[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 68 (Tuesday, April 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17445-17447]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07245]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Fish and Wildlife Service
[FWS-R7-ES-2016-N241; FF07CAMM00-FXES111607MPB01]
U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission; Maintenance of Annual Taking
Limit for the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population
AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.
ACTION: Notice.
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[[Page 17446]]
SUMMARY: On November 18, 2016, the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission
(Commission), established under the Agreement Between the Government of
the United States and the Government of the Russian Federation on the
Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear
Population (2000 Agreement), unanimously agreed to maintain the annual
taking limit adopted in 2010 for the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear
population. In 2010, the Commission established an annual taking limit
of the number of bears that may be removed from this population as a
result of human activities, such as bears taken for subsistence
purposes and in defense of human life. This annual taking limit, which
corresponds with the annual sustainable harvest level for this
population, is 58 polar bears per year, of which no more than one-third
will be females. Under the 2000 Agreement, the annual taking limit is
to be shared equally between the United States of America and the
Russian Federation.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr. Patrick Lemons, Marine Mammals
Management Chief, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals
Management Office, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, Alaska 99503; by
telephone (907) 786-3800; or by facsimile (907) 786-3816. Persons who
use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal
Relay Service (FRS) at (800) 877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
The Agreement between the Government of the United States of
America and the Government of the Russian Federation on the
Conservation and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear
Population (2000 Agreement), signed in 2000 and ratified by the United
States in 2007, provides legal protections for the population of polar
bears found in the Chukchi and Northern Bering Seas. The 2000 Agreement
is implemented in the United States through Title V of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), and builds upon
the protections provided to this population of polar bears through the
Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears (1973 Agreement), which
was a significant early step in the international conservation of polar
bears. The 1973 Agreement is a multilateral treaty to which the United
States and Russia are parties with other polar bear range states--
Norway, Canada, and Denmark (on behalf of Greenland). While the 1973
Agreement provides authority for the maintenance of a subsistence
harvest of polar bears and provides for habitat conservation, the 2000
Agreement establishes a common legal, scientific, and administrative
framework directed specifically for the conservation and management of
the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population.
As a shared population, polar bears within the Alaska-Chukotka
population readily move between the United States and Russian
Federation. Article 3 of the 2000 Agreement defines the geographic
boundaries of the Agreement, which correspond to the areas within the
jurisdiction of the United States and Russian Federation in which the
joint polar bear population may be found. Under Article 3, the
geographic boundaries of the 2000 Agreement are ``bounded on the west
by a line extending north from the mouth of the Kolyma River; on the
east by a line extending north from Point Barrow; and on the south by a
line describing the southernmost annual formation of drift ice.'' Thus,
the 2000 Agreement recognizes the need for a unified, common management
regime to provide for the long-term sustainability of this shared
population, while assisting in safeguarding the social, cultural, and
subsistence needs of Alaska Natives and native people of Chukotka. For
example, the 2000 Agreement requires the Commission, the bilateral
authority established under the 2000 Agreement, to determine a
``sustainable harvest level'' that is based upon reliable scientific
information, does not exceed net annual recruitment to the population,
and maintains the population at or near its current level.
Article 8 of the 2000 Agreement sets forth the composition and
responsibilities of the Commission. The Commission includes a U.S.
section and Russian section, with each national section comprising two
members appointed by their respective parties to provide for the
inclusion of a member representing the country's native people in
addition to a Federal representative. Under the 2000 Agreement, each
section has one vote, and all decisions of the Commission may be made
only with the approval of both sections. Among other duties under
Article 8, the Commission must promote cooperation among the parties
and the native people, make scientific determinations, establish annual
taking limits, and adopt other restrictions on take of polar bears for
subsistence purposes within the framework of the established annual
taking limits. Article 8 further requires the establishment of a
Scientific Working Group (SWG) to advise the Commission on its
decisions.
At its first annual meeting, held in Moscow, Russia, September 23-
25, 2009, the Commission identified members of the SWG and tasked the
SWG with reviewing the current level of take of polar bears and
providing recommendations to the Commission on the sustainable harvest
level. Recommendations from the SWG help guide the research necessary
to address present and future polar bear conservation issues in the
shared Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population.
The second annual meeting of the Commission took place June 7-10,
2010, in Anchorage, Alaska. During this meeting the Commission reviewed
the recommendations of the SWG and, consistent with the SWG's
recommendation, determined that establishing a limit to the total
allowable take, including subsistence harvest, of polar bears from the
Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population was needed. Thus, consistent with
the 2000 Agreement, the Commission adopted an annual taking limit that
corresponds with, but does not exceed, the sustainable harvest level of
no more than 58 polar bears per year, of which no more than 19 animals
may be females, that may be removed from the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear
population. The Commission determined that all forms of human-caused
removal of individuals from the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population
will be incorporated in this annual taking limit (75 FR 65507; October
25, 2010). Under Section 502(a)(2) of the MMPA, it is unlawful to take
any polar bear from the Alaska-Chukotka population in violation of this
annual taking limit adopted by the Commission. At its third annual
meeting, in 2011, the Commission made no change to the take limit
established in 2010.
