall submit to the Assistant
Administrator or his/her representative
an oral or written report describing the
circumstances of the salvage within 12
hours of such salvage. He/she shall
provide promptly to the Assistant
Administrator or his/her representative

each harpoon, lance, or explosive dart
found in or attached to the stinker. The
device shall be returned to the owner
thereof promptly, unless it is retained as
evidence of a possible violation.
(b) There shall be a rebuttable
presumption that a stinker has been
struck by the captain whose mark
appears on the harpoon, lance, or
explosive dart found in or attached
thereto, and, if no strike has been
reported by such captain, such strike
shall be deemed to have occurred at the
time of recovery of the device.
§ 230.8

Reporting by whaling captains.

(a) The relevant Native American
whaling organization shall require each
whaling captain licensed pursuant to
§ 230.5 to provide a written statement of
his/her name and village of domicile
and a description of the distinctive
marking to be placed on each harpoon,
lance, and explosive dart.
(b) Each whaling captain shall
provide to the relevant Native American
whaling organization an oral or written
report of whaling activities including
but not limited to the striking,
attempted striking, or landing of a whale
and, where possible, specimens from
landed whales. The Assistant
Administrator is authorized to provide
technological assistance to facilitate
prompt reporting and collection of
specimens from landed whales,
including but not limited to ovaries, ear
plugs, and baleen plates. The report
shall include at least the following
information:
(1) The number, dates, and locations
of each strike, attempted strike, or
landing.
(2) The length (taken as the straightline measurement from the tip of the
upper jaw to the notch between the tail
flukes) and the sex of the whales
landed.
(3) The length and sex of a fetus, if
present in a landed whale.
(4) An explanation of circumstances
associated with the striking or
attempted striking of any whale not
landed.
(c) If the relevant Native American
whaling organization fails to provide the
National Marine Fisheries Service the
required reports, the Assistant
Administrator may require the reports to
be submitted by the whaling captains
directly to the National Marine Fisheries
Service.
[FR Doc. 96–14731 Filed 6–10–96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 3510–22–F