[Code of Federal Regulations]

[Title 50, Volume 7]

[Revised as of October 1, 2005]

From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access

[CITE: 50CFR216.72]



[Page 51-53]

 

                    TITLE 50--WILDLIFE AND FISHERIES

 

  CHAPTER II--NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND 

           ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

 

PART 216_REGULATIONS GOVERNING THE TAKING AND IMPORTING OF MARINE MAMMALS

--Table of Contents

 

       Subpart F_Pribilof Islands, Taking for Subsistence Purposes

 

Sec. 216.72  Restrictions on taking.



    (a) The harvests of seals on St. Paul and St. George Islands shall 

be treated independently for the purposes of this section. Any 

suspension, termination, or extension of the harvest is applicable only 

to the island for which it is issued.



[[Page 52]]



    (b) By April 1 of every third year, beginning April 1994, the 

Assistant Administrator will publish in the Federal Register a summary 

of the preceding 3 years of harvesting and a discussion of the number of 

seals expected to be taken annually over the next 3 years to satisfy the 

subsistence requirements of each island. This discussion will include an 

assessment of factors and conditions on St. Paul and St. George Islands 

that influence the need by Pribilof Aleuts to take seals for subsistence 

uses and an assessment of any changes to those conditions indicating 

that the number of seals that may be taken for subsistence each year 

should be made higher or lower. Following a 30-day public comment 

period, a final notification of the expected annual harvest levels for 

the next 3 years will be published.

    (c)(1) No fur seal may be taken on the Pribilof Islands before June 

23 of each year.

    (2) No fur seal may be taken except by experienced sealers using the 

traditional harvesting methods, including stunning followed immediately 

by exsanguination. The harvesting method shall include organized drives 

of subadult males to killing fields unless it is determined by the NMFS 

representatives, in consultation with the Pribilovians conducting the 

harvest, that alternative methods will not result in increased 

disturbance to the rookery or the increased accidental take of female 

seals.

    (3) Any taking of adult fur seals or pups, or the intentional taking 

of subadult female fur seals is prohibited.

    (4) Only subadult male fur seals 124.5 centimeters or less in length 

may be taken.

    (5) Seals with tags and/or entangling debris may only be taken if so 

directed by NMFS scientists.

    (d) The scheduling of the harvest is at the discretion of the 

Pribilovians, but must be such as to minimize stress to the harvested 

seals. The Pribilovians must give adequate advance notice of their 

harvest schedules to the NMFS representatives to allow for necessary 

monitoring activities. Scheduling must be consistent with the following 

restrictions:

    (1) St. Paul Island--Seals may only be harvested from the following 

haulout areas: Zapadni, English Bay, Northeast Point, Polovina, Lukanin, 

Kitovi, and Reef. No haulout area may be harvested more than once per 

week.

    (2) St. George Island--Seals may only be harvested from the 

following haulout areas: Northeast and Zapadni. Neither haulout area may 

be harvested more than twice per week.

    (e)(1) The Assistant Administrator is required to suspend the take 

provided for in Sec. 215.31 when:

    (i) He determines, after reasonable notice by NMFS representatives 

to the Pribilovians on the island, that the subsistence needs of the 

Pribilovians on the island have been satisfied;



or

    (ii) He determines that the harvest is otherwise being conducted in 

a wasteful manner; or

    (iii) The lower end of the range of the estimated subsistence level 

provided in the notice issued under paragraph (b) of this section is 

reached.

    (2) A suspension based on a determination under paragraph (e)(1)(ii) 

of this section may be lifted by the Assistant Administrator if he finds 

that the conditions which led to the determination that the harvest was 

being conducted in a wasteful manner have been remedied.

    (3) A suspension issued in accordance with paragraph (e)(1)(iii) of 

this section may not exceed 48 hours in duration and shall be followed 

immediately by a review of the harvest data to determine if a finding 

under paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section is warranted. If a the harvest 

is not suspended under paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section, the 

Assistant Administrator must provide a revised estimate of the number of 

seals required to satisfy the Pribilovians' subsistence needs.

    (f) The Assistant Administrator shall terminate the take provided 

for in Sec. 215.31 on August 8 of each year or when it is determined 

under paragraph (e)(1)(i) of this section that the subsistence needs of 

the Pribilovians on the



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island have been satisfied, whichever occurs first.



[51 FR 24840, July 9, 1986, as amended at 57 FR 33902, July 31, 1992; 59 

FR 35474, July 12, 1994. Redesignated at 61 FR 11750, Mar. 22, 1996]