Notice of Receipt of the Makah Tribe's Permit Request for a Ceremonial and Subsistence Hunt of Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales, 12711 [2025-04634]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 19, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 12711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-04634]



[[Page 12711]]

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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

[RTID 0648-XE742]


Notice of Receipt of the Makah Tribe's Permit Request for a 
Ceremonial and Subsistence Hunt of Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice; receipt of application.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Makah Indian Tribe has applied 
in due form for a permit for a ceremonial and subsistence hunt of 
eastern North Pacific (ENP) gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus).

DATES: Written comments on the permit application must be received on 
or before May 5, 2025.

ADDRESSES: Electronic copies of the application and supporting 
documents may be obtained online at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/makah-tribe-permit-application-hunt-gray-whales. 
Comments on the permit application, including written data and views, 
may be submitted electronically, identified by NOAA-NMFS-2025-0025, by 
any of the following methods:
     Electronic Submission: Submit electronic public comments 
via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal https://www.regulations.gov. To 
submit comments via the e-Rulemaking Portal, enter NOAA-NMFS-2025-0025 
in the keyword search. Locate the document you wish to comment on from 
the resulting list and click on the ``Comment Now'' icon on the right 
of that line.
     Mail: Comments on the application should be addressed to: 
NMFS West Coast Region, Protected Resources Division, 7600 Sand Point 
Way NE, Building 1, Seattle, WA 98117.
    Instructions: Comments sent by any other method, to any other 
address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, 
may not be considered by NMFS. All comments received are a part of the 
public record and will generally be posted for public viewing on 
www.regulations.gov without change. All personal identifying 
information (e.g., name, address, etc.) submitted voluntarily by the 
sender will be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business 
information, or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NMFS will 
accept anonymous comments (enter ``N/A'' in the required fields if you 
wish to remain anonymous). Attachments to electronic comments will be 
accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, or Adobe PDF file formats only.
    Those individuals requesting a public hearing should submit a 
written request electronically via the method above or by email (see 
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT). The request must be received on or 
before April 18, 2025 and should set forth the specific reasons why a 
hearing on this application would be advisable.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Grace Ferrara, NMFS West Coast Region 
Protected Resources Division, by email at [email protected] or 
by phone at 206-526-6172.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The subject permit is requested under the 
Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (MMPA; 16 U.S.C. 1361 
et seq.) and the regulations governing the taking of ENP gray whales by 
the Makah Indian Tribe off the coast of Washington State (50 CFR part 
216, subpart J). The applicant, the Makah Indian Tribe, proposes to 
conduct a ceremonial and subsistence hunt consistent with the purposes 
of the MMPA and the regulations at 50 CFR part 216, subpart J. The 
Tribe proposes using both traditional methods (e.g., a wooden canoe and 
harpoon) and modern methods (motorized vessels and rifles) to conduct 
the hunt, in order to balance the preservation of traditional cultural 
methods with maximizing the safety, efficiency, and humaneness of the 
hunt. The duration of the requested permit is 28 months, lasting from 
July 1, 2025 through October 31, 2027. The Tribe proposes to conduct 
training and hunting activities between July 1st and October 31st in 
2025 and 2027. In each of those two years, the Tribe requests a maximum 
of 142 ENP gray whales to be approached, a maximum of 12 to be 
subjected to unsuccessful strike attempts or training harpoon throws, a 
maximum of 2 to be struck, and a maximum of 1 to be landed. All 
proposed hunting and training activities would take place in the Makah 
Tribe's usual and accustomed fishing grounds west of the Bonilla-
Tatoosh Line as defined by 50 CFR 216.112.
    For more information on the proposed method of taking, including 
the training and certification procedures for the members of the 
whaling crew, refer to the permit application and supporting materials 
available at https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/makah-tribe-permit-application-hunt-gray-whales. Section 104 of the MMPA 
governs the issuance of permits for the taking of marine mammals, and 
outlines specific procedures and timelines under which the permitting 
process must be conducted (16 U.S.C. 1374). NMFS is required to invite 
interested parties to submit written comments, data, or views within 
thirty days of the publication of a notice of receipt of a permit 
application in the Federal Register (50 CFR 216.33(d)(4)). Here, we 
have afforded interested parties forty-five days to submit comments, 
data, or views by mail, email, or through the regulations.gov portal. 
Due to the timeline set forth under Section 104, we anticipate we will 
be unable to extend this comment period beyond forty-five days.
    In compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 
(42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), an initial determination has been made that 
the proposed issuance of the requested permit and resulting effects 
have been thoroughly evaluated in the Final Environmental Impact 
Statement (FEIS) on the Makah Tribe Request to Hunt Gray Whales (NMFS 
2023). The FEIS is available electronically at https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2023-11/makah-waiver-feis-110923.pdf.
    Concurrent with the publication of this notice in the Federal 
Register, NMFS is forwarding copies of the application to the Marine 
Mammal Commission and its Committee of Scientific Advisors.

    Dated: March 14, 2025.
Catherine Marzin,
Acting Director, Office of Protected Resources, National Marine 
Fisheries Service.
[FR Doc. 2025-04634 Filed 3-18-25; 8:45 am]
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