At its fourth annual meeting, held June 25-27, 2012, in Anchorage,
Alaska, the Commission adopted a multiyear quota system that would
allow the Commission to set a sustainable harvest level for a 5-year
timeframe, and within the 5-year cycle, adjust the annual taking limit
upward or downward depending on the actual harvest of bears the
preceding year. For example, if harvest was above the annual taking
limit in one year, which would constitute a violation of the 2000
Agreement and Title V of the MMPA, the annual taking limit could be
reduced by the Commission for subsequent years. Alternatively, if ice
conditions or other factors limit hunters' abilities to harvest polar
bears in one year, the Commission could increase the
[[Page 17447]]
annual taking limit in subsequent years, as long as the sustainable
harvest level over a 5-year period is not exceeded.
Therefore, in 2012, based on the recommendation of the SWG, the
Commission agreed upon a 5-year sustainable harvest level of 290 polar
bears (i.e., the annual sustainable harvest level of 58 bears x 5
years), with no more than one-third being female. Under this multiyear
quota system, the 5-year sustainable harvest level would be allocated
over a 5-year period and would include the identification of annual
sustainable harvest levels for consideration by the Commission in
setting annual taking limits. The Commission, at each of its subsequent
annual meetings held in 2013, 2014, and 2015, was advised by the SWG
that new biological information considered at the meeting did not
suggest the need to change the sustainable harvest level established by
the Commission. The Commission, therefore, at each of those meetings in
2013, 2014, and 2015 adopted the SWG's recommendation that no change be
made to the existing sustainable harvest level of up to 58 polar bears
per year to be shared equally between the United States and Russia, of
which no more than one-third will be female.
At the eighth annual meeting of the Commission, held November 17-
18, 2016, in Anchorage, Alaska, the SWG recognized that new biological
information considered at the meeting did not suggest the need to
change the sustainable harvest level established by the Commission and,
therefore, it recommended no change to the current annual sustainable
harvest level of 58 polar bears per year to be shared equally between
the United States and the Russian Federation, of which no more than
one-third will be female, or to the multiyear quota system previously
adopted by the Commission. The Commission unanimously adopted this
recommendation. Additionally, the U.S. Commissioners discussed their
collaborative efforts over the past year to lay the foundation for
effective implementation of the annual taking limit, and expressed
their commitment to continuing that work together to achieve the goal
of a sustainably managed polar bear subsistence harvest.
As discussed in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's (Service)
recent advance notice of proposed rulemaking (81 FR 78560; November 8,
2016), the Service is currently working with the Alaska Native
community to identify a new co-management partner. To allow time for
this co-management partner to be identified and to establish a program
of locally enforceable ordinances for polar bear harvest, it is
appropriate to delay issuance of regulations to administer the annual
taking limit, which were originally anticipated to be put into effect
on January 1, 2017. The Service believes additional work in
establishing local, on-the-ground co-management structures will greatly
improve compliance with the annual taking limit.
We now anticipate issuing regulations in 2019, with an anticipated
effective date of January 1, 2020. The Service will continue conducting
consultation with federally recognized tribes, providing outreach and
education to affected communities, and evaluating biological
information. During this interim period, the Service will use its
enforcement discretion with respect to any take that exceeds the annual
taking limit established by the Commission in 2010. Currently, the
Service's MMPA implementing regulations at 50 CFR 18.23(f) require
Alaskan natives who harvest any polar bears for subsistence purposes or
for purposes of selling authentic Native articles of handicrafts and
clothing to report such take to the Service and present the skin and
skull to Service personnel or the Service's authorized local
representative. Under these regulations, an Alaskan native may possess
the unmarked, untagged, and unreported polar bear for a period of time
not to exceed 30 days from the time of taking for the purpose of
transporting the skin and skull to Service personnel or the Service's
authorized local representative for marking, tagging, and reporting.
These regulations remain in effect.
Determination of the Commission
Pursuant to section 507(b) of the MMPA, we are publishing in the
Federal Register this notice of the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission's
determination concerning the annual taking limit for the Alaska-
Chukotka polar bear population. As detailed above, at its 2016 annual
meeting, the Commission agreed to maintain the limit on the annual
harvest of polar bears from this population to no more than 58 animals,
of which no more than one-third may be female, to be shared equally
between the United States and the Russian Federation.
Dated: February 1, 2017.
James W. Kurth,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-07245 Filed 4-10-17; 8:45 am]
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