Notice2025-04634
Notice of Receipt of the Makah Tribe's Permit Request for a Ceremonial and Subsistence Hunt of Eastern North Pacific Gray Whales
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 19, 2025
Issuing agencies
Commerce DepartmentNational Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Abstract
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).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 52 (Wednesday, March 19, 2025)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 52 (Wednesday, March 19, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Page 12711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[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: <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/makah-tribe-permit-application-hunt-gray-whales">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/makah-tribe-permit-application-hunt-gray-whales</a>.
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:
<bullet> Electronic Submission: Submit electronic public comments
via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. 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.
<bullet> 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
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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 <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#387559535950685d4a55514c166f7b6a7856575959165f574e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="3c715d575d546c594e515548126b7f6e7c52535d5d125b534a">[email protected]</span></a> 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 <a href="https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/makah-tribe-permit-application-hunt-gray-whales">https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/document/makah-tribe-permit-application-hunt-gray-whales</a>. 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 <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a> 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 <a href="https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2023-11/makah-waiver-feis-110923.pdf">https://s3.amazonaws.com/media.fisheries.noaa.gov/2023-11/makah-waiver-feis-110923.pdf</a>.
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]
BILLING CODE 3510-22-P
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