[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 50, Volume 7]
[Revised as of January 1, 2007]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 50CFR216.72]

[Page 52-53]
 
                    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 
 
       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.
    (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.

[[Page 53]]

    (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 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]