U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission Adopts an Annual Taking Limit for the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population, 65507-65508 [2010-26864]

Agencies

• Fish and Wildlife Service
• DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 205 (Monday, October 25, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 65507-65508]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-26864]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R7-FHC-2010-N159; 71490-1351-0000-L5-FY10]


U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission Adopts an Annual Taking Limit 
for the Alaska-Chukotka Polar Bear Population

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: On June 9, 2010, by unanimous vote, the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear 
Commission established by 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,'' signed at Washington, DC, on October 16, 2000, adopted a 
limit to the take of the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population. The 
decision of the Commission is that the total take should be limited to 
58 bears per year to be shared between the United States of America and 
the Russian Federation. Both the United States and the Russian 
Federation are proceeding to implement the decision of the Commission.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry D. DeBruyn, Polar Bear Project 
Leader, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Marine Mammals Management 
Office, 1011 East Tudor Road, Anchorage, AK 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 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) 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,'' signed at Washington, DC, on October 16, 2000 (the 2000 
Agreement), provides legal protections for the population of polar 
bears found in the Chukchi-Northern Bering Sea. 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 those 
protections already provided to this population of polar bears through 
the ``Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears,'' done at Oslo, 
November 13, 1973 (the 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. While the 1973 Agreement provides 
authority for the maintenance of a subsistence harvest of polar bears 
and provides for habitat conservation, the 2000 Agreement specifically 
establishes a common legal, scientific, and administrative framework 
for the conservation and management of the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear 
population between the United States and Russia.
    Because of the shared interest in this population of polar bears, 
which readily moves between U.S. and Russian Federation jurisdictions, 
a cooperative management regime for the subsistence harvest of bears is 
key to both providing for the long-term viability of the population as 
well as addressing the social, cultural, and subsistence interests of 
Alaska Natives and the native people of Chukotka. The 2000 Agreement 
requires the United States and the Russian Federation to manage and 
conserve polar bears based on reliable science and to provide for 
subsistence harvest opportunity by native peoples. For example, the 
2000 Agreement provides a definition of ``sustainable harvest'' [which] 
``means a harvest level which does not exceed net annual recruitment to 
the population and maintains the population at or near its current 
level, taking into account all forms of removal, and considers the 
status and trend of the population, based on reliable scientific 
information''.
    In addition, the 2000 Agreement establishes the U.S.-Russia Polar 
Bear Commission (Commission), which functions as the bilateral managing 
authority to make scientific determinations, establish taking limits, 
and carry out other responsibilities important to the conservation and 
management of the polar bear. At its first meeting, held in Moscow, 
Russia, September 23-25, 2009, the Commission identified members of a 
Scientific Working Group (SWG) and tasked the SWG with reviewing the 
current level of subsistence take of polar bears. Recommendations from 
the SWG will help guide the research necessary to address present and 
future polar bear conservation issues in the shared Alaska-Chukotka 
polar bear population. The Commission also: (1) Identified habitat 
conservation as an important issue for the long-term conservation and 
management of the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear; (2) identified ways to 
ensure full participation of native peoples in the conservation of the 
shared polar bear population; and (3) adopted rules of procedure for 
the Commission.
    The first meeting of the SWG was held March 1-5, 2010, in 
Anchorage, Alaska. The SWG, tasked by the Commission with identifying a 
sustainable level of human-caused removals for the Alaska-Chukotka 
polar bear population, recognized that reliable scientific information 
was critical to the identification and implementation of a sustainable 
level of removals. At the same time, the SWG acknowledged that the 
information necessary to derive accurate estimates of sustainable 
removals that meet subsistence interests in the two countries for the 
Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population is currently limited. However, 
the SWG recognized that the current unlimited subsistence harvest in 
the United States and illegal killing of polar bears in Russia 
represented an immediate threat to the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear 
population.
    The SWG evaluated the plausible range of sustainable removals for 
subsistence purposes based on population models and assumed values of 
population size and growth rate. These parameters and resulting 
estimate of sustainable subsistence removals were based on expert 
opinion of the group. The SWG identified two management options for 
consideration by the Commission. Both management options are short term 
(1 to 3 years) and require reevaluation when new information becomes 
available. Management option 1 was a moratorium on the subsistence 
harvest of polar bears in the United States in conjunction with a 
continued moratorium on subsistence harvest in Russia. Such a regime 
would be contingent upon effective enforcement capabilities in both 
countries. Management option 2 was to establish a regulated subsistence 
harvest in both the United States and Russia. Such a regime would be 
contingent upon the enforcement of a regulated

[[Page 65508]]

subsistence harvest and the implementation of community-level 
conservation programs in both the United States and Russia.
    The second meeting of the Commission took place June 7-10, 2010, in 
Anchorage, Alaska. During this meeting, the Commission evaluated the 
options provided by the SWG and determined that establishing a limit to 
the subsistence harvest of polar bears from the Alaska-Chukotka polar 
bear population was needed. Based on the recommendation and risk 
assessment relative to hypothetical harvest levels and traditional 
knowledge of the native people, the Commission determined that no more 
than 58 polar bears per year may be taken, of which no more than 19 
animals may be females from the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population. 
The Commission determined that all human-caused mortality, i.e., 
subsistence harvest as well as any bears that could be taken in defense 
of human life, to the Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population will be 
counted toward this annual limit. Further, the Commission determined 
that the two countries will work together over the coming year to 
identify legal requirements and documents needed to implement the 
determined subsistence harvest limit and that further discussion would 
take place at the next Commission meeting in June 2011.
    The adoption of an annual take limit by the Commission is a 
significant accomplishment in the conservation and management of the 
shared Alaska-Chukotka polar bear population. The additional data 
obtained through enhanced management, especially in Russia where only 
limited information has been available, as well as increased monitoring 
of the previously unknown take of bears, will provide vital information 
and greater understanding of the status and trends of the Alaska-
Chukotka polar bear population. Resultant data will enable the 
countries to develop a more effective and robust strategy for the 
conservation and management of this shared population.
    The regulated subsistence harvest will also provide for the 
cultural, spiritual, and nutritional needs of the native people of 
Chukotka. It is anticipated that the illegal hunting of polar bears in 
Russia will decrease dramatically with the involvement of native 
Chukotkans in the implementation of subsistence harvest monitoring and 
management and enhanced legal enforcement. The Commission tasked the 
SWG with conducting an annual review of the annual subsistence take and 
providing a recommendation to the Commission each year confirming 
continuation of the existing subsistence harvest limit or specifying a 
new harvest limit recommendation.

Determination of the Commission

    Therefore, as discussed above, and as required by Section 507(b) of 
the MMPA, the Commission notified the Secretary of the Interior (by 
letter dated June 23, 2010, and received on July 1, 2010) of its 
determination to limit the annual take of polar bears from the Alaska-
Chukotka population to no more than 58 animals, of which no more than 
19 may be female, to be shared equally between the two jurisdictions. 
Each country is responsible for developing documents describing how the 
regulated harvest will be implemented to be reported at the next 
Commission meeting. The United States and Russian Federation will work 
together over the coming year to identify the legal requirements and 
documents needed to implement the identified harvest limit. This will 
be further discussed at the next Commission meeting in June 2011.
    As required by Section 507(b) of the MMPA, notice of the 
Commission's determination of taking limits for the Alaska-Chukotka 
polar bear population is hereby published in the Federal Register.

    Dated: October 12, 2010.
Daniel M. Ashe,
Acting Director, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
[FR Doc. 2010-26864 Filed 10-22-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-55-